China, the United States and the Return of Great Power Competition

China took several aggressive actions in early August after U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the highest ranking U.S. official since Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan, including firing ballistic missiles in Taiwan’s vicinity and sanctioning Pelosi. The Chinese government also cut off talks with the United States on military issues and climate change as tensions continue to mount. Last Friday, five of China’s biggest state-owned companies announced their intent to delist from the New York Stock Exchange – PetroChina Co Ltd, China Life Insurance Co, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Aluminum Corp of China and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co, which represent more than US$300 billion in market cap.

Although the crisis is not going to lead to war, this new era of burgeoning hostility between China and the United States is evident.

Join the World Affairs Council of Charlotte with Ambassador David Rank, former Acting U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs on  Wednesday, October 12 (Luncheon) as part of the Council’s Ambassadors Circle Series program. 

With over 20-year tenure as a State Department Foreign Service Officer,  Ambassador Rank will share unique insights into the future of the tumultuous US-China relationship in this new global order.

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Program Information: 

Date:
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
VIP Reception:
11:30 – 12:00 PM ET
Lunch & Presentation: 
12:00 – 1:30 PM E.T.
Location:
Hilton Uptown Charlotte Directions
Cost:
$55 (WACC Member Rate)
$70 (Non-Member Rate)
$30 (WACC Student Member / Teacher Member)

  • Please call 704-687-7762 for credit card payments over the phone.
  • Checks can be mailed to “World Affairs Council of Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., CHHS 227, Charlotte, NC 28223.

 

 

 

Biography: 

Ambassador David “Dave” Rank is a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, the head of the China practice at The Cohen Group, a global business strategy consultancy and teaches at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He spent 27 years as a State Department Foreign Service Officer, including his final assignment as Deputy Chief of Mission and, following the 2016 election, as the Charge’ d’Affaires (acting Ambassador) at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In addition to six Foreign Service assignments in greater China (three in Beijing, two at the American Institute in Taiwan and one at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai), Dave served at the U.S. embassies in Kabul, Athens, and Port Louis (Mauritius). In Washington, he worked in the office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP), the State Department Korea desk, as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and as a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. In 2015 he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award for his role in the release of the only American servicemember held by the enemy in Afghanistan. He is also the recipient of the American Foreign Service Association’s Sinclaire Award for the study of languages and their related cultures. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, Dari and Greek. He and his wife, Mary, have three children.