Sino-US relations amidst the rise of China

Good morning from Shanghai, as you noted.

Listen, you know, I think you've noted that you come from sunny California originally.

I grew up in the heart of Dixie, in the beautiful black, dark heart of Dixie in Alabama.

Ganesh High School in Memphis.

And I was thinking this morning, Memphis and Shanghai have something in common in terms of climate.

They're both kind of sweltering in the summer.

The winters can be a little difficult, but not terrible.

Not quite like what you have in Beijing.

But I was thinking, what Memphis is sort of famous for is being next to the Mississippi River, but it's also built on a bluff.

So it's above the river.

And, um, uh, Shanghai means literally, um, above the sea.

And if you know Chinese, you know, one of the words for river is He.

So I came from Shanghai to Shanghai.

And the only difference is tornadoes in Memphis and tsunamis in Shanghai.

Plus this is China and, uh, Memphis isn't.

Anyway, glad to be back on the bridge.

And what a good word, the bridge, speaking of rivers, and the need to try to understand across these different civilizations in this period of transition.

You

know, that's a really interesting point that you bring up.

And one of the reasons I like to have you on is because you are an American, and there are very few Americans with the depth of knowledge that you have about the Chinese political system.

So let's get into some of the questions.