U.S.-China Track II Dialogue 2014
The Aspen Strategy Group and the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened the second U.S.-China Track II Dialogue from December 13–15, 2014 in Beijing, China. The American and Chinese delegations engaged in two days of roundtable discussions on topics including the role that the two countries can play in regions such as Syria, Iran and North Korea, opportunities for cooperation on transnational issues such as cybersecurity, and the evolving regional economic architecture in Asia.
The delegations comprised distinguished former government and military officials, diplomats, academic experts, and business leaders. At this iteration of the U.S.-China Track II Dialogue, the two delegations worked to build consensus and achieve a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as the United States and China define with greater clarity the contours of the bilateral relationship and brainstorm more concrete steps to operationalize the relationship.
Aside from the roundtable discussions, delegates heard from several key Chinese government and Communist Party officials, namely Vice Premier Wang Yang, State Councillor Yang Jiechi, Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Fu Ying, Former Chief Negotiation Officer and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Long Yongtu, and President of CCPS and member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee Liu Yunshan. At the conclusion of the meeting, several American participants published their afterthoughts: Aspen Strategy Group Co-Chair Joseph Nye in Project Syndicate and David Ignatius in The Washington Post.