The Balloon and the U.S.-China Relationship

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a much-anticipated visit to China after the discovery of a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over U.S. territory. The very public spat over alleged spying is just the most recent example of strains in the world’s most important relationship. 

Beyond the kerfuffle over the balloon, what are the broader impacts on Washington’s China policy? How much of a setback does the incident represent? What are the global ramifications to watch out for? 

Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a discussion with Emily S. Weinstein, a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, and James Palmer, a deputy editor at Foreign Policy and the author of FP’s weekly China Brief newsletter. FP subscribers can send in their questions in advance. 

Emily Weinstein

Research fellow, Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

Emily S. Weinstein is a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. She is focused on U.S. national competitiveness in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology and the U.S.-China technology competition. 

James Palmer

Deputy editor, Foreign Policy

James Palmer is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy and writes FP’s weekly China Brief newsletter. Palmer is the author of The Bloody White Baron: The Extraordinary Story of the Russian Nobleman Who Became the Last Khan of Mongolia and The Death of Mao: The Tangshan Earthquake and the Birth of the New China. He won the Shiva Naipaul prize for travel writing in 2003. 

 

Host

Ravi Agrawal

Editor in chief, Foreign Policy

Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He has shared a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations for his work as a TV producer, and his writing for FP was part of a series nominated for a 2020 National Magazine Award for columns and commentary. Agrawal is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

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