. what the school district does is tell you no you can only have it this way and this is the only way you're going to get it. you're going to take algebra in 9th grade even if your not ready for. that is the way we do it. we don't change it. so i think the private schools can continue to do what they do and feature that because parents are demanding something other than what they have been getting in far too many schools. >> if you want to build on that, that's fine. but you have done a lot of this work on the ground level in louisiana. curious, given all of these challenges and questions how do you bring people together? build that coalition were folks have different concerns and can find enough common ground to go ahead and make this happen. >> you know, in the early years of louisiana

introducing choice and vouchers and expanding charter schools again, we had to fight with the tradition of public schools. it was very hard and difficult at the time to convince my colleagues in the carcass, the black caucus that it did not matter where it was perceived that this will movement you know the thing i used to tell my colleagues was it doesn't matter. show an i can honestly say today we are getting much much more many more of our colleagues in louisiana

understand that this is not about writing a check, but it is about who is benefiting. i really would like to say one other thing to the person who raised the question about what can private schools do. continue to demand excellence, continue within your own organization. the beauty of choice, the beauty of choice that we found them when i here from from parents, even if the kid is in a performing school i need a school he or she. i have three beautiful daughters and i have three gorges granddaughters. if i could have had them 1st it would have been wonderful. [laughter] but each one, honestly each

one of my girls and each one of my granddaughters have totally different personalities. we hear them. we know this. they learn they learn differently and are learning differently. the ability for my girls to choose a school that not only met the academic need but the personal and nurturing need. so what you have is a unique opportunity to create that brand, to create that family of learners that is unique and is important and will be important to somebody's child. continue to do what you do. speaking from the perspective of higher ed

the board of supervisors questions the schools certain schools stand out. and so when we here schools a child is coming the excellence of that school maintaining within their own organization weirdness kids we go after them. so so that is what i can suggest to the private schools who have that opportunity to create their own brand and to continue the excellence in their own unique fashion. >> i think we have time for one more question. it was mentioned earlier he has parks school choice

questions. we know that the unions are often portrayed were often portray themselves as concerned about school choice. i'm curious why. it seems to me that much of what school choice does for students it also does for teachers attest to a chance to get away from some of the papers, bureaucracy. spend more time teaching kids. help me understand a little bit wide is the association might push back. >> well, you have stuck me with a challenging question. if i may teachers unions are not -- we think there is room for everybody. i don't think that view is shared on the other side. i think the reason for that is because they are very

interested in protecting the lowest common denominator. so in so in new york state for example, probably across the united states it is extremely, extremely challenging to take a teacher who is, as you know not performing and to remove them from the classroom and for some reason we believe that demanding extraordinary performance and quality from teachers, that elevates the teaching profession. it is it is respecting teachers as the professionals that they are. for some reason that is extremely threatening to the teachers union we demand excellence and think that if you are not executing for children that you should not be in this profession.

so they are interested in protecting the lowest common denominator of which we just won't do just as we wouldn't for our scholars. retreats to the highest common denominator. the same way we expect for our teachers to meet a very very high bar. >> empower educators. >> it can. common denominator. traditional unions fought against the firing of teachers. the only people that find it on the ones that already have it. if you have educational choice you have the luxury to say i i have the money and the resources in the neighborhood and the zip code. i i can send my kid over here, but i don't want you to. there is something, frankly, not right about that.

you need to distinguish between the political arm of the organized teachers union and teachers. when we had that rally a a couple of weeks ago, 3,000 parents and teachers. a bunch a bunch of teachers who remember the alabama teachers union in march right across the street from the union headquarters and say, i want to be able to put my kid and equality private school. i i think we have to distinguish the politics of education which is held out their in front by the union forces, the bureaucracy, the status quo and those folks who are fighting against that to try to get something better for the kids. that kids. that is not the teachers. the school choice was increased teacher salaries up to 12 to $15,000 year.

so many people run charter schools. so many charter schools teachers and principals, for the 1st time they can do there job and have the freedom from the bureaucracy to do there job. you know i'm right. rick is trying to stop me but i ain't stopping. i do think we have to distinguish the politics of education is swayed by the union as opposed to the teachers. >> i take that as a strong place to close. please join me in thanking the panel. [applause] >> please take a a little break in the next panel we will start in a few minutes.

>> coming up on c-span2 a discussion on the impact of china's military us national security and defense spending. former congressman jim flattery talks about his recent trip to iran. later senator jim scott of south carolina on education. >> the senate finance committee examines the us tax code and lessons learned from the tax reform act of 1986. the committee hears from former senate finance committee chair bill packwood and former committee member bill bradley. legislation. i've coverage at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> according to the cdc 121 cases of measles a been reported in 14 states and the district of columbia is the start of the year. the senate health committee holds a hearing on vaccines

preventable diseases and whether they should be mandatory for children. the brookings institution hosted. this is 90 minutes.

>> hi, everyone. i would like to welcome you to an event china's rise and its implications for american strategy in the us defense budget. i am joined by a capable and the compost panel that has different elements of expertise in different aspects of the question. our plan for today a little bit more about the subject of harvesting was colleagues, to have a little bit of conversation. beginning by trying to think through the questions that we put on the table. the basic questions here that we are trying to get at

chinese military today where they headed in the future what is the foreign-policy about and once we get those pieces on the table what it all means for us. and the latter.i may weigh in a little bit as well as a speaker. i i want to get through questions and post them to my panelists. the naval chief of the national war college. he retired as a captain after 30 years largely in the pacific theater. a great deal of operational experience. for a couple of decades now it seems impossible to put all this

into one short career. he has been an amazing and prolific author of many aspects of chinese military starting with not only the navy but more generally its entire for structure. we will attempt to thinking about where is china's military today. next today. next him as my good friend and colleague richard bush who runs our e. asia policy ctr. as many of you no it is a long-standing expert on east asia policy both as a practitioner and then in the us government largely on taiwan issues and has been hear at brookings for about 15 years working on east asian security. one of the most prolific and rigorous and careful and thoughtful scholars on the entire region. next to him the center on china studies. a former us government official based in beijing for a number of years with the u.s. treasury

as a lead economic and finance person. prior to his service in the us government he worked for the world bank including a long stint on and in china with the world bank as well. so he we will be particularly helpful in thinking through the question of where is china headed in terms of the economy which is the foundation for national power for military capability, high technology production of weaponry and for the sins that china's rise create throughout the region of the world just where is this country headed and to what extent is the potentially rival for the united states, the broader perception of china's power and the diplomatic aspects as well as the diplomatic aspects of the region and how all these things fit together. so without further ado i would like to walk through a couple of these questions one by one. asking him just for a few minutes of thought on how you see china's military today.

china's military budget even though it is not denominated in dollars is estimated to be the equivalent of roughly a hundred and $50 million year plus or minus 25 to 50 percent. and that is almost regardless to wear in that range it might actually be most properly located. easily the world's world's number two military power behind the united states. by spending, if it was about just spending levels we would be in no imminent danger of losing a position because the united states is still spinning fiber and 60 to $6 billion per year. of course much of what we're thinking about is how this all comes together in the western pacific theaters which is china's main focus of its military activities. it's a little more complicated than just comparing defense budget levels. with that as prelude thank you for being here.

i love your sense of how you see the chinese military position capability today and where you think it's headed in the coming years. >> thank you. i you. i am delighted to be here this morning. they are improving at a moderate pace. i don't see any crash program. >> as mike said the us military responsibilities are global in nature, china so far has been able to focus primarily on the western pacific and asian. what we have seen in a significant shift is away from a historic chinese concern about threats from mainland asia to now being able to focus on the maritime realm off the coast to the east into a certain extent of the southeast. one

of the remarkable things about chinese diplomacy in the last quarter century or so was the way they have resolved border disputes with everyone except india. a little bit iffy, but it is formally resolved. and so i think what has happened in the chinese military most significantly in the last four or five years is a shift in emphasis from the army being the chief beneficiary of budgeting pieces to the navy, air force, and 2nd artillery receiving the most emphasis in the budget councils. a councils. a little bit of interesting situation because if you look at the commanding control is still very much centered on the army whereas most of the budget emphasis seems to be shifting to the other services. this indicates a shift in the national attention and concern to not only the maritime relevance but also the ability to maintain a certain minimum level of nuclear deterrence.

>> if i could ask you how you see the capabilities today relative to what you might have predicted for 2015 one of the big questions that obviously affects perception is not only have faster they improving but how this compares the expectation. the up or down on that is as much as anything what shapes people's perceptions. how would you compare where they are today to what you might have predicted? >> i don't think we should be surprised by what we see in china. a large military budget increase comes not so much in my view from a shift in emphasis of national spending from other sectors of the military but rather simply from the fact that the chinese economy has been expanding so impressively that there is something more money available.

the military, in this case a 21st century capable military. >> 2,009 a little more restrained. >> am sure if we look to specific systems are specific capabilities, for instance am a little bit surprised. i don't think i would sign up. >> one last question whatever china's actual military spending level might be most people seem to agree is about 2 percent of the gross domestic product.

reinforcing your argument is that we should interpret the buildup is gradual. a big number by historical standards for great powers. too hard for me to place. even if we knew. relatively. i think there doing that because they are focusing on trying to match the us but rather than focusing on specific strategic situations as well as the east china sea, south china sea and other topics. >> we will come back to them a little bit. we would love your thoughts on what we have been discussing, but especially in the question of how you see chinese behavior.

>> thank you very much. i agree with everything that but has said gradually things are going the pla was for many many years star for resources the area they. although they talk about double-digit growth the real growth rate is a client the best estimate from 2,003 to 2012 the defense budget as a share of gdp is

addressed and we stayed in a range. the last decade. now the -- what is important for the united states. it's important. first of all we have to recognize that for decades the militarily weak china to live lived in a state of barely -- fairly profound insecurity. the united states was there before the war. and i think the primary and underlying goal is to reduce

that a security. there is an intention a tendency to misread the intentions of adversaries tendency to what the other guy to make all the concessions but it has enough of the basis to compel responsibility. the primary motivation and focus since the late 1990s for what they perceived as a threat of separatism. and that has given focus to what they have done. military capabilities.

i think there is a strategic, larger strategic focus to what china is doing and that is to more of a strategic depth defending against the united states. that's a terrible place. chinese defense planner. the problem is that space is already occupied we we will continue to have them.

then you have natural resource competition. the current worry on everybody's mind is what is happening in maritime east asia. chinese military capabilities and law enforcement it has grown somewhat more aggressive in its actions in the maritime domain. my own view is that conflict is not inevitable.

it's not easy. but there are other ways to deal with these problems. there is diplomacy. what we have seen in the last six months is a shift away from coercive actions including talk about some kind of cbm regime some talk about a binding code of conduct in the south china sea. i think china has realized that its recent behavior has created a great deal of anxiety monies neighbors. it's not in china's interest to take take on the united states and development. it is possible that it will

last and that the military we kept in the background as a tool of national power. >> if i could follow up because we are going to talk about us policy committee both contributed already understanding that. you both talked about improved capabilities. give us us a vivid sense of some new capability that china has now that it did not have before in strategic terms. what is that mean for china? to what extent could china more effectively threaten taiwan that it had ten or 15 years ago? >> more advanced.

changed the strategic calculus created a much more formidable deterrent against at the separatism. moreover the improvement of china's naval capabilities are set so that some experts at least believe it would be difficult for taiwan to defend itself the traditional strategy trying to establish air and sea control over the taiwan strait.

>> china's underlying economic power. >> a couple a couple of those, but if i could ask you, thinking about what this might mean any particular areas of chinese behavior that you wish up in different orkin sidelines that we need to factor in specifically as we anticipate? >> well, the one i worry about the most right now and, and i don't worry as much today as i did a months ago is the way china

promotes his claims in the east china sea and the south china sea. it is not that i fear china is going to take this and talk of violence. once you take them they are damn hard to hold. and i think the defense forces would do a good job defending. the more modest clash between the law enforcement capabilities of the two countries that that's been out of control because of bad crisis management, the domestic nationalism. and so something that should not have happened and should not have become a big deal then becomes a big deal.

>> last question, i promise. it is important to make this as we think about where american policy may have to be. the cbm's president obama and president she worked on. my understanding my want to check with you on this. china not necessarily depend and also the navy, not necessarily coast guard. do you see the same limitations? >> i think that china has a very poor record for what's going on in the south china sea, east china sea and i worry the chinese military maybe even the national command authority contain or

prevent unintended escalation. >> their should be a major concern. >> i agree with that is still very much a work in progress. certainly for us and especially for japan and china. this kind of deception. >> david where china is headed. the economy that ultimately provides the foundation not

only for the size of the budget but the height of technology capacity, weaponry modernization and the progress of the chinese economy that shapes the perception the way that china is in superpower and america is in decline relatively speaking of whether this is something that we will bubble up. we welcome your thoughts on the strength of the chinese economy and where you think it's headed. >> thanks. it's a great pleasure to be hear. we probably saw the announcement that in purchasing power parity terms china has already as the united states and that purchasing power parity calculation is essential if you want to compare living standards across countries but tristan -- talking about ways in the world economy how would i would argue you want to measure the economy market exchange rate.

trade investment takes place. and on that basis the us economy right now is about 70% bigger than the chinese economy. right now the numbers are relatively simple. the chinese economy is about ten trillion, us economy is 17 trillion, us is about 70% bigger. that gap will certainly narrow. china's growth is slowing down and it won't be 10% in real terms but most it won't be 10 percent in real terms, but most analysts except that if china follows through on reform it has the potential to continue to grow at six or 7 percent. the up-and-down scenarios. >> am a little bit more optimistic. if the us follows through on its own reform agenda it has the potential to grow at about 3 percent. when all that adds up most likely scenario is that by 2030 china will be about the same size as the us economy.

i think that is a helpful way to think about it. some some people extrapolate the high growth rate further and argue that after a few decades china will be several times bigger. personally i think that's very unlikely. like the less lowdown even if it's doing well. let me emphasize that it has severe demographic challenges. the working age population is already peaked in china. the urban labor force we will keep growing for a while because of migration which is why china can continue, but after 2030 the population will start declining, the labor force we will decline sharply. between 2030 and 2050 the labor force is projected to decline by hundred and 20 million people.

it's quite difficult to continue to grow well with your labor force is shrinking. economies need to be adjusting. it's easier if your labor force is growing. united states is the only advanced economy where the labor force we will continue to grow at a healthy rate primarily because of immigration. so after about 2030 is not obvious that the chinese economy will be going faster than the us economy. a lot of lot of uncertainty depends on what these countries and societies do but looking out further is just as likely the us economy will need to emerge as the biggest economy in the world later in the century. just as likely as china being the largest economy later. >> quite a remarkable prognostication. >> a lot of uncertainty. were talking about scenarios >> is nice to be on a panel with the.

you were about 30 feet high. thank you for that crisp explanation. what i would like to do now is go down and asked the 2nd main question simpler and is the same for all of you. to get the conversation started the conversation i know we we will have for you what should the united states do about the current situation? the have laid out a number of aspects. economic future what does this mean about the near-term american response? with congress and the president here are going to have to cope with the question. being sequestered or held to the sequestration levels blooming again for fiscal year 2016. only nine months away.

and regardless of whether we go to sequester or not we we will still be three times as well endowed and our in our military budget is the chinese. the trendlines are getting interesting. you can see the military budgets on the same ground. the defense budget maybe even sooner than gdp. about 3 percent particularly 125 percent in china. if you do the math the economy. if the budget were to grow to some extent the question i really want to ask is what

if anything should we do? >> can i go 1st? >> i think you should. >> i am not a military of person, but thinking intuitively the most important issue for the us is to maintain the us share of global gdp. there are a lot of reasons why developing countries are going faster. the us share has a tendency to decline. i just want to make the. if you are looking out toward 2030, 2050, it makes a huge difference. >> investing in infrastructure strengthening education and immigration is a key factor in us growth. we can reform our immigration policy to make it more rational. these are students make it easy for these people's

people is day that they want and the entrepreneurs and be productive people. we can influence our economic growth rate fairly significantly. twenty, 30 years will make a huge difference. >> if i could like that. the us defense debate in the us budget debate more generally it sounds like you are not super worried about whether us military budgets are going to be leaving aside the war supplemental 500 billion or 550 billion. you might be equally concerned about whether we sequester the domestic investment account that you talk about is important for our long-term. >> briefly, the us had its short-term fiscal situation in good shape, so we can afford to spend modestly. the compromise to spend more money on infrastructure and education, defense within a a sustainable fiscal framework, that would be a

good compromise. >> for those of you as you know, this is budget week the president pulled out his budget on monday and alluded to it in the state of the union address earlier,, as many of you know, the increase pending on the deficit, the discretionary about 35 billion each relative. the sequestration level existing law, do what you are suggesting. of course the controversy. with the fancy always have a safety valve. you can put put more things into the war supplemental not subject. with nondefense you don't really have that. so it remains to be seen if they can adriana way to pay for these. richard, over to you. we would love your thoughts.

>> let me start with the pivot. i actually think that the pivot is not a knew policy but an adaptation of an old policy to new circumstances. i think our policy toward asia has been based for decades on active military economic, diplomatic and political presence in the region so that we set the context in which our friends, allies, and potential and potential adversaries make the national productive of national defense decisions. we have been the cop on the beat that they create peace in the neighborhood. it is important that we are able to do that. and so i see in

sequestration on the fence a a critical challenge. there seems to be a growing consensus that we need to find some way around the may experience over the last four years that does not make me terribly optimistic we can get to the goals that we want to achieve. we need to strengthen these pillars of national power that allowed us to emerge in the 20th 20th century as a force for peace and stability and prosperity around the world. within east asia i think the most difficult challenge is calibrating our responses to

chinese moods in the east china sea in the tells -- and the south china sea so that in a way that encourages restraint on china's part ends so it does not feel that they can constantly nibble away at the current status quo. ..

>> >> your greater concern might be the signal it was said to function to carry out policies we already decided and i and the stand

that. it is far more important to the aircraft battle destroyer show up. then be given a very different world. >> precarious of your take of where it has to go. >> but if sequestration takes full effect the u.s. navy could no longer maintain and constant presence of the deployments

roughly since the korean war but instead with a white or japan is only in times of crisis which stages though whole time line that is something that we talked about the area of most concern of the foreseeable future are the south china sea and east tennessee. in theaters side is defense treaties with south korea with a relationship with taiwan or singapore. so it seems this is the most likely where hopefully we

can use diplomacy to resolve differences. i think that china has a risky game. pointing out counterparts they wonder where the threshold is. and to invoke a u.s. military response. with the situation in goes back to what i said earlier. to inaccurately calculate u.s. response of a situation. did it seems to me with the east china sea to maintain japan's claim is one of the

administrative control that china tries do demonstrate that the administrative control is not on a daily basis but given the multiplicity it is simply moving ahead to build artificial islands to build military power. i suppose there is the benefit to use though white whole ship but the outcome is the same. but if it is within the philippines is because they cannot object at sea. but for u.s. and future strategies i think it is consistent that it has not been clearly delineated

since 1986 but it is hard we'll have a specific single opponent. was easy to define in the 20's or '30's i guess the soviet union but it is not easy to do that now. with the u.s. military is facing right now. is not an easy solution to meet those ends with full sequestration is a difficult problem to solve. >> one last question about the south china sea. we will have a lot of participation in soon but this is said good place to

bring it together. what is the u.s. role of the south china sea? talk about the u.s. presence to be important but you are not necessarily gauging the u.s. military how to win the war, maybe that is a consideration but not your main consideration? what is the military and diplomacy trying to do their? >> we do have a defense treaty with the philippines but it was signed before from the south china is the edible leaves u.s. government has ever said we agree with the philippines.

one could question why a and 2015 since the cold war is long over, we have planned very carefully. it is not a game in the south china sea. we don't back any nations claims. readers ever ready to resolve differences peacefully but we will not stand by to except any attempts to interfere with navigation and. but that's that china has published that beijing has never defined itself. they say the associated waters but just finding the

waters could take the rest of the day. the bottom line u.s. concern is the. >> i degree. but there will improve its presence in the land forms of the south china sea. or how the united states is perceived our friends and allies and assess our results. but it is hard to figure out what you want to do as each. >> thinks.

we have a lot on the table. so let me please ask you to state your name it clearly. we will take to with a time to start. tried to direct your question to one person. >> fake you all very much. in this seems to meet it seems of two elements that there is a lot of continuity of u.s.-china relations. and also in terms of continuing the virgin's but

one that has a change so creating that in a way that has not happened before. in the sense china's immediate challenge is not directed at the united states. but it has articulated a division in which lehrer's kept its head from that point of view. but the challenges of rich more generational. in one sense it has to demonstrate to the allies that the united states has sufficient resolve to deal

with what basis to them. on either hand united states does not want to be in a position regarding china. but now what depends on perceptions or so allman. but in this sense to did states is facing a dramatic challenge with all kinds of difficulties. so with that economic, political, so to what extent because we're

beginning to sink creatively. >> i have been teaching. may be a of a first to respond to my question. wonder if it is possible to prepare u.s. and china military spending for cost of china. >> i am not an expert of the chinese military but since may keying fed general correction, basically you raising china of gdp by 70 percent is the current estimate. the thought is to take that

$150 billion rough estimate that the market exchange rates. and in terms of the soldiers in did make sense to do that price correction in. but it tends to be says dave. so i am i sure how much the military and dash equipment goes to but the price of the equivalent quality may be similar. ve's what you refined.

>> you would not want to make so you would want to make some. >> this is neither a completely new problem but a new version to the old problem. to reassure our allies in to worry about independent action by our allies and for example,, one purpose of the treaty as south korea was to make sure sells korea did that go north. that is not a concern today

but it was early on. similarly there were a understanding's at the time that the republic of china was considering any major action in ward have to have prior approval and there was no word china has greater power and has favorability to expand its power and influence in the region so another new development is nationalism.

that greatly complicates our national leaders and assess threats to the national security. and respond. >> i think he made -- and those like me trying to concentrate on the of military bench but the economic relationship is extremely important. several years ago he calls a bunch of folks together we need to get away from a military relationship but he

was also the chairman and said the most but i also note the overall strategic situation is based on the then touche course but geography matters because take three of seven but to have that mutual defense alliance with the united states with that governing body from the peninsula of. [laughter] debt at in gasparino the

relationship between the two was not so strong and during this period per car is not a big flare-up of his over well put ahead and if but you want to get rid of these forces said in a career? what about taiwan's or another eustacia at clark's redirect that maybe if they

use them there maybe they don't have us say when the crisis occurs but that is what was the right way to go. then one other point camera just lucky nine u.s. populations but but then to locate to. and read that they shed is an.

>> earlier u.s. the question focused on military development as a surprise to you. there is one surprise of least for me, over the last two years china has announced of gold to become a maritime power. not just the navy but also co-starred. >> and i was looking into that but it's that is key

thing stevens states away from the coast is the service part is but china will have his second most powerful balance is in the world.

over the simplistically i would say when it recently laid the has behaved so my question is going forward coming in doing busings china feels it is in its interest because to protect their interests did and claims is a the way they you described it is just more recent footage.

but did is something we should expect to see that but the data up to the military capabilities which church college budgets it was pretty much strictly on taiwan. you can see a great emphasis

>> but the way they have achieved that is i know how 36. >> i think they're the immediate goal the second i wouldn't but it is certainly a very vicious but they couldn't achieve that by 2015 is an open question. they've made a vague but

with those land-based missiles. i think the chinese military believes taiwan is no longer a problem with the balanced measurement. their focus to to gain control of the season in the first but it with the mediterranean, and in the west coast of africa.

so we are seeing an expansion of the low'' -- below is the ability to reach far beyond. >> and not the persian gulf for the indian ocean? >> they are ahead of that. since 2008 but they had the gentrify receive poor rations but last year they sent dais of marine the with those naval aspirations. and we're the only ones.

put it i a agree once you have the capability there is the temptation to lose them. and it just isn't in the minds of the pla. a friend was questioning when the taxpayer was taking him to his hotel. but it does not use them. guide the a mitt. use them for something. [laughter] >> more seriously it is

possible to make a general prediction but as a hour fear of if schlafly our turn the decides whether to use military power to you with a specific problem. and here we get into the quality of the chinese decision making. it is confidence or lack of confidence to manageress scanned control escalation. >> so what would be the most

risky? and i've also heard about the geography and the message the u.s. since touche china. asking about the role of the vietnam politically and economically and military allies. we expect a code of conduct. where is that effective? because we need them mechanism to enforce it.

if we let china to build islands that will undermine not only the west but the international community as well. and under international law. so when can the u.s. rally united nations? >>. >> emma of recent graduate and i love this topic. s we talk about china's economy i recently read from "the wall street journal"

that there was some type of restructuring within the people's bank of china so what those implications through a military? >>. >> the economy is slowing to invest didn't real-estate but heavy manufacturing with the local government infrastructure. it is a healthy thing that has been managed well. so the most recent moves have disappointing data with those service sectors to make a typical move to free

a $.00 million equivalent of one day in. for this discussion leaving the medium and long-term growth of the economy, it has a lot of reforms it has to carry out. to have a lot of closed sectors. and then over 10 years' time period. >> it is an excellent question. vietnam is very interesting because it seems there is a clash between vietnam and china.

but on wednesday the head of the vietnamese communist party. so had no way -- it goes back to the geography. the chinese army can walk into vietnam. but this also explains why hanoi strikes up a closer relationship with india. there is an agreement. but it would be very wise about this as a goes for word. with a code of conduct to design a code of conduct with sporadic partners at best. i am not sure who would we is available to enforce it.

but with that the bilateral relationships decide who is right and who's wrong. i think malaysia was the first to do this and the philippines of taiwan. the shed to i never try a touche klay rates for the structure is? although it is clear that is something that has to be decided. and was once again struck call an international treaty to be so in death was so many gray areas.

>> just to supplement, i am not holding my breath with a binding code of conduct. that may not restrict its flexibility. but if we ever get to enforcement will be among the concern. to have the code of conduct. and another thing to be said is it does have a capable military. that is a force for

stability. with the military of another selfie station. >> there is said great opportunity so to be completed and implemented these will be the biggest winner for good is an important measure to tie more closely economically. bellwether not it joins is a great opportunity. speaking of other countries we haven't talked about australia but they have a good position by yet only

have 1.six gdp on military. that gives engaged did israel but not through through. obviously there is interesting things going on many of which i personally support but i would note it is still 1.o% and virtually has not moved. despite the talk of doing more. is about the arms race within a certain constraints. >> i am a trade barrier but also part of the china commission.

the chinese have a comprehensive national power upon that you build the of military and political strength. the title of the program to increase the defense budget. my understanding is the united states has run $3 trillion worth of trade deficit with china. son economist would say this is contributing to china's growth from economic strains we're leading china's gross. wouldn't make sense so it is more balanced.

>> from berkeley can -- california. you're all measuring on accountability with the cyberconnection between them. since manila about sleeper agents shouldn't read track is just as much because it underlies their success. >> start with the trade question. i understand the sentiments. but the imbalance between aid the united states and china has reached extreme levels.

in the trade deficit with a lot of people reporting that was unsustainable. i would say we made quite a bit of progress since a financial crisis. to balance with those it is not such a big concern. and then with those numbers it may not be advantageous. the u.s. economy finally begins to perform in a healthy way. and the december numbers were disturbing.

it is something we need to focus on like the exchange rate with a certain amount of progress. at this point the bigger issue is market access. both in terms of trade and foreign investment. it would have a significant effect to benefit to export more and invest more in china. so that is why the trans pacific partnership is important to signal of china is serious to open up to meet international standards. so how to remake fact that

there is a danger to come back with other potential strategies. >> faq for the question. you make an extremely good point because the most difficult military domains to manage our the new ones without an experience or in for more rules on how to conduct themselves. cyberis ee tricky because of the attribution problem is so severe. with the pla it therefore sort missiles we couldn't figure out pretty quickly that china was a fall.

cyberattacks are a different story. so this deserves all the attention it is getting. the first requirement is to build up defenses in a serious way. with the u.s. corporations. and with that robust capabilities but ultimately with the new domain would require diplomacy and a creation of rules where they don't exist.

>> one more round of questions. . .ned with former

congressman, james slattery, on his recent trip to iran.

this is an hour. >> good afternoon. thank you for coming out to our first public event. let me thank the atlantic council and the crow share for their generous support. we have been going on four years and i must say the news keeps getter better. positive indications about the nuclear talks. we are hear to talk about the people-to-people aspects of the iran negotiations where are just

as participant as the techno technicalities technicalities. we want more interaction between the people of iran and the united states. i coordinate the task force here and i am delighted we have a speaker, someone who has been involved with iran for many years, but just had his first visit there. james slattery is the former six term congressman from the second district of congress. he was a member of the house energy and commerce committee which has jur diction over hilary clinton, energy, telecommunication and -- health care -- and he is a partner with a law firm and advises clients who have matters pending before congress, federal agencies and regulartory bodies.

what is motor important about the congressman from our perspective is he is part of the dialogue that has encouraged interface dialogue and reconcilation between the united states and iran. this is done by a school in norway and the catholic universities of america with vatican participation. and james just came back from his first visit to iran. and i will ask him to come up and talk about what the visit was like and interface dialogue and the prospects for a better people-to-people relationship between the united states and iran. so congressman. thank you again for coming. >> it is great to be with you. let me say i have admired you

from a far and admired the work you did. your book is one of my favorites. and i appreciate your scall scholarship on that. it is a pleasure to join you to talk about a passion of mine and that is avoiding iran >> do you want at a talk about getting involved with the interface and what it was like being in the land. >> over the last few years, i had the opportunity to participate in the dialogue with iranians. it was composed of muslims, christians, and jews and representatives of the abraham faith participated. the fascinating part was the par

advertise pants from iran were approved by the highest leadership in iran and they were what i called second tier people in iran. they were heads of the business community, presidents of the universities, personal friends of the supreme leader personal friends of the president at the time. now many of the people that we got acquainted with over a ten year period moved into positions of key responsibilities in this new government. so i feel particularly lucky we had an opportunity to build friendships with these people. and one of the things i learned along the way is the iranians are deeply concerned about respect. the one thing they yearn for is respect. think about the whole notion of the west respecting them. very important.

another thing i learned was that if you want to engage iranians and especially the shitte -- shiite muslims. you can say help me understand what the koran spells out on everything from nuclear war to sex. i think it is a way of demonstrating respect to people of religious faith and many of the people we met during the period were sincere in their faith. many were clerics and leaders in the political and academy realm. that is the background on the issue. >> can you tell me roughly house education and workforce committee -- how many readings? these were primarily meetings in

europe. >> we have probably had 20 meetings at different times. one evening, i took a group of ayatollahs to the floor of the united states representatives. i will never forget standing in the house and the iranian friends were captured by the fact there is an inscription above the speakers house that says in god we trust. and they were fascinated by the fact there is a relief of moses looking down on the house of representatives. i think it is very important for us as we engage iran and for that matter, as we engage the broader muslim world, to respect their religion and figure out how to communicate more effective with them about the

common things among christianity and islam. that is another conversation but it is an important part of the relationship that we blow by. i think because of my involvement over the last ten years in the interfaith dialogue, my name may have come on the radar screen in iran. i know a number of people in the government and i received an invitation to talk about a conference called the world against violence and extremism. they told me i was the first former member of congress or current member of congress that has been invited to iran since 1979 to speak. i don't know if that is true or not. but that is what they told me. my topic at the last minute was can religion be a force for

peace in the middle east. and the answer to that question is yes, it can be. but it can be a problem, too. but i was particularly pleased that the chief of staff and former prime minister and the former president all three spoke at the conference and were clear, strong, and emphatic in condemning the violent acts of terrorism on the parts of isis and other religious phonetical kitchen fanatical -- groups committed in the name of islam. i wish the western media did a

better job of covering the conference. i thought the statements were clear, and strong and saying the things so many of us in the united states would like to hear said by leaders in the islamic world. >> i remember clearly the first time i went to iran in 1996, aliving in the middle of the night and jet lagged, but the first impression is important. i remember being a little nervous going as a journalist afterwards afterwards. i put down my passport and this big gruff man giving me a smile. i understand you had a positive reception shall i say. >> it was really interesting. my trip started at the pakistani embassy here in washington where the iranian intersection is located. it blew my mind. i go into a meeting and the three people that interviewed me to get my visa two had degrees from kansas state university. i used to represent kansas state

and the university of kansas when i was in the congress. they were both in my congressional district. they started talking to me and one remembered me being the congressman from manhattan, kansas. and he was talking to me about the fact they got married in man manhattan and his wonderful experience in manhattan, kansas. so fastforward to my first night in iran and i sat down to dinner with the man's assistant, and guess where he went to school? he went to the university of kansas. and he was telling me he remembered me being his congressman. and he had a conversation about the jayhawks and their