building some faith and confidence in our constituents so that one day, our constituents can have respect for this institution, the greatest institution in this democracy. more highlights from 35 years of house floor coverage on our facebook page. >> live coverage here on c-span.

>> good afternoon. i would like to welcome you all to this very special conference

in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the u.s.-china diplomatic relationship. director of the china center here at brookings. i'm thrilled to see such a big crowd of people. i had no idea i was this popular. just as we finally saw a thaw in the temperature in washington this week, after a very long in u.s.-chinaaw relations more than three decades ago was almost equally as long awaited. the thaw began with ping-pong diplomacy during the presidency of richard nixon. the ice finally fully mended by andtime president carter the chinese leader agreed to the

1979 joint community on establishments of diplomatic relations. it seems quite fitting that we are holding this event during a week when we have seen pictures streaming back from china of first lady michelle obama playing ping-pong, learning tai chi. quite impressive, if you saw the picture. and appearing at schools to speak to the future generations of chinese leaders. that america proof continues to regard its relationship with china as one worth maintaining. it also speaks to how this relationship has developed over

the past years. as anyone who has visited the campus and china can attest, it's even more popular in china than it is in the united states. we are so lucky to be joined today by the former nba star, yao ming, and david stern, nba commissioner, who will speak about the important role of sports and public diplomacy. both of them have flown into d.c. just to attend this event. that speaks to their commitment to this very important cause. yao ming and david stern, we are so honored and privileged to have you here this afternoon. would not have been possible without the intellectual initiative and the input of the brookings managing

who will serve as moderator for this panel. thank you for your support, bill. we are also extremely lucky to have with us delegation's of influential young leaders and scholars from both china and the united states, who have participated in a private roundtable yesterday and also this morning. the events this afternoon are the culmination of these discussions. , we will haveel the opportunity to hear about the future of the u.s.-china relationship from some of the most talented, remarkable young scholars. in the concluding panel, we will hear from a very influential young scholar in his own right, the senior director in the national security council who i will introduce later today. the arrangement of these three

terrific panels not only reflects our desire to bring together some of the most and some of figures the most brilliant minds in the how we canscuss continue to strengthen the crucial u.s.-china relationship. a true dialogue across all generations, across all sectors, and across all depths of knowledge to learn how to effectively contribute to make this relationship stronger. now let me tend to the cohost, a diplomat, devoted educator, accomplished scholar, and longtime friend of brookings. the president of the china institute of international affairs. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. i am the president of china institute of international studies. , ibehalf of my institute would like to express my warmest welcome to you all. we get together here this celebrate,o commemorate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between china and the u.s. inknow that 35 years ago, 1970, china's leaders and america's leaders decided to improve their relationship, to establish diplomatic ties. and but probably three, differentiated objectives. from the u.s. side, the first

was to turn china from hostile country to amicable country in order to improve the strategic position of the u.s. in competition with the former soviet union. the second goal of the united states may be at that moment to and -- end the war in a decent way with china's help. reduce divergence these -- divergence. side, therenese were also three objectives. the first of them is to turn the u.s. from an enemy to an important strategic partner in order to reduce the threat from the former soviet union. the second objective from china

was to improve the relationship to facilitate the national unification. was to andbjective private china's -- improve china's relationship with the western world. we can say that china and the u.s. succeeded in this regard. war,d states win the cold in u.s. end the vietnam war a decent way with china's help. the u.s. improved its .elationship with its allies china was no longer a subject of divergence between the u.s. and other countries in the west. from the chinese side also, the former soviet union was no longer a threat for china.

and the relationship has been largely improved. enteredhis relationship in the [indiscernible] expandingsucceeded in its diplomatic [inaudible] throughout the world, making china's policy of reform and opening up. that brings china to its success today. 35 years passed by. people worry about the future of the china-u.s. relationship. they are saying that according to international theory, international relations theory, a rising power is impossible to

coexist. international history of international relations provides some cases in this regard. a major question for china and the u.s. in terms of their bilateral relations is, is it really inevitable that a rising power will go into confrontation? we don't believe so. we think that a new model, a new type of major power relations is totally possible. the world today is changed. ofessence of this new model relations is to avoid zero some create aum game, to

situation where it is totally possible. today, why we are here this afternoon, to commemorate the 35 years of diplomatic relations in china and the u.s.. most of the members of my delegation are young. i would like to be also young, but i'm not. members of my delegation are young scholars. we bring them here today because the youth represents the future of the nation. understanding between young scholars of china and young maylars of united states shape the understanding, the future of the relationship between china and the u.s.

we are extremely lucky to have young here. -- yao ming here. he is a perfect representative of china and the u.s. [indiscernible] ming, ask who is yaoo everyone knows. yao ming and other chinese young scholars will share their perceptions, their understanding , and they're thinking our world concerning china today, concerning the relations.he i wish and i believe that our event will be a very successful one. thank you.

[applause] >> i will start by thanking thorntonand the entire

center. this is the best collection of china scholars in the u.s. it may be the best set of china policy scholars in universities here under around the world, and it is extraordinary, including predecessors,is two of whom i see in the audience. it's a great group. theme delighted for hosting this event, and hospitality they showed to me and my family two years ago when i spent three months traveling through china in preparation for a book. a major notrating event 35sition, but years ago. we are blessed and honored to have two transformational figures in this sport that many

of us hold very dear. in 1979, ping-pong gave way to basketball. after the ping-pong exchanges, there were basketball exchanges that follow. as i think cheng li touched on, basketball is the most popular sport in china, perhaps other than ping-pong. there are more people to play basketball in china than there are people in the u.s. over 300 million people playing basketball. it dates back to the late 1800s, when the missionaries that sounded basketball in america through the ymca took it all around the world. in china it's a cold, and even during the cultural revolution -- it took hold, and even during the cultural revolution, when other activities such as art and music and literature that had associations in the west were banned, basketball was not. it could be found on courts and in alleyways all across china. we saw that ourselves two years ago.

we arrived in beijing and mark. -- in march. we went to the forbidden city. after you go through the font eight -- front gate, there is a basketball court. there were army boots lined up on the edge of the court and on the court was a three on three game of people's liberation army members, all wearing nike and adidas and american brand shoes that were probably made in china, of course. it was annexed ordinary moment for us, as we were about to go to one of the most treasured places in all of china to see this sport that perhaps started as an american sport really is a global sport. as an embodiment of that, it is the highlight of the olympics. game isl basketball played almost always on the last closing weekend, and it is considered perhaps the great team sport of the olympics every year. we did not just see it in beijing. we saw it in shanghai, where at

the court near us there would be pickup basketball games at 7:00 in the morning, and the players were all wearing lebron james and kobe bryant jerseys. you would see it on the streets where people were wearing hats or t-shirts or other things of nba branded products. today we are honored to have with us perhaps the two single and notortant people just bringing basketball, but bringing the nba to china, and bring a china to the nba in yao ming and david stern. it goes without saying that yao ming is a giant, but he's a giant in the most important ways, which is being able to bridge two cultures that were deeply divided for many, many years, but also beyond that in his other activities in public life and private life. just to give you a sense of the transformation that he himself has traveled, when he was born one year after the

reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 1980, the average person in shanghai made all of about $1800 a year. by the time he came to america in 2002, that had risen to about $4000 a year and today it stands at $13,000 a year on average. that is just in shanghai. across china there are great disparities as well, and one thing we talked about before coming in here and hopefully we will talk about today is the broad effort to try to address those disparities in china, which is a real priority for yao. he was the first true chinese nba star. there had been other chinese born players in the nba, but if you followed his career you know he was the top draft pick in 2002, drafted by the houston rockets. in his eight nba system -- seasons, he appeared in the nba all-star game all eight years. he averaged 19 points a game with nine rebounds.

nine is a contract. he sat out one year because of an injury. >> [indiscernible] [laughter] >> i stand corrected. he is the owner of the shanghai sharks, the first professional team he played for for a few years before the rockets drafted him. his philanthropy and public engagement ranges on a wide range of issues from environmental protection, including protecting sharks and the shark fin, rhinos and elephants. his well-earned affinity for very large animals of other species. [laughter] his it comes to humans, focus has been on the smallest and most vulnerable. he has had a particular emphasis on children, building schools, and addressing those who are impacted by earthquakes across china, in particular the great earthquake of 2008 in szechuan

province that killed almost 70,000 people and left countless others missing. from one giant to the next, the man seated next to me may not appear as tall as yao -- in fact, i'm not sure if we stood back-to-back who would be taller -- david stern is a giant, not just in american sports, but in public diplomacy and american business. and in american philanthropic and cultural life. he inherited a league that was on the verge of bankruptcy 30 years ago, and serve as commissioner for 30 years, becoming commissioner emeritus on january 31 of this year. did i get that right? >> right. >> in those 30 years he took the lead from bankruptcy. revenues have increased 30 fold in that time. seven new teams were added. a few other teams moved around. >> ask yao a question. somest want to give people

context here. though this is being broadcast on c-span, the overlap of c-span to espn viewers is not one watch. he has helped promote exhibitions all around the world. he has recruited top talent from every continent on earth, with the exception of antarctica. that is probably coming too. if you observe a few more years, perhaps even there. justba's mission has not been to promote basketball, but to promote all the things that surround basketball. that is including social issues in the u.s. and abroad, from human health and development, physical well-being, but also things like racial disparity in income inequality. it is an extraordinary accomplishment that is unmatched in professional sports in the u.s. david did not get through this

without having dealt with challenges and controversies, but throughout, he lifted the game rather than dragging it through those issues. it is a real credit that he is here with us today. i first saw david -- most recently saw david and met david in october, when he received harvard university's w e b du medal for contributions to african-american culture. his contributions extend to the board of columbia university where he served as chairman, as well as serving on the board at beth israel medical center, rutgers university foundation, where he is a graduate. fornational association advancement of colored people, martin luther king federal holiday commission, jazz at lincoln center, and the global coalition on hiv, aids, tuberculosis and malaria. i will turn to yao now.

>> thank you. >> you are welcome. with the ideatart of professional basketball and when you first started playing it, which was a relatively new sport, new development in china. china had basketball for many years. your father played basketball. you started playing professional basketball there, and made the transition to playing professional basketball here. what was that transition like? >> the transition is great. the professional [inaudible] i played in china started in 1997. was drafted by the nba in 2002 heading to the houston rockets. it is a totally different

country, culture, and people. verye all linked by this simple interest, which is for the basketball game. we love this game so much. so many people -- >> anticipate. >> -- participate. >> participate. sorry. i lived in texas too long. [laughter] this game links so much people. we know each other or we don't, -- either play the game or watch the game through television now, new media, internet, everything. this game brings everybody together. >> how different was the game

itself when you made the transition? was it played differently in china? to simple stereotypes about team versus individual sport. i have been so struck by the complexity of nba playmaking. did you experience a transition and thinking differently on the court? nba is much more physical than the cba. [indiscernible] i don't want to say that, but it's true. beyond that, i have to adjust into a new culture of the entire nba league. i have to play with and live with my new teammates. from college or the guys from high school.

i started playing my profession at 17. you can and should be at as a high school player at the tribute as a high school player at the beginning. >> when you watched yao make that transition, how did he do? you helped spearhead the bringing of international players here. how did he adjust in the situation here? >> i would say that although this year at the beginning of the season, we had 80 international players on our rosters, there was nothing like yao ming. i can still remember -- i don't know if it is in the photo real -- reel around here, his being beijingnn studio in when i announced he was the first pick in the 2002 draft, and then became a journey, the pressure on him. the sense that he was the ambassador for this entire country, and all of a sudden

americans were going to learn more about china than they knew in other ways through yao ming. he took to that responsibility in an interesting way through television. our chinese fans were going to learn more about america through yao ming. this is for a young, 22-year-old who was being burdened with this -- i think you did wonderfully. he became an all-star player. at the same time, he became an ambassador. affected two countries, and that to me was his extraordinary beginning. >> did you feel that pressure at first that you had all of china on your shoulders? i feel the pressure not from the people, but from those camera. [laughter] moment where you felt you had made it, in some

way the pressure diminished, and maybe different pressures took on? >> that's why -- when you focus on something, like when there is a basketball game, i can focus on -- you reduce the pressures automatically. everything is all come for basketball. do, you don't know what you do what you are good at. i do feel a lot of pressure. either myself, or my parents told me on the you just need to focus on basketball and do what you're good at. >> did you ever wake up and think, i have become an american? [laughter]

he left his big hat in the car. [laughter] >> i did feel times when we finish a game and we were on the road trip and we flew back to houston in the middle of the night, and there is no car on the highway. drive the car -- maybe i should not say that -- 100 miles an hour. >> you can do that in texas. [laughter] >> it's still illegal, right? you live in houston, you adopt some of their culture in this sense -- and it does not

automatically pick up. it is not something that you have to buy a book to learn it. from the lifetime spent with them. >> if you look back, you were ?rafted in 2002 12 years since you were drafted. when you look back on it now, how do you think the true countries have moved along in understanding them? i think this created an opportunity for us. people like to watch a sports game in china come in those countries, and this could provide a channel for us where sense into the life in america.

and also in other ones. every year there are dozens of sports journalists come to houston to follow the rockets them, andi talked to they are also writing something like american life and how american teenage thinking and how people treat the game, how they think about those games. all those are part of the american culture. is delivered back to china. >> when you have taken the exhibition to china, do you see anything going back with journalists traveling with the team that follow the sport, but get to know the culture question mark -- ?

in 2004,ee that, but what i was struck was was yao and the sacramento kings, the houston rockets, and the demands made on yao back in china. we were traveling -- people think that ring team was a sensation. all.opped them many of our reporters following and television crews were astounded by the popularity of of and also the familiarity the game. talk about the universal teenager. you could see it. they are wearing their pants too low. they got headphones on. their hair is tempted laundering, and they are the bus.and shaking

our traveling media was astounded by the melding of these cultures brought together by this little round ball. and this very large player. basketball played before it became a professional sport. when he watches this now and sees chinese youth drawn to the professionals, the professional glamour, does he reflect on how much it has changed? leapu think about the huge ? >> itg a national craze is very different today. my mom played basketball. >> my daughter played basketball. parents played in the same time the ping-pong relationship was established.

basketball had taken a backseat by then. basketball is trying to encourage people. then there is no money and no professional league. guys played basketball is because the pure love of the sport and also partly because the draft by the sports. the young generation has to choose what they want to do. our attitudes are totally different.

they are more aggressive to approach what they want in the sports and spread those passions. when you have a basketball game like you just mentioned that you have something at 7:00 in the would love to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning news. it encouraged me. it is a new day, full of energy, still young. that kind of activity is just so impressed on everybody who can touch it. >> or has been an enormous amount of encouragement from the government is focused on basketball as a sport of , fitness, and what we call teamwork or early.

it really has been a force for the installation of back boards by the government in tiny .illages of an million or more especially basketball has taken on a different approach. amazingly, it is a common and yao is aion focus for that. of layers and groups go over there. yao said he would like them to form the nba yao school because there are no jim name is -- no gymnasiums in school. is a one-man policymaker

for bringing these two countries together. people think of it as just about fans, but it is more. we invited the chinese nationalists here in 1985. read our back and west unsold worked with them. we always viewed basketball as something that was a little bit different than the government relation. to do some ability melding and also working on issues of common concern. many of us play, the ability for people to participate but also observed in watch, and that has been an extraordinary thing. want to ask you, with that in mind, as you run a professional basketball thing, how you think about the development of the

sport? do you feel like you are learning about basketball or marketing and player development and other skills? own a basketball team it is not just a basketball game. it is another skill. it is management. chineseere once a export, and now you are importing management skills that you learned in the united states? well, there is some skills we can use. these areo understand two different cultures. you cannot copy 100% and simply move it there. you have to make some adjustments. say then management in

china is different than down here. bottom the love from the people to basketball is still the same. the structure will be a little bit different. suggesting it does draw people, and that gives you enormous power and opportunity to make contributions and decide -- i am curious to hear how you pick the topics used choose to focus on, things like education or wildlife presentation -- preservation. give us your ideas of of what you are interested in. education -- we shared a game with steve nash, carmelo anthony were we created 18 to play against team china in 2007.

we raised the first -- the money to get the funds to support the kids' education. we established a fund at that time. today we have built a school already. we are very interested about how grow up moreids healthy. is a littlee sport bit of a lack in chinese schools. i think of all the nation and it is a lack of a sport activity for them. we try to create some out of school program with them and sports particularly team like basketball it will be beneficial for those kids. it is not trying to select the

next basketball star. we are more focused on character, personality, life skills, like chemistry, you can, leadership name a lot of those things. it is good to assemble to try to figure out how china can see its own responsibilities. a little bit of a story about this. when we had a conversation with an and geo organization -- an ngo organization, we launched a dutch -- whichs andcreating huge marketing

almost 70 million every year. not long after that the reduced by 50% of the demand from a marketing -- >> did you face any resistance. traditionaleople in cuisine culture that asked about any in foreign culture i got some letters. first letter was shocking. the first protest letter directed to me, maybe my team got a few already, it was a shock for me. be prettyyou had to

patient on their. one other thing. when china decided that they wanted to attempt to do totement days -- destigmatize hiv, who do they turn to? yao did a series of announcements with magic johnson, posters, promotions. it was spectacular and had a huge impact. and the number of hits on the diamond foundation website practically took it off the charts. much in demand spokesperson. >> david, you went through that here in the states. you were commissioner when johnson announced he had come down with a spirit and you have seen that issue, the state with

associated with it, the de-stigmatizing process layout not only in the united states and around the world. why is it that sports are the vehicle for that. you reflect on that? someare because they are place away from the self when you can have these convening conversations. if you want to engage the world on any subject, it is so easy to do it when there is a racist slur in an italian soccer game or an american announces it is -- they are hiv-positive, or a player graduating from college, a football player he not being able to read. it is amazing that in addition to the team value part you then go to the cultural part which allows people to have these conversations. magic johnson and his situation

changed the debate on aids, not only in this country, but in the world because magic was the beloved figure and he was a sports figure. sports figures have a completely different set of familiarity to their fans. >> i want to turn to the audience for questions. one final question. on thereflect back now hard times of that first year, and when you come to the united states now and see people that may be in your first year were challenging. there was a taunting relationship because i'm not so much you come up but check he'll o'neill talk to you before you played him. the barriers you came up against. does that seem like a long time ago, and do these people now seem like family, or do you still bear scars from those days? [laughter] memories.l good

[laughter] it is all good memories. year, i would say i was facing a lot of challenges, not only on the court, but also how you manage herself off the court and deal with different language and the community that is there. really -- that you block his first two shots? >> these hands are all alike. let me say something. over it.an, he slips imagine, your average 22-year-old thrown in to the situation and then you have somebody really dropped from on high in who has to get a license, understanding new

culture, change everything, and all i can say is in an attempt to help him out a bit, i remember hosting him for a lunch in my office during his first year. we had a very nice discussion. the only thank you note that i ever received from a lunch from a player, because it was delivered by yelao ming. as awant to use that reflection for the broader u.s.-china relationship, when the relationship has gone through good and bad times in the last 12 years since you first came or over the course of the last few years. do you follow it? do you pay attention to the paramedics summits when they happen, diplomatic low points and sparring? doesn't affect you personally -- does it affect you personally? fortunately, my time in the nba has always been stable.

i would like to mention another player who just came over to the states. 2001, i think. and he was given a hard question on the first conference. i remember he said, i think he, you know, i think he says -- i cannot remember exactly what he said -- he said this difference in this pending -- in understanding between each other, countries to country, but i am here to play basketball and i will show everybody how chinese people look like through sports. and i think he said something

on thoses be patient relationships. sometimes time will take care of everything. >> from our perspective, when we really feel pretty good when then vice president xi was visiting, and one of the stops he wanted to make was to meet the vice then president came over with you with a delegation, including the ambassador and the health minister and the debt to the minister of foreign affairs, and they met with with my then entity in chicago at a bulls game at a time when i was having dinner in new york with the president of a university. take seriously at elite

level the opportunities that are who want to people talk about our support, etc., and the level of knowledge of the chinese fans. when i did my first press conference, i was 6:00 in the morning here, we hosted a dinner for the media, any years ago, many, and they wanted to know about the salary cap, the lockout, all kinds of monday and and--- mundane details, that is when we knew we had something special going on. and then we had yao. nowe will take questions from the audience. please tell us who you are. microphone is coming. scott herold from the rand corporation. g want to note that yao min broke a big barrier. these gentlemen played a role in

breaking thein to color barrier, and it is quite an honor to be present and see that happening. recently, the first day nba basketball player, the first layer and a major sport come out. i want ask your thoughts. in china this is a very sensitive topic. you have attached yourself to very path-breaking issues. will seein the cba we someone who will break that barrier. in china, there is a challenge in intellectual property rights. interest inan making sure that it is addressed. i want to see if you can help us understand how the nba is treating that issue. >> go first, yao. [laughter] >> i think it is a very good question.

assuming that this works, basketball game, or any sport is a platform. a platform, you can put everything on there to measure, verticale not only by -- >> vertical and hartzell. >> and also measure by the time. -- by those media right there and can also learn by the public. let them judge and let them help us improve this entire community. have come a long way. on my earlier trips to china, i saw some walking down the street with a bulls uniform on.

when you look at the back of the shirt, it had the san jose sharks. i knew it was not legitimate. [laughter] with the help of the government, the customs euro, and with our as, there hasdid been an increased respect for copyrights, trademarks, and a demand in consumers for authenticity, which is actually our best weapon because if you do not have product in the market, you cannot effectively fight to keep out these other things. when there is a replacement much betteru're off. we spend enormous sums of money to protect our rights. >> the third row. >> thank you. from the chinese embassy. yao.stion for you mentioned you are young, but

you still have at least five decades ago or maybe six in the future. you still young. in the next decade, what is your focus? not in are so famous, china, but also in the united states, you play a particular role in public diplomacy, but also in sports. could you please tell us how you plan for maybe the next five years or longer decades? thank you. >> i can tell you, my goal for next year is to try to get my masters degree -- [laughter] the next two years. hopefully i can succeed. my main focus would still be sports, either on marketing and areabuilding relationships to area and country to country. and also philanthropy.

i will focus on my own a littlen, and we have flirtation on that and focus on anddren's education afterschool programs, those kinds of things. and also work with special and animal conversation. ir the next decade, i believe wish i could bring more chinese people and american to join our -- to makeachieve those achievements. thank you. >>, the woman in the fourth row. hi, i am from shanghai. i am working with u.s.-china is this council, and also a student from

the university of north carolina. as a huge basketball fan, impressed by ming's achievement in its contribution to the u.s.-china bilateral relationship. since your retirement, we have ese basketballna it player as influential as you. can you talk about chinese ask a in the nbas' future and you have any advice for them? there is a few -- [laughter] even in the cba.

there are a few guys that they had their chances. nba are very challenging today. they have to make their steps step i step. take your time. i think your seeing some surprises in a few years. >> and i think that jeremy lin, who was chinese background, ethnicity, it was pretty interesting that someone who was 3" made it because it is more encouraging for youths to participate. the emphasis on the national theme starts with the age-old slogan you cannot judge size. theplayers who come into nba, a person was 7'2, another

6" -- was he 7'2? there was a trend there, and we groupingee a different of great players, because they have to be there. don't you agree? so this gentleman here right there, fourth row, fifth row. >> the subject today is public diplomacy. we have another public diplomacy event in china that has been getting a lot of attention, and that is first lady michelle obama who was graciously greeted

for a week traveling and got a great deal of publicity. would you care to comment on the public diplomacy? thank you. all, i know i would like to say welcome to the first lady in china. [laughter] daughter hadd her a pleasant journey over there. on thew their news paper, the internet, almost every day. it looks like they had a good time over there. i think -- this is a -- i am not are i would call this like policy.ship or

i think this is more like a lifestyle. this is more like a lifestyle. presidents on both sides need each other and of a family issue that a first lady cannot -- there, and that, theonths after first lady visited china again, and the first lady from the china side, they had a very nice meeting together. it is like walking to a neighbor's house, saying, how are you doing today, i have a pie i would like to bring to you. it reminds me of my first house moving in houston, and my neighborhood came to my house, and said welcome to my neighborhood. here are some -- there is a tradition here. here is a pie. toemember she brought a pie

my house. it was very, very warm. two country people's close together. >> when you have taken other and be a players for exhibition games in china, have some of those players come back? same kind of thing, like when you have gone with the rockets the china, the other rocket players, do they go back to china to visit from time to time? do they see that as a vacation place? >> tracy mcgrady is in china right now, doing something over there. there are other players who are playing in china, in the cba. retireda players and players visited china this summer. >> terrific. woman in the white sweater here

in the back, middle. aei.am from when i first went to china i was so surprised to learn that students there did not really have access to physical education, sports. when i was growing up i played all kinds of sports in school. it was an everyday thing, and later often children are separated in china in different schools, and that is their main focus. you mentioned what you have been doing about after school programs. i am wondering if more can be done in terms of changing the way the school works to include that, because i feel sports are such a thing in terms of character building, i can mention. not would be so an official as an extra thing. if you could speak to that. >> thanks for the question. first of all, i do not know if you speak chinese -- yes.

sports in china translates as two characters. in english, it is physical education. a strategy, but the goal is to educate, to educate. agree, that is why india, those are my goals to change the situation in china, particularly in the school. you said that part of the students, including the being separated to focus on development of sports skill. in one day maybe one of us like me, i can play in the national team,..., but also important for understandto help us the sports, why we plays these games. and the fourth thing is to teach us how to obey the rules and to

andete, to walk together, a leader will be created among the people. on the other side, for this poll -- for the school parts, as i just mentioned, all those kids all the way to the college, they are heavy loaded -- and also by scientists studies. they do not have that time so they do not have extra energy to spend on courts to play. to change the situation where we have to increase the public how wes to understand are hurting us in the next 20 years. already feel --

the flaws of that right now. month when -- wait -- [laughter] you know what i am saying. not only one person, not just a few persons mentioned that we have to reestablish a sports system in the school and also reconsider about how we strain those -- we train those conditions in life, this is very positive. president xi is a big fan of football, and that will be helpful, to [laughter] >> you just extracted or elicited from yao the brief for

is the nba yao school starting small. i am thinking of a nation of tiger moms, we are starting to get some respect for sports and the process, and yao is a wonderful spokesperson for that. back, the the gentleman with a piece of paper in his hand. >> i'm have from johns hopkins. my question is for both yao and mr. stern. and also ae basketball fan. your opinionsow about the situation that there is no chinese athlete in the nba right now. >> my opinion about? >> yes. >> well -- [laughter] >> and your comments on that. >> what are your comments about it? [laughter] >> you are the man.

i think there is always a wave of a player that comes to china. i think the first wave starts from the draft in 1999, and then another after that, and then a third player to come to the states. say, now, yes, like you there is a gap, there is a gap between the first wave and the second. to answer the question, i have seen young talents in china. just be patient and i think the nba has -- already. >> to answer the question, i do not believe that yao ming is the last great chinese player. he is the first great chinese

player. and the rest are coming. >> we have time for maybe one more question. the gentleman in the back, with a hoodie kind of thing here. yeah, you. >> hi. i have a question for mr. stern, how you compare yao's impacts in , and how you deal with andcountries, like the u.s. russia are currently in an international crisis. i would say the whole issue of international ownership of teams is not a big deal. dozenare something like a in thelish owners premier league, which is perhaps the most successful sport and the world, to get with the nfl.

and the owners of the seattle baseball team have been -- it has been in japanese hands for a long time. anotherrship was just iteration of that. stay tuned for the rest. there are going to be always changes in relationships between government and the like, but it may be that sports provides the basis for leveling things out a bit and being able to engage in certain conversations. v'shink to this point, fohoro ownership of the brooklyn nets has been a positive thing and something we solicited and tried to nurture. we hope it will remain that way. >> i really want to thank our two guests. as you could tell from their answers, their experiences, these really are giants in the world, not just of support, but

also in broad cross-cultural understanding. i think we owe them not just a big round of applause, but our thanks and hope that you will come back to brookings, oath. -- both. [applause] we take a break and then come for young, rising scholars. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> the u.s. and china officially established diplomatic ties in 1979. this discussion will continue in just a couple minutes. the next panel features young scholars talking about the u.s.-china relationship. then a look back at 35 years of ties between the countries. while we wait, we will show you some of the conversation you may have just seen with david stern and yell ming -- yao ming.

>> you started playing professional basketball there, and made the transition to playing professional basketball here. what was that transition like? >> the transition was great. the professional basketball playing in china started in 1897. i played five years for the sharks. 2002 by thed in houston rockets. that is a totally different country, different people. veryl are linked by this simple interest, which is basketball game. very interested. we love this game so much. --viously, so many people

participate- ialways have a problem with that- . i have been in texas too long. [laughter] this game links so much people. we know each other or we do not, either play the game or watch the game through television or now with the new media, internet, everything. this game just brings everybody to get her. the game.to ask about how different was the game when you made the transition? was it played if early in china? you could go to simple stereotypes about team purses individual sport, but i have been struck by the complexity of nba they making. did you experience a transition in thinking differently on the court? is much of course, nba

more difficult than cba. there is a war class right here. i do not want to say that, but it is true. beyond that, i have to adjust to the new culture of the entire nba league. play with,eal with, and live with my new teammates. au're either the guy from college or maybe some guy from high school. like i mentioned, i paid professionally at 17, so you can treat me as a high school player at the beginning. >> david, if you watched yao make that transition, how did? he do thehelped spring head bringing of international

players. what was different in this situation? >> this year, we had 80 international players on our rosters, there is nothing like yao ming. i can still remember, i do not know if it is in the photo real slipping around here, being in studio inthe cnn beijing when i announced he was the first pick in the 2000 draft, and then became the journey, the pressure on him. some sense that he was the ambassador for the entire country. all of a sudden, americans were going to learn more about china than they knew in other ways he tookyao ming, and that responsibility. in an interesting way, through television, our chinese fans are going to learn more about america through yao ming. and this is for a young, 22-year-old who was being

i think he did- wonderfully because he became an all-star player at the same time the coming and ambassador. it affects the two countries, and that to me is extraordinary, beginning contribution. >> did you feel the pressure that you had all china on your shoulders? i felt the pressure, not from the people, but from those cameras. [laughter] moment where you felt you had made it and the pressure diminished and different pressures took on? >> i think when you focus on something, like when there is a basketball game, he you reduce those pressures automatically, because everything still comes

from taxable -- from basketball. you you do not know what are doing, do the best you can. do what you are good at. that is what they say, right? pressure, but my parents told me you just need to focus on basketball and do what you are good at and let time take care of the rest of it. >> did you think you will go up and said, i have become an american? >> he left his big hat in the car. >> sometimes when we finished a game, and we flew back to houston in the middle of the highway, nor on the light on the windows, and pop music.

and maybe drive the car not at 100 miles an hour. lifestyle, i lived in houston, and living among those players. there, pick upof some of their culture and some of their cents. it automatically picks up. it is not something that you have to go to school and buy a bit to learn it. the lifetimefrom spent with them. think back now, 15 years since you were drafted, almost. 2002? 12 years since you were drafted.

when you think back on it now, how do you think the two countries have moved a long in understanding one of the other. either as result of the experience or more broadly than that. this created an opportunity for us. people like to watch a sports game in china, in both countries. this provides a channel for us where we extend our sense into the life in america. and also in other ones. every year there are dozens of sports journalists come to houston to follow the rockets

game, and i talked to them, and they are also writing something like american life and how american teenage thinking and how people treat the game, how they think about those games. all those are part of the american culture. those package are delivered back to china through their pen. >> when you have taken the exhibition to china, do you see anything going back with journalists traveling with the team that follow the sport, but get to know the culture? >> i do see that, but in 2004, what i was struck by, it was yao and the sacramento kings, the houston rockets, and the demands made on yao back in china. we were traveling with -- people

think the dream team was a sensation. yao topped them all. many of our reporters following us and television crews were astounded by the popularity of yao and also the familiarity of the fans they saw with the game. talk about the universal teenager. you could see it. they are wearing their pants too low. they got headphones on. their hair is tinted blond, and they are shouting and shaking the bus. our traveling media was astounded by the melding of these cultures brought together by this little round ball and this very large player. >> yao, your dad played basketball before it became a professional sport. when he watches this now and sees chinese youth drawn to the professionals, the professional glamour, does he reflect on how

much it has changed? do you think about the huge leap to it being a national craze? >> time it is a bit different today. my mom played basketball. >> my daughter plays basketball. [laughter] >> both of my parents played in the 1970's, interesting as the same time the ping-pong relationship was established. basketball had taken a back seat by then. basketball is trying to encourage people. same thing today. back then there is no money and no professional league.

guys play basketball is because the pure love of the sport and also partly because the select draft by the sports. today, after 30-some years, the young generation has the opportunity to choose what they want to do. their attitudes are totally different. they are more aggressive to approach what they want in the sports and spread those sports and spread those passions to rest of -- when you have a basketball game like you just mentioned that you have something at 7:00 in the morning, i would love to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning news.

i saw some of the game on the street. it encouraged me. it is a new day, full of energy, still young. if i'm not. that kind of activity is just so impressed on everybody who can touch it. >> there has been an enormous amount of encouragement by the government which has focused on basketball as a sport of exercise, fitness, and what we call teamwork or harmony in china. it really has been a force for the installation of backboards by the government in tiny villages of an million or more. especially with concerns about obesity and diabetes, basketball has taken on a different approach.

what we are seeing is a common interest/passion and yao is a focus for that. when yao says he wants an exhibition game to raise funds for victims, steve nash and groups of players go over there. yao said he would like them to form the nba yao school because there are no gymnasiums in school, so yao is a one-man policymaker for bringing these two countries together. people think of it as just about fandom, but it is more. we invited the chinese national team here in 1985.

coaches worked with them. we always viewed basketball as something that was a little bit different than the government relation. and has the ability to do some melding and also working on issues of common concern. >> it has that ability, but because many of us played, the ability for people to participate but also observe and watch, and that has been an extraordinary thing. i want to ask you, with that in mind, as you run a professional basketball team, how you think about the development of the sport? do you feel like you are learning about basketball or marketing and player development and other skills? >> when you own a basketball team it is not just a basketball game. it is another skill. it is management.

>> you were once a chinese export, and now you are importing management skills that you learned in the united states? >> well, there is some skills we >> well, there is some skills we can use in china. you have to understand these are two different cultures. you cannot copy 100% and simply move to there. you have to make some adjustments. i have to say that management in china is a lot more different than down here. but at the very bottom the love from the people to basketball is still the same. the structure will be a little bit different. >> thank you very much.

>> thank you very much. find your seats quickly. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> sorry. [laughter] >> hello, everyone. thisl honored to host u.s.-chinathe relationship to commemorate the 35th anniversary. i am the host of the dialogue on cctv news. the history of our relationship goes back to the mid-19th .entury the u.s. demanded an open door policy and equal access to the chinese market. the first generation of chinese students returned thanks to the

humiliating indemnity. the process of the china modernization started from our devastating defeat at almost the same time, and even going back to the tong honesty, when policies were very liberal for public opinions. today, china has become the fastest-growing overseas market of the u.s., we are the top creditor. when we look at the commonwealth, we got to examine the growing independence -- interdependence on the growing world, and we look to see if a rising power could challenge and antagonize u.s. world leadership. do we have a collective future based on the norms of a new model of major power relations questions to address these and other issues, i am pleased to be discussionhe panel

from the center of american progress. mr. peter, from the university of oklahoma. to ever coming. >> thank you. >> i know your mandarin is better than my english. [laughter] and from the national development reform mission. abouty first question is why millions from the west repeat the same question, a regime could run a successful economy -- according to the classical theory in political science of the west, only a combination of a liberal democracy with a liberal market successcould enable the

of a major economy like china. how could the communist regime get this done? my first question goes to the lady at the other end of the spectrum. remarkve prepared a u.s.-china but now, it it comes with me. it is a challenge for me to answer the question in just a few minutes, and a big album for me, but i will try my best. >> if you cannot try english efficiently, i can be your translator. speak your mother tongue. nofor a long time, i had

speaking english, but i want to impress.lish to isut china, i think he [indiscernible] opinion, there are opinions about how to define china's economy mode. i want to say globalization is the most important. i can, for example, china has

become the largest provider of the u.s. import, and the second largest export market from the u.s. air meanwhile -- u.s.. meanwhile, it is the second-largest resource. china [indiscernible] i want to define it as a mode.ption it is the most important part of the u.s. economy. what i want to say -- another after 30 years, over the

past 30 years, the united states the largest in debtor nation, and at the same time china being the largest u.s. creditor. and the u.s. have a pattern for each other. >> you're not answering my question about why a communist regime. arouse such a successful economy -- could all rivals such a successful economy. on manufacturing, very cheap extraction of raw materials, but i would like to have a perspective from the americans as to whether you are surprised, if not shocked as to one-party system

could fully to realize entrepreneurship and fully outbid some major economies in the world? it is a big story, but it seems china is not able to tell the story. am i correct, or do you think we are subject to self inflation? think we should separate communist regime from single-party regime. we heard that mao had previously considered calling the chinese communist party something then -- other than communist party because it is a loaded term, what the communist party was trying to do was what was best for china economically at the time as they saw it, and that has changed over the years. wanting the communist party has proven they could do very well is change and innovate to fit current times.

when they needed agrarian reform, that is one -- what they focused on. when china most needed was opening up the market, that is what they did. we are now in the point in time with the big question is whether the chinese communist party can do what they need to do next, what they have promised to do and taken on as their big job for the term, actually shift toward a more law-based, decentralized regulatory economy that can not only provide exports for the rest of the world, but also increase domestic consumption, bring the chinese citizens out the last wrong on living standards, and support a real innovation economy. i think they have been able to make it to this point as far because they have not been stuck on the old communist model. they have been willing to innovate up to the very edge of what they think they can do while maintaining the single party system. that is why you see so many

young people fascinated with china today because it is a day by day change and a day by day struggle, and all of us are literally on the edge of our seats waiting to see if they will succeed again for the next round. >> people are looking at the mode of chinese development, whether why we have been able to survive the first few years of a shock as opposed to adopting the , ork therapy of the former late russian president morsi elson. i would like to give the floor to my chinese colleague here. >> i would like to provide maybe a different perspective from my expertise in foreign affairs dimensions for why i am optimistic about the future development of china's economy and why it has achieved such an economic boom in the past few decades.

know a government must provide good governance, and one of the features is efficiency. i think the chinese government can provide very efficient and very good implementation of the decision that has been made by the central government, and i be good to open up to the world. there was a lot of opposition in china. then we opened up, and then we see what we have achieved. also, in the past few decades, china has been out by foreign trade negotiations, including fta. we know how difficult it is for the united states to negotiate, bargain and reach a different fta, including issues between china and the u.s. and

nafta. guarantee once the bargaining finishes, he will be passed and can be taken into affect. look at the united states. resident must get the trade authorization from the must get -- president the trade authorization from the congress. so, we can see from this perspective china government can dynamicsovide strong for the past decades that have proven very successful exportation-oriented development. to thank andlot the american friends, not only

for establishing a dramatic relationship in 1979, during the ister administration, and earth day happens to be october 1, our national day -- birthday happens to be october 1, our national day. we also think president clinton. that is very helpful other than the landmark entry in 2001 that helps china enjoy the frog leap when we entered into the wto, when 9/11 took place. terrorism,hing back and you enjoy economic development. many go back to the sensitive issue of ideology. i would like to go back to the first question. said ift bush senior

you can change the name of your ruling party, the image of china would be a lot better. i wonder if that is still the way americans still perceive the image of china. >> yes, i think that is absolutely right. americans, one of the first things that comes to mind when asked about china is communism, and as a country that , a successor to the enlightenment tradition in liberalism,l defense of liberty and freedom, being central to our understanding of who we are, communism is scary, and that is precisely why people like yao ming are so important because they create an image for china that is not about the chinese government, which is fearful for any freedom-loving american because of the communism, but y

ao allows us to think about the chinese people, and the american people actually have a positive image of the chinese people, and one of the reasons for that is ming. like yao r&b, thee also like yuaese u.n., it -- chinese n, a gets the ball rolling. invite myld like to chinese friend -- how you look at the international -- pulation of the 3m the current seat. you think this is one of the major hurdles that prevents the u.s. from adopting a free trade

haveoliticians tend to protectionism in times of economic crisis. is that true. mandarin] mandarin]ng

>> let me do a brief translation. -- she the listeners says that there is a limited margin for international legalization of renminbi according to research in this area. go ahead. >> [speaking mandarin]

[speaking mandarin] >> wait a minute. my memory is poor. [laughter] sorry. peter, if you could help. >> [speaking mandarin] [laughter] >> maybe i could. she says china needs to regionalize first, the renminbi, and must turn china from the biggest export state into one of the biggest import states. >> renminbi [laughter]

-->> [speaking mandarin] >> we should lay more emphasis on domestic consumption as opposed to turning to the pollution of the environment. i think enough has been said about the internet is -- internationalization of renminbi . [speaking mandarin] there will be a single voice about the renminbi issue. the deficit.n actually deficit is underminedhat has of thelthy development most important bilateral relationship. what are the fundamental reasons, do you think, behind

the strategy mistrust between our two countries, peter? perspectiveamerican it is largely what we discussed earlier, which is the fear of communism and the fear of the think, liberty that, i drives american perception of communist countries. i think anese side, major cause of distrust is a different ideology, and that is the nationalist ideology that is anti-imperialist, bound up in a narrative of the so-called century of humiliation, which depicts china has constantly humiliated by western and japanese powers. so, i think that leaves many chinese to view the united states, japan, other western countries through a prism that is a very defensive and sensitive one, and that can contribute to mistrust, just

like american liberalism can lead to distrust of communist or read -- red china. >> i said two thirds of americans live in the shadow of last century, and only another one-third could cast a new look .t why china rises so quickly i would like to have your comments on whether the label of ideologicalnot lines should be employed in examining the new realities of china. i saw my friend waved his hand when peter delivered his perspective on why -- >> he was my teacher. >> then you are his poor student, i'm afraid. yes. managed to situation between the u.s. and china because we have never had two countries so dependent on one veryer yet have so

different political systems. american policy has been basically come in many ways, trying to wait china out. the assumptions are that china will democratize eventually so we should have a short-term situation for the current regime, and looked toward the future when they will be just like us, and now we have hit the point where we realize they are very close to us in economic might, the coming very powerful, yet not just like us, so we will have to have a new way of dealing with that. from the chinese perspective, beijing is rather smart and clever, and they have noticed the u.s. has these assumptions that eventually they will go away and we will be dealing with someone new and that dynamic does not breed long-term trust or set a good stage for long-term cooperation. i think we are reaching a brand-new stage in u.s.-china relations, particularly with the current generation of leaders, they have a new report with their american counterparts.

although i am young and have not seen much, it is not something i've seen before. i think it is different than what we have had in the past. i was lucky to be in a meeting with my boss and one young, where he was teasing us about american politics. it felt like we were dealing with someone back in washington. it did not feel like he was so different than someone across the political aisle here in town . we are finally reaching the point where we have a great rapport between, for example, , who areand jong moving past the old structure where it seemed like we were across a big ocean. now, there is the feeling that they are people we could do business with and we do not have to wait for china to change, maybe not change. there are a lot of things to do under the current system, inc.

are working well, so i am theonally optimistic about fact that ideology is not that big of a deal anymore for our grassroots-level cooperation. of course, there are issues and principles we must deal with, but we can do business in a way that we might have been able to do before. ofthere is a diversity opinions with two american with twoext to me views of how china should be examined. a simpleike to ask question. was invited to have a meeting without ties. unlike the gun salute, ceremonial reception on the south lawn of the white house, what the americans have done before, how do you read into the

sobol of it being informal that, like the first lady's people-to-people diplomacy this time around in beijing, americans try very hard, and hardnely, sincerely, very to let people from both sides have a new feeling toward this new model of the major power relationship. , it reflects the different styles of the leaders of china. xi is different. it also reflects the confidence of china in dealing with the united states had -- united states. third it is also written --, it is reflective of the two sides. maybe the most important thing essential things as opposed to paying attention

to the symbolic and ceremonial issues. why the two size decided to to chat,h a long time discuss and establish mutual trust between themselves -- one the mutualons is mistrust between the two countries -- i disagree with peter. i do not think it is the so-called [indiscernible] rooted in the ideology conflict. i think it is rooted in the strategic interest conflict. example, if china is , yountry who will support , support the independence of alaska or hawaii, and sell

pro--independence countryif china is a that establishes missile or missile-defense systems in cuba and aligns with canada and mexico, will the united states have mutual trust with china? it is impossible. >> can i respond? >> go ahead, peter. >> you made my case for me. take the example of hawaii. i am oklahoma. say china decided to take texas from the united states. do not have commercial interests in texas, yet all oklahomans and all americans would reject that, the angry, and fight over it, and not because of material interests,

but because of symbolic politics, self-esteem. i do not think we are disagreeing with one another in the sense that at one level you asked about trust and distrust. those are the things that are below the surface. day working day-to- relationships are very smooth and improving. i agree with your analysis. issues thatou have pushes beneath the surfaces is when you see there is a lack of mutual trust that undermines the stability of the relationship in times of crisis. if you care about u.s.-china relations, we need to be repaired for the next bombing, plane collision -- if you allow this trust to build up below the surface, we could have serious problems the next time that kind of thing happens. >> thank you very much. i would like to open the floor to the audience. you are encouraged to ask

questions. that gentleman -- that lady who raised her >> the lady who raised her hand. >> thank you, and thank you to -- panelists for typing talking about the shift in the context of the international, the global context. from the voice of vietnamese-americans. in that picture of the regional and global community. japan andetnam and south korea and north korea and the whole asia-pacific, everyone. i am very interested in seeing the u.s. and china relationship prosper and develop into advocacy.