1. Syllabus

The syllabus is currently being updated to reflect changes in schedule. It will be re-uploaded here shortly. For any clarifications on the schedule, please email Troy at troyshen@stanford.edu.

2. Speaker Bios

Week 1, Introduction and History of U.S.-China Relations: Thomas Fingar

Thomas Fingar is a Shorenstein APARC Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

From 2005 through 2008, he served as the first deputy director of national intelligence for analysis and, concurrently, as chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Fingar served previously as assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (2000-01 and 2004-05), principal deputy assistant secretary (2001-03), deputy assistant secretary for analysis (1994-2000), director of the Office of Analysis for East Asia and the Pacific (1989-94), and chief of the China Division (1986-89). Between 1975 and 1986 he held a number of positions at Stanford University, including senior research associate in the Center for International Security and Arms Control.

Week 2, Political Systems: Francis Fukuyama

Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the Director of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy, and the Mosbacher Director of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).  He is also a professor by courtesy in the Department of Political Science. He was previously at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University, where he was the Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy and director of SAIS' International Development program.

Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on issues relating to questions concerning democratization and international political economy. His book, The End of History and the Last Man, was published by Free Press in 1992 and has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. His most recent book is Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy.

Week 3, Trade and Investment: John Taylor

John B. Taylor is the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution. He is Director of the Stanford Introductory Economics Center. He formerly served as director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where he is now a senior fellow.


For four years from 2001 to 2005, Taylor served as Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs where he was responsible for currency markets, trade in financial services, foreign investment, international debt and development, and oversight of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He was also responsible for coordinating financial policy with the G-7 countries, was chair of the OECD working party on international macroeconomics, and was a Member of the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Week 4, Engagement and Diplomacy: David M. Lampton

David M. Lampton is the Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at FSI and affiliated with Shorenstein APARC. Lampton, an expert in Chinese politics and U.S.-China relations, is the Hyman Professor of China Studies and Director of the China Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Emeritus.

Lampton's current book project is focused on the development of high-speed railways from southern China to Singapore. Over the course of his career, Lampton accompanied American public and private sector leaders to China, and Chinese leaders to the United States. Formerly President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, Lampton consults with government, business, and social sector organizations, and has served on the boards of several non-governmental and educational organizations, including the Asia Foundation for which he served as chairman.

Week 5, Law: Mei Gechlik

Dr. Mei Gechlik is the Founder and Director of the China Guiding Cases Project (the “CGCP”). Formerly a tenured professor in Hong Kong, she began teaching Chinese law and business at Stanford Law School in 2007 and founded the CGCP in 2011. With support from an international team of nearly 200 members and an advisory board of approximately 50 distinguished experts, including justices from the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme People’s Court of China, the CGCP has quickly become the premier source of high-quality translations and analyses of Guiding Cases—China’s de facto binding precedents—and related legal developments (http://cgc.law.stanford.edu).

Prior to joining Stanford Law School, Dr. Gechlik worked from 2001 to 2005 for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, testifying before the U.S. Congress on various topics about China and advising the United Nations and the Chinese government on implementing rule of law programs. Dr. Gechlik is admitted as a barrister in England, Wales, and Hong Kong and is a member of the Bar in New York and the District of Columbia. She received an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) from Stanford Law School.

Week 6, Environment: David Vance Wagner

David Vance Wagner directs development for Energy Foundation China, and serves on Energy Foundation China’s management team for overall strategy and international engagement.

Vance has worked on U.S.-China energy and environmental cooperation for over a decade. Before joining the Energy Foundation staff, he served as the China Counsellor in the Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State, where he led U.S.-China dialogue and collaboration on climate change and clean energy. Prior to joining the State Department, Vance co-led the China program at the International Council on Clean Transportation and served as the first and only foreigner at China’s national vehicle emission policy research center under the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Week 7, Business and Entrepreneurship: Charles Eesley

Charles Eesley is an Associate Professor and W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. As part of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, his research focuses on the role of the institutional and university environment in high-growth, technology entrepreneurship. His National Science Foundation of China and Kauffman award supported research focuses on rethinking how the educational and policy environment shapes the economic and entrepreneurial impact of university alumni. Over the past three years, Prof. Eesley has been playing a growing role in national and international meetings on fostering high-tech entrepreneurship, including advising the U.S. State Department in the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) program, Chile (CORFO), Taiwan (ITRI), and the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology.

Prof. Eesley previously was an entrepreneur (Lobby 10, Sun Dance Genetics, Learning Friends), early employee (NovoEd.com), board member/advisor (Blackbird - acquired by Etsy, LessonFace.com), and investor (Flagship Ventures, Lux Capital). He currently serves as an independent board director on public as well as private companies in online education and AI/Deep Learning. He has given invited talks in forums with the Prime Minister of Slovenia and keynote addresses in Taiwan, China, and Brazil.

Week 9, Wednesday, November 20th, Technology: Rebecca Fannin

Rebecca A. Fannin is a leading expert on global innovation. She was one of the first American journalists to write about China’s entrepreneurial boom, reporting from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In her new book, "Tech Titans of China", she writes about China's new entrepreneurial boom, detailing the some of the key players and companies in sectors ranging from social media platforms and AI to the sharing economy and e-commerce.

3. Student Discussion Schedule

For students enrolled in the class:

Each week, 2-3 designated students will begin the discussion component by briefly summarizing the required readings for the week, before raising two to three discussion questions (depending on number of designated students that week) that emerged from the assigned readings.

Students will be assigned to a discussion week of their choice during the first class.

4. Required Readings

Required readings for each week can be found here.