May 2026 China Seminar

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China Seminar – Septmber 10, 2026 | 12pm – 1pm (HST)
Click Here to Register

Narratives, China, and the Arctic

featuring
Dr. Charles E. Morrison
Senior Fellow and former President of the East-West Center

Speaker’s summary:
Narratives play a powerful role in shaping public and policymaker understanding of issues and intentions. This talk will explore how narratives about China and the Arctic interact to provide a story of China aggressively pursuing resource, transportation, and geopolitical interests in the region.  China’s own rhetoric of a “Polar Silk Road” and China as “a near Arctic state” have buttressed this story. But WHAT do the facts on the ground tell us so far about China’s presence and interest in the region? How does it compare with its interests in other world regions? What assets does it have, and what obstacles does it face? How do its relations with Russia and the United States affect China’s Arctic posture?  

Speaker’s Bio:
Dr. Charles E. Morrison has held several positions at the Center, including president from August 1, 1998 through December 30, 2016.  In these capacities he has had extensive involvement in the conceptualization, organization and funding of multilateral, policy-oriented education, research and dialogue projects. He is a strong advocate of the concept of Asia Pacific community.

He serves on the Standing Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and was the organization’s international chair and co-chair from 2005 to 2012. He is a past chair of the US National Consortium of APEC Study Centers and a research adviser to two high-level bi-national Japan-US commissions.  He was associated in the 1980s and 1990s with the Japan Center for International Exchange.  In his early career he served as a legislative assistant to the late Senator William V. Roth, Jr., working primarily on defense, foreign policy, trade, and government ethics issues.

He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he also once taught Southeast Asian international relations.

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions.

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok in 1977. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects.

Household and Kitchen Drive – Saturday, July 25, 9-12pm

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The East-West Center Participants Association (EWCPA)  has asked the Friends of the East-West Center to help organize a  Household & Kitchen Drive, and we are happy to support this effort as 75+ new participants are set to arrive in August.  

To help keep the cost of essential kitchen and household items affordable, the EWCPA will be holding a yard sale for their fellow participants. This event will be exclusively for all new arriving participants, providing them with an opportunity to acquire needed items for their dorm residency at a nominal cost. Funds raised from their sale will directly support various student/participant-led activities organized by the EWCPA such as the Concert on the Lawn and their International Potluck. 

If you have any gently used or unused kitchen and household items to donate, please bring them to  the East-West Center, Burns Hall Roundabout (1601 East-West Road) from 9:00am – 12:00pm  for convenient curbside drop-off.

Mahalo for your support!

April 2026 China Seminar

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China Seminar – April 9, 2026
Click Here to View Recording

Ports of Power
From Transformers to Data Trafficking
to Digital Supply Chains

featuring
Aynne Kokas
Director, University of Virginia East Asia Center
C.K. Yen Professor, Miller Center for Public Affairs
Professor, Media Studies, University of Virginia

Speaker’s summary:
Globally, China has developed key oversight over ports and supply chains. Logink, the Chinese-owned dominant global supply chain logistics provider, has become the dominant global logistics platform. COSCO, China’s state-owned shipping and port management firm, has become a leader in ownership of key ports globally. The United States Congress has found China’s ZPMC cranes to share undisclosed media and communications. The development of AI systems in port and supply chain management shapes the potential for Chinese government oversight over global shipping, which accounts for over 90% of international trade. For my new project, Ports of Power, I argue that China’s oversight of AI-driven shipping and supply chain infrastructure is crucial to understand in an era of “contested logistics” where dual-use commercial technologies shape global trade and access to key commodities for media, communication, and beyond.

Aynne Kokas is the C.K. Yen Professor at the Miller Center, Director of the East Asia Center and professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Kokas’ research examines Sino-U.S. media and technology relations. 

Her award-winning second book Trafficking Data: How China is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty (Oxford University Press, October 2022) argues that exploitative Silicon Valley data governance practices help China build infrastructures for global control. Her award-winning first book Hollywood Made in China (University of California Press, 2017) argues that Chinese investment and regulations have transformed the U.S. commercial media industry, most prominently in the case of media conglomerates’ leverage of global commercial brands. 

Kokas is a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program. She has received fellowships from the Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mellon Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Japan’s Abe Fellowship, and other international organizations. Her writing and commentary have appeared globally in more than 50 countries and 15 languages. In the United States, her research and writing appear regularly in media outlets including CNBC, NPR’s Marketplace, The Washington Post, and Wired. She has testified before the Senate Finance Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions.

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok in 1977. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects.