Committee of 100 Newsletter

2011 Committee of 100 Conference Press Clips

“China in Transition”
By Sheridan Prasso
strategy+business | September 19, 2011

China’s burgeoning middle class has been a powerful source of political, social, and economic stability . . . But pressures on the Chinese middle class are increasing as well: Inflation is rising, a property bubble keeps young families from buying real estate, and a large number of college graduates are unable to find jobs.

All this is putting enormous pressure on China’s leadership, says Cheng Li, a political scientist from Shanghai who is director of research at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center. . . . Li was in New York in May to speak at a conference organized by the Committee of 100, a nonprofit focusing on U.S.-China relations. . . .

S+B: Can the world’s resources handle 1.3 billion increasingly active Chinese consumers?

LI: The rise of the Chinese middle class is a mixed blessing. As China transitions from an export-led economy to a consumption-led economy, the global environmental and ecological implications will be overwhelming. But I think the Chinese government should avoid [encouraging] today’s progress at tomorrow’s expense. For example, if China continues to adopt a model in which every family owns a car, it would be a huge [environmental and infrastructure] disaster for the country, with repercussions for already strained resources that could be felt around the world. . . .

From the Committee of 100 Chairman

Dominic Ng
Chairman, Committee of 100

September 2011

2012 will be a year of opportunity for the Committee of 100 to bring our unique perspective as Chinese Americans to the debates about U.S. policy on China that will abound this election year. As we gear up our Washington D.C. Initiative to engage with the Administration and Congress on China policy and Asian American issues, we are also planning an opinion survey that will reveal how Chinese see America and how Americans view China.

This mirror survey will be released at next April’s Annual Conference in Los Angeles and updates our 2007 poll, Hope and Fear: American and Chinese Attitudes Toward Each Other. You’ll learn more about the survey in upcoming issues of Committee Bridges.

From the Executive Director

Angie Tang
Executive Director, Committee of 100

September 2011

September marks my two-year anniversary as Executive Director of the Committee of 100. I am pleased to report that I continue to find my work stimulating and gratifying, both in its intellectual content and enormous impact. For every day of the last two years, I have been driven by the Committee's critical mission to strengthen the U.S.-China relationship and to advance the prospects for Chinese Americans.

Recently, for example, I had the opportunity to collaborate closely with a number of our members in preparing a rapid response to a slanted op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal about America's past exclusion of Chinese American immigrants. (See "Committee of 100 Responds to Distorted Op-Ed in the WSJ") The spontaneous outburst of talent, insight, vision and commitment of our members reaffirmed my principal attraction to the Committee of 100 in 2009—our incredibly gifted members are deeply passionate and committed to our C-100 mission.

A Trusted Source for Journalists Covering China—the Committee of 100

Clarence Kwan

The Committee of 100 has long been a trusted starting point for reporters hunting down good contacts for stories about China and Chinese Americans. C-100 members come from a diverse array of fields, but most have deep involvement with Greater China as well as the Chinese American community. The Committee’s Public Affairs Director, An Ping, takes most of the calls from the press and has a keen sense of which Committee members have the expertise and knowledge that a particular reporter is seeking.

C-100 Chairman Dominic Ng Bridging Progress Between America and China

New Committee of 100 Chairman Dominic Ng personifies the Committee of 100’s dual mission. In both his business and community activities, Ng has focused on building bridges between the U.S. and Greater China and raising the profile and contributions of Chinese Americans in American society. Ng brings to the table his more than 20 years as Chairman and CEO of East West Bank, the largest U.S. bank focused on the Asian American community and one of the healthiest and fastest growing banks in the nation. Ng also is known for his nationally emulated initiatives as the first Asian American to chair the United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ annual campaign.