Fareed Zakaria of CNN to Speak on U.S.-China Relations at UC San Diego on Aug. 7

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Fareed Zakaria, host of the renowned CNN program “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” will deliver the 2024 Susan Shirk Lecture on U.S.-China Relations at 5 p.m. on Wed., Aug. 7, on the UC San Diego campus. The event is free and open to the public and part of the UC San Diego China Forum, organized by the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy’s 21st Century China Center.

In its sixth year, the UC San Diego Forum on U.S.-China Relations is the only American leadership meeting focused exclusively on China and U.S.-China relations. This year’s theme is “Widening the Aperture: U.S.-China Relations in the Global Context.”

Taking place from Aug. 7 to Aug. 10, participants include a mix of thought leaders from academia, think tanks, government and business, as well as the military, because all of these sectors have a lot at stake with the current disputes over trade, security, technology and ideology.

The forum itself is an invitation-only event to encourage candidness of exchange between participants; however the public and media are welcome to attend the Aug. 7 talk by Zarkaria. At the event, Zakaria’s talk, titled “Winning the Cold Peace: A New Path to U.S.-China Relations,” will include a Q&A with Stephen Hadley, former national security advisor to President George W. Bush and forum co-chair.

“We are excited to welcome Fareed Zakaria, a thought leader and a prominent voice on public affairs and U.S.-China relations,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “The UC San Diego China Forum is an example of the School of Global Policy and Strategy’s leadership and expertise on Asia and the Americas, as well as the critical role it plays in shaping policy discussions between the world’s two largest economies.”

Caroline Freund, dean of the School of Global Policy and Strategy, added that this year’s forum occurring during the U.S. election is especially significant, as how the U.S. relates to China is core to campaign promises from both presidential candidates.

“China relations are critical not only for the two countries involved but also for global stability, economic prosperity and international cooperation on various global challenges,” Freund said.

In addition to hosting “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN, Zakaria is a columnist for The Washington Post and a bestselling author. As a prolific television host, he has interviewed notable figures like Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and the Dalai Lama since 2008. He has also hosted numerous primetime specials for CNN and has been nominated for several Emmys, winning one, along with his show winning the prestigious Peabody Award.

Zakaria’s daily digital newsletter, Fareed’s Global Briefing, is widely read, and his column for The Washington Post is one of the longest running for that newspaper. He has authored five New York Times bestselling books, including his latest book “Age of Revolutions” (2024) which will be on sale at the event. Named a “Top 10 Global Thinker of the Last 10 Years” by Foreign Policy magazine in 2019, Zakaria has received numerous accolades, including the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India and the Order of Merit from Ukraine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate in political science from Harvard University.

The Aug. 7 talk will take place at The Jeannie on the UC San Diego campus, located at 9615 Scholars Drive North, La Jolla, California.

The lecture has been established in honor of Susan Shirk, who is professor emeritus at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and founding chair of the 21st Century China Center.

To learn more or to register, visit the 2024 Susan Shirk Lecture on U.S.-China Relations website.