Veteran diplomat Bill Klein recalls the turbulent Trump years at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing
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This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with William (Bill) Klein, who served as acting deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2016 to mid-2021. In a wide-ranging conversation, he offers insights about his postings at AIT in Taiwan in the aftermath of the Sunflower Movement, the APEC meeting in Hangzhou, and the vicissitudes of Sino-American diplomacy during the turbulent Trump years — Taiwan issues, the trade war, Huawei and diplomatic hostage-taking, the COVID-19 outbreak, and much more. Bill offers a measured and balanced view, exhibiting the same thoughtfulness and empathy that made him a great diplomat.

2:56 – The aftermath of the global financial crisis as the inflection point in U.S.-China relations

4:14 – Taiwan and the Sunflower Movement: Bill's years at AIT

8:33 – The G20 meeting in Hangzhou, 2016

12:12 – Chinese perspectives on the U.S. presidential race of 2016

16:40 – The Tsai Ing-wen phone call

19:17 – Trump pulls out of Paris

21:09 – The onset of the Trade War

24:44 – Ambassador Terry Branstad, his relationship with Xi, and what he accomplished

27:48 – The conflict over Chinese technology: Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, and the Two Michaels.

35:20 – The Trump response to early reports of the Xinjiang camps

39:35 – The view from the U.S. Embassy as the SARS CoV-2 virus began to spread

47:26 – The emerging Chinese consensus on U.S. intentions toward China — and how the Houston Consulate closure was a turning point.

A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com).

Recommendations:

Bill:** **Project Hail Mary), a science fiction novel by Andy Weir.

**Kaiser: **"The Modern Chinese Novel,)" an online course available free on YouTube by Christopher Rea.

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