Robert A. Kapp maintains his own China consultancy, Robert A. Kapp & Associates, Inc., in Port Townsend, Washington. He is Senior Advisor to The China Program of the Carter Center, and served, in reverse chronological order, as President of the the Washington D.C.-based U.S.-China Business Council from 1994-2004; President of the Washington Council on International Trade, 1987-1994, and Founding Executive Director of the Washington State China Relations Council, 1979-87. He earned his Ph.D. in modern Chinese History at Yale, and taught on the faculties of Rice University and the University of Washington through the 1970s.
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Last Updated: April 1, 2021
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12.02.22![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/54426_sm2.jpg?itok=qpuCrMXD)
Jiang Zemin, 1926-2022
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How Does China’s Imperial Past Shape Its Foreign Policy Today?
Throughout most of history China dominated Asia, up until what many Chinese refer to as the “century of humiliation”—when Japan and Western powers invaded or otherwise interfered between 1839 and 1949. Now, with China on the rise again, are Beijing’...
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What Will the TPP Mean for China?
On Monday, the U.S., Japan, and ten other countries concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—the largest regional trade accord in history. If approved, the agreement will set new terms for the nearly $28 trillion in trade and...
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How Should the U.S. Conduct the Xi Jinping State Visit?
As tensions increase between China and the United States over the value of the yuan, human rights violations, alleged cyber attacks, and disputed maritime territories, among other issues, how should the Obama administration conduct the upcoming...
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02.12.15![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/454926918.jpg?itok=RvwL134a)
Is Mao Still Dead?
It has long been standard operating procedure for China’s leaders to pay tribute to Mao. Even as the People’s Republic he wrought has embraced capitalist behavior with ever more heated ardor, the party he founded has remained firmly in power and his...
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06.23.14![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/77074056.jpg?itok=YSP1EE5U)
The Debate Over Confucius Institutes
Last week, the American Association of University Professors joined a growing chorus of voices calling on North American universities to rethink their relationship with Confucius Institutes, the state-sponsored Chinese-language programs...
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03.19.14![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/flotus.jpg?itok=DPaAAd0s)
What Should Michelle Obama Accomplish on Her Trip to China?
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A Racist Farewell to Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke
Reacting to departing U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke’s February 27 farewell news conference in Beijing, the state-run China News Service published a critique by Wang Ping that called Ambassador Locke a “banana.”Kaiser Kuo:Banana or Twinkie for “white-on...
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China’s Offshore Leaks: So What?
Two recent stories by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists detailed China’s elite funneling money out of China to tax havens in the Caribbean. We asked contributors to weigh the impact of the revelations.
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Will Xi Jinping Bring a Positive New Day to China?
Chinese President Xi Jinping, just over a year in office, recently made a rare appearance in public in a Beijing restaurant, buying a cheap lunch and paying for it himself. Shortly thereafter, President Xi delivered a brief televised New Year...
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What Should the Next U.S. Ambassador to China Tackle First?
Mary Kay Magistad: Gary Locke succeeded in a way that few U.S. ambassadors to China have—in improving public perceptions of U.S. culture. Locke’s down-to-earth approachability and lack of ostentation certainly helped. So did the...
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Uncomfortable Bedfellows: How Much Does China Need America Now?
Bill Bishop:The D.C. dysfunction puts China in a difficult place. Any financial markets turmoil that occurs because of a failure of Congress to do its job could harm China’s economy, and especially its exports. The accumulation of massive foreign-...