A Conversation with Henry Paulson, Former Treasury Secretary
VIEW EVENT DETAILSHenry (Hank) Paulson, Jr. has dealt with China unlike any other foreigner. As head of Goldman Sachs, Paulson had a pivotal role in opening up China to private enterprise. Then, as Treasury Secretary, he created the Strategic Economic Dialogue with what is now the world's second-largest economy. He negotiated with China on needed economic reforms, while safeguarding the teetering U.S. financial system. Over his career, Paulson has worked with scores of top Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, China's most powerful man in decades.
Paulson, in conversation with Ambassador Edward Djerejian, joins Asia Society to discuss his latest book, Dealing with China. He draws on his unprecedented access to modern China's political and business elite, including its three most recent heads of state, to answer several key questions:
• How did China become an economic superpower so quickly?
• How does business really get done there?
• What are the best ways for Western business and political leaders to work with, compete with, and benefit from China?
• How can the U.S. negotiate with and influence China given its authoritarian rule, its massive environmental concerns, and its huge population's unrelenting demands for economic growth and security?
Dealing with China will be available for purchase at the program.
Schedule
5:30 pm Reception
6:00 pm Program
Related Links
NPR: From Horses To High-Rises: An Insider 'Unmasks' China's Economic Rise
NBC News: Dealing With a New China
CBS News: What's "More Dire" Than the Financial Crisis?
USA Today: Hank Paulson: Economic Challenges, China — and the Birds
Wall Street Journal: Eight Rules for Dealing with a Rising China
About Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
Henry M. Paulson, Jr. is a businessman, China expert, conservationist and author. He is the founder and chairman of the Paulson Institute, and co-chairman of the Latin American Conservation Council of The Nature Conservancy and the Risky Business Project.
Paulson served as the 74th Treasury Secretary under President George W. Bush, from July 2006 to January 2009. Prior to that, he had a thirty-two year career at Goldman Sachs, serving as chairman and chief executive officer beginning in 1999. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the White House Domestic Council as well as a staff assistant at the Pentagon.
Today, he serves as chairman of the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago, which aims to advance sustainable economic growth, a cleaner environment and cross-border investments in the United States and China. A “think and do” tank founded in 2011, the Institute’s work is comprised of programs, advocacy and research with partners around the globe.
In his best-selling book, On the Brink, Paulson details his experiences as Treasury Secretary fending off the near-collapse of the U.S. economy during the Great Recession. His next book, titled Dealing with China, is set to be released in April 2015.
Paulson graduated from Dartmouth College in 1968 and received an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1970. He and his wife, Wendy, have two children and four grandchildren.
About Edward Djerejian
Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian is the founding director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. His career in the U.S. Foreign Service spanned the administrations of eight presidents from John F. Kennedy to William J. Clinton. Ambassador Djerejian is a leading expert on national security, foreign policy and the complex political, security, economic, religious and ethnic issues of the Middle East and South Asia. He has played key roles in the Arab-Israeli peace process and regional conflict resolution.
ExxonMobil is the presenting sponsor of Business & Policy at Asia Society Texas Center, with lead support from United Airlines. Generous funding also provided by the Friends of Business & Policy at Asia Society Texas Center, a premier group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.
Presenting Sponsor
Program Sponsor
Presenting Partner