This week on the Sinica Podcast: a lecture by Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute, delivered last year to D.C.-based Faith & Law at their Friday Forum. The lecture, titled "Is Our Foreign Policy Good? American Moral Absolutism and the China Challenge," is a powerful and thought-provoking talk. Kaiser follows up with a long conversation with Robert about the themes raised in the talk, and then some. Enjoy.

03:04 – A talk by Robert Daly from June 24th, 2022, given at Faith & Law’s Friday Forum

45:49 – What is lacking in the mainstream dialogue about American policies on China-related issues?

49:37 – Over-willingness to turn towards a military approach in the U.S.-China relationship in recent years

1:00:48 – The missionary aspect of the American approach in dealing with China

1:05:02 – The differences and commonalities between Chinese and American exceptionalism

1:17:42 – Are we in a state of Cold War with China?

1:23:54 – The question of moral standing in light of whataboutism

1:27:08 – Comparing American intentions with Chinese realities and the issue of moral absolutism

1:44:50 – What a “Just Cold War” would involve?

1:51:34 – Can the U.S. imagine a world in which it is not a hegemonic power?

A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.

Recommendations:

Robert: The House of Sixty Fathers (a Newbury Award-winning book) by Meindert DeJong with illustrations by the late Maurice Sendak

Kaiser: Wolf Hall: A Novel by Hilary Mantel

Anda Union (Inner Mongolian band)

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Robert Daly of the Kissinger Institute on the morality of U.S. China policy

Sinica Podcast