The Evening CSIS April 15 2015
April 15, 2015
Good Evening,
Welcome to The Evening CSIS—my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day plus HIGHLY RECOMMENDED content from around the world. To subscribe, please click here and if you want to view this in your browser, click here.
Slow Growth
The growth of China’s economy has slowed to 7 percent, its weakest rate since 2009. The Chinese economy has been dragged down by an industrial slowdown and a weak housing market, Beijing announced Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal Asia edition’s Mark Magnier has this report.
The Financial Times’ Lionel Barber, David Pilling, and Jamil Anderlini today published an important interview, “Li Keqiang on China’s challenges.” Li, China’s premier, is directly responsible for managing China’s economy.
The Economist today published “ Coming down to earth” on China’s economy.
And see former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson’snew book, Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower. (See more on Paulson later in our Highly Recommended section with a superb interview by Fox News Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen).
Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Matthew Goodman and David Parker authored an important report published in late March: Navigating Choppy Waters: China’s Economic Decisionmaking at a Time of Transition.
An early April CSIS Critical Questions by Scott Kennedy and David Parker, “Building China’s ‘One Belt, One Road,’ is also essential reading for anyone interested in the Chinese economy.
Iraqi PM Critical of Saudi Bombing of Yemen
The New York Times’ Michael Gordon reported late Wednesday the “Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq on Wednesday sharply criticized Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen, saying there was ‘no logic’ to its bombing campaign.”
Dive Deeper: Iraqi prime minister al-Abadi will deliver a speech tomorrow, Thursday, April 16 at CSIS at 10:00 a.m. EDT. This event is by invitation only and is at capacity. You can watch a live webcast of the event on this page at 10:00AM. You can start tweeting your questions now using #AbadiUSVisit.
In that Number
8,500
The number of migrants and refugees the Italian Coastguard saved trying to cross the high seas by irregular routes to Europe from North Africa.
Source : UNHRC.
Critical Question
A daily shortened sampling of our signature "Asked & Answered" series.
Asked: What are the major impacts of the US decision to remove Cuba from the state-sponsors of terrorism list?
Answered: Answered: Carl Meacham, director, CSIS America Program: Commercially, this announcement is huge. US businesses and financial institutions will be freer than ever to do business in Cuba (though still constrained by the embargo). Without the sponsor-of-terrorism designation, Cuba becomes a less risky forum for trade, investment, and engagement. Facing less exposure, businesses, banks, and investors are all the more likely to engage with their Cuban counterparts.
And the policy implications may be still greater than the commercial ones.
First and foremost, removing this designation, while a significant step of its own, allows for many more steps to follow. On the Cuban side, the terrorist list was seen as a major obstacle to future cooperation and confidence building. With it removed, the two countries can continue down their path of rapprochement.
For Washington, today’s change has a more tangible implication: the embargo cannot legally be lifted until Havana’s state sponsor of terror designation is removed. With Cuba off the list, the field is wide open for shots at the embargo—whether little by little or in full. Given Havana’s—and the rest of Latin America’s—focus on lifting the embargo as the end-all of U.S.-Cuba normalization, this change will be well received by our regional neighbors.
But perhaps most importantly, this decision is the biggest signal yet that Washington no longer sees Havana as an enemy—and, in kind, no longer sees value in the island’s status as a global pariah, instead including Cuba in the global community of nations. Taking Cuba off the list provides a sort of recognition—an acknowledgement that, however different Havana and Washington may be, those difference do not amount to justification for total isolation.
One to Watch
 |
I am proud to call Wes Moore ( @WesMoore1) my friend. He is a youth advocate, Army combat veteran, best-selling author, and I hope that someday he will run for public office. Wes hosted a three-part series on PBS called “Coming Home with Wes Moore,” which searched for answers to some of the most difficult questions related to combat veterans returning from war. You can learn all about the many things Wes does to help people and this great country of ours by visiting his website. I am sure you will agree that Wes is one to watch.
Optics
 |
Next Monday, April 20, marks the two-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. The White House National Security Council’s twitter feed today released this photo of WH Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco & National Counter Terrorism Center Director Nick Rasmussen today placing a wreath at the finish line in Boston to mark the occasion. Photo courtesy of @NSCPress.
Highly Recommended
Last night Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier aired a five-minute segment by Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen ( @JamesRosenFNC) in which he interviewed former treasury secretary Hank Paulson about his new book, Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower.
Rosen repeatedly pressed Paulson on his generally positive assessments of the leadership of Chinese president Xi Jinping and the conduct of the Communist Chinese government on the world stage. In sometimes granular detail, they discussed China’s crackdowns on freedoms at home and the free flow of information in and out of the country; its erecting of trade barriers and manipulation of currency; and its practice of cyber theft and cyber espionage against US business and government entities.
Also accessible via the link is the complete transcript of Rosen’s interview with Paulson, which ran much longer than the segment that aired on Special Report—a half-hour in all—and in which they touched on numerous topics not included in the on air segment. These included Paulson’s views on the power accrued to date by Xi; the role that China plays with respect to North Korea, wherein the secretary warned that Beijing must do more to prepare for the outright collapse of the North Korean regime; and the challenges that US entrepreneurs and companies face in doing business inside China. This is MUST SEE TV.
CSIS Today
Watch video of today’s events at our HQ.
CSIS hosted a major conference on “Deepening the U.S.-India Commercial Partnership: The First Year of the Modi Government,” featuring a keynote by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of India.
CSIS Tomorrow
What’s in store at CSIS HQ tomorrow.
CSIS will host a Statesmen’s Forum with Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi of Iraq. The event is at capacity, but will be webcast live at 10:00 a.m. If you would like to submit a question for the prime minister, please tweet using #AbadiUSVisit.
This Town Tomorrow
So many important things in this town—so little time. Of note:
Ahead of the upcoming IMF and World Bank meetings, the Atlantic Council will host an event on “Getting Europe Back to Growth.” Click here for more.
CSIS on Demand
With news of China’s GDP growth dropping below 7%, be sure to watch former secretary of state Madeleine Albright address China’s economic decisionmaking in this recent CSIS speech.
Sounds
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, talks to Janet Fleischman on gender equality as the AU embarks on its year of women’s empowerment and development in Africa.
I Like It Like That
Eye catching things in CSIS’s orbit
The Financial Times has an excellent interactive feature published today, “Mapping the US oil boom,” by Ben Freese, Jennifer Bissell, and Ed Crooks. Don’t miss this, it is fascinating.
Smiles
There’s an old saying in the world of surfing: “You should have been here yesterday (when the waves were perfect).” If you are planning to visit Washington to see the Cherry Blossoms, you should have been here Monday! Yesterday it rained all day thus diluting the beauty of our prized cherry trees. Luckily, we sent our amazing CSIS photographer Jesse Swanson out on Monday to shoot video of the best day for blossom viewing. We showed this video yesterday, but it’s so good it’s worth repeating—especially since “You should have been here Monday.” Enjoy and smile!
Feedback
I always welcome and benefit from your feedback. Please drop me a line at aschwartz@csis.org.
