41 min
Business: Kit Spangler U.S.-China: Searching for Common Ground
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- Government
The topic: Often in this podcast series we focus on the big picture: Taiwan’s relationship to the Mainland, the contrasting strategies of U.S. presidents in tackling trade, or the massive influence of technological expansion. But what about the details of playing out international relations on the ground in China, as a U.S. businessperson with decades of experience? What about a frontline view of the economic and cultural forces shaping the bilateral relationship while simultaneously reflecting its larger themes? What cues can we take from this history of everyday business and other interaction between our two countries that may identify common ground or a productive path forward despite a widening political divide?
Our guest: Business and travel between the U.S. and China has been Kit Spangler’s life. He’s a man of two languages and cultures who only this year retired from a career focused on the bilateral relationship. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, most recently he worked as China strategy and business development director for Diamond V, a company (and Cargill subsidiary) producing animal feed additives to improve livestock health and nutrition. He previously worked in a series of roles that focused on the agricultural trade—specifically dairy and livestock. He began his journey as an Iowa farmer who studied Chinese language and culture to expand his career options in the wake of the 1980s farm crisis. He has traveled throughout much of China and brings to this conversation a wealth of firsthand anecdotes about U.S.-China business relationships, agriculture, food security, trade, and citizen diplomacy.
Full episode transcript: https://david-skidmore.medium.com/fri-4-9-3-34pm-40-32-b15e8668e9a7.
The series: David Skidmore and Kyle Munson produced this podcast series in conjunction with Skidmore's Spring 2021 U.S.-China international relations course at Drake University.
Your hosts:
David Skidmore is a Professor of Political Science at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he has taught since 1989. Skidmore’s teaching and research focuses on U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-China relations. During the 1996-97 academic year, he taught at the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, China. He also served as a Fulbright Scholar based at the University of Hong Kong in 2010-2011. He is past Director of the Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship (2002-2017) and the Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs (2012-2017), both at Drake University. Skidmore is author, co-author or editor of six books including a monograph titled The Unilateralist Temptation in American Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2011), and has published numerous articles or chapters in various academic journals and books. His most recent research focuses on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. His editorial writing has appeared in Fortune, U.S. News and World Report, Salon, The Conversation, the Diplomat, Global Times and the Des Moines Register.
Kyle Munson is a journalist, writer, podcaster, and content strategist who currently works in content marketing and financial services. He previously spent 24 years with The Des Moines Register/Gannett in a variety of roles, including eight years as columnist. In 2017 he was awarded a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to report on U.S.-China relations early in the Trump administration as Amb. Terry Branstad began his tenure in Beijing. That resulted in the project “Iowa in the Heart of China.” Munson also reported on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2012 visit to Iowa. He has volunteered and served as a board member with Iowa Sister States, a nonprofit
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uschina/message
The topic: Often in this podcast series we focus on the big picture: Taiwan’s relationship to the Mainland, the contrasting strategies of U.S. presidents in tackling trade, or the massive influence of technological expansion. But what about the details of playing out international relations on the ground in China, as a U.S. businessperson with decades of experience? What about a frontline view of the economic and cultural forces shaping the bilateral relationship while simultaneously reflecting its larger themes? What cues can we take from this history of everyday business and other interaction between our two countries that may identify common ground or a productive path forward despite a widening political divide?
Our guest: Business and travel between the U.S. and China has been Kit Spangler’s life. He’s a man of two languages and cultures who only this year retired from a career focused on the bilateral relationship. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, most recently he worked as China strategy and business development director for Diamond V, a company (and Cargill subsidiary) producing animal feed additives to improve livestock health and nutrition. He previously worked in a series of roles that focused on the agricultural trade—specifically dairy and livestock. He began his journey as an Iowa farmer who studied Chinese language and culture to expand his career options in the wake of the 1980s farm crisis. He has traveled throughout much of China and brings to this conversation a wealth of firsthand anecdotes about U.S.-China business relationships, agriculture, food security, trade, and citizen diplomacy.
Full episode transcript: https://david-skidmore.medium.com/fri-4-9-3-34pm-40-32-b15e8668e9a7.
The series: David Skidmore and Kyle Munson produced this podcast series in conjunction with Skidmore's Spring 2021 U.S.-China international relations course at Drake University.
Your hosts:
David Skidmore is a Professor of Political Science at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he has taught since 1989. Skidmore’s teaching and research focuses on U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-China relations. During the 1996-97 academic year, he taught at the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, China. He also served as a Fulbright Scholar based at the University of Hong Kong in 2010-2011. He is past Director of the Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship (2002-2017) and the Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs (2012-2017), both at Drake University. Skidmore is author, co-author or editor of six books including a monograph titled The Unilateralist Temptation in American Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2011), and has published numerous articles or chapters in various academic journals and books. His most recent research focuses on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. His editorial writing has appeared in Fortune, U.S. News and World Report, Salon, The Conversation, the Diplomat, Global Times and the Des Moines Register.
Kyle Munson is a journalist, writer, podcaster, and content strategist who currently works in content marketing and financial services. He previously spent 24 years with The Des Moines Register/Gannett in a variety of roles, including eight years as columnist. In 2017 he was awarded a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to report on U.S.-China relations early in the Trump administration as Amb. Terry Branstad began his tenure in Beijing. That resulted in the project “Iowa in the Heart of China.” Munson also reported on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2012 visit to Iowa. He has volunteered and served as a board member with Iowa Sister States, a nonprofit
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uschina/message
41 min