| | | | Dear Friends, A quick reminder that Giving Tuesday is always the Tuesday after Thanksgiving; this year it’s on December 2. If you are planning on charitable giving after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we would be grateful for a tax-deductible donation of any size to support our educational programming — such as our Roots & Wings Youth Symposium, which brought together teens, parents, educators, industry professionals, and creatives in a vibrant celebration of Asian American youth and culture. The link to donate for Giving Tuesday is open. Thank you in advance. Webinar on Understanding the AI Boom:
Are you curious about how global technology and artificial intelligence are shaping your daily life, your family’s privacy, your future, and even the future of world power? We invite you to a special, informative webinar on “Understanding the AI Boom: Power, Politics, & the Future of U.S.-China Relations.” This session is designed for everyone interested in becoming a more informed global citizen in this rapidly evolving digital age. The speakers include leading global technology experts from Stanford and WIRED magazine. Details in our Spotlight section below.
🗓️ Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
⏰ Time: 4 pm Pacific Time / 7 pm Eastern Time (90 minutes)
👉 Register here New Documentary Video:
The 1990 Institute was pleased to premiere the documentary short titled “Threads of Freedom: The Case that Changed Labor Law in America” at our Youth Symposium in September, where we were joined by Julie Su, former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor. Julie is featured in the film for her role in representing Thai garment workers who were held in captivity and forced to work without pay. The video is now available to view on our YouTube channel. Scroll down to Spotlight for more information on this case that impacted national and international law. Thank you for your continued support of the newsletter (see past issues here) and subscribe here. |
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| Join us as we explore the complex landscape of technology on a global scale, focusing on how developments in China impact the future of AI. Register here. |
| | Why the U.S. and China must coordinate on AI development By Denise Yiran Zheng, PhD
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the defining technology of the 21st century, transforming how we live our lives. Yet its rapid and largely unregulated development has raised alarm about the potential for existential risk. As the two global leaders in AI innovation, China and the U.S. share the responsibility to establish an ethical and governance framework that can act as a global safeguard if AI is misused or evolves beyond human control. In May 2025, the Senate held a hearing titled “Winning the AI Race” to discuss easing AI supply chain regulations and bolstering U.S. technological dominance. The U.S. has a competitive advantage in advanced computing chips, which are crucial to train and deploy AI models. Since October 2022, the U.S. has imposed export controls on China to slow its AI progress. In response, Beijing is expanding state funding to boost domestic AI chip production, aiming to triple output by 2026. The release of DeepSeek using less advanced chips shows that innovation in China continues despite U.S. export controls. Geopolitical pressures have led China to adopt New Industrialization (新型工业化) as its top policy priority. Notably, China leads AI’s industrial applications. Its factories operate over two million robots and installed an additional 300,000 robots in 2024 — more than the rest of the world combined. Factory automation further strengthens China’s role as a manufacturing powerhouse. China seeks to integrate AI into 90% of its economy by 2030. Meanwhile, China promotes open-source models like DeepSeek. Its AI models could be widely adopted by many countries, especially those in the Belt and Road Initiative. This has prompted the U.S.’ OpenAI to release its own open-weight models. In 2023, over 350 AI experts, academics, and researchers from around the world signed a statement warning that “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Particularly, open-source AI models require governance to guard against misuse by rogue actors such as extremist groups and terrorists. The capacity to deepfake with AI can destabilize society through spreading disinformation and even triggering conflicts. These dangers underscore the need for the U.S. and China to jointly manage the risks of AI through an international governance framework that establishes ethical standards and accountability. AI advisor Elham Tabassi proposed “restricting military applications while allowing for open collaboration in non-military research,” a principle that could serve as the foundation of such a framework. Without a “China-America framework of trust,” we could reach a point in the future where Americans will not trust importing AI products from China and vice versa. The Trump administration’s AI Action Plan reinforces its commitment to advancing AI development over imposing regulation (with the exception of AI chips). The recent publication of China’s AI Safety Governance Framework 2.0 indicates that Beijing shares concerns over AI’s potential for harm. The framework acknowledges and contains measures to mitigate risks from the abuse of open-source models and AI’s social and catastrophic risks, suggesting an opening for collaboration with the U.S. on global AI governance. As American foreign policy analyst Ryan Hass has suggested that if both nations can limit harmful AI uses through reciprocal measures, their coordination could contribute to global stability. Without global governance and standards on AI ethics and safety, AI can become an uncontrollable danger. The U.S. and China need to take collective action to make sure that AI evolves in a way that promotes the flourishing of living beings. |
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| | U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations | Science Researchers speak out against a proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students. Listen: ‘I have to do it’: why one of the world’s most brilliant AI scientists left the U.S. for China – Podcast | The Guardian Song-Chun Zhu, one of the world’s leading authorities in artificial intelligence, left China in 1992 to pursue a PhD in computer science at Harvard. After spending half his life in the U.S., Zhu took a one-way ticket to China. He might hold the key to who wins the global AI race. Text version. American Eric Lu crowned winner of Chopin Piano Competition | Reuters Pianist Eric Lu, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, won the top prize at the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Invisible no more: Vet parade to honor Chinese Americans | AsAmNews “What’s so incredible is that a lot of these Chinese that served during World War II weren’t even citizens. The Chinese Exclusion Act was still law,” remarked one of the organizers who arranged for more than two dozen World War II veterans of Chinese descent to be honored in New York City’s Veterans Day Parade. Explore Asian American history in our short video: Exclusion: The Shared Asian American Experience. China rolls out its version of the H-1B visa to attract foreign tech workers | AP News The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of China’s widening effort to catch up with the U.S. in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology. It coincides with uncertainties over the U.S.'s H-1B program under its tightened immigration policies. China, world’s top carbon polluter, is likely to overdeliver on its climate goals. Will that be enough? | PBS News China’s goals are particularly important: it is the world’s largest producer of emissions, which are the main cause of climate change, and it’s the global leader in the production of green technologies from wind and solar power to electric vehicles. Learn about China’s role in climate change in our short video: Why are Chinese and Americans the Key to Life on Planet Earth? U.S. appeals court says Florida can ban Chinese citizens from buying property | NBC News The 2-1 ruling could encourage other states to adopt so-called alien land laws, which were once common but fell out of favor a century ago, rejecting claims that it violates federal law and discriminates against Asians. China's rare earth export delay offers U.S. a chance to weaken Beijing's grip on the market | AP News China’s promise to delay its newest restrictions on the export of the rare earths that are crucial to many high-tech products for one year creates an opportunity for the U.S. and its allies to bolster their own production. But it will be hard to undercut China’s hold on the market. Read about rare earths in our September 2025 newsletter: China’s edge? Rare earths as bargaining chips in its trade with the U.S. NBC News Dismantles Dedicated Asian American and Identity Reporting Units | Resonate The network has laid off approximately 150 employees and dissolved its specific editorial teams for marginalized communities, including NBC Asian America, a move critics warn will diminish nuanced coverage. San Jose path could be renamed for Filipino labor leader | San José Spotlight A group of San Jose Filipino residents is pushing to rename a downtown pedestrian walkway after labor leader Larry Itliong, who was instrumental in fighting for better farmworker rights. Read a short bio of Larry Itliong on New Asian American Voices. How China’s engineering mindset has shaped its infrastructure and society | PBS News Weekend From high-speed rail to state of the art factories to soaring bridges, China is building infrastructure projects at an unprecedented scale and pace — what those sweeping measures say about China’s ambitions and what they may mean for the future of U.S.-China competition. |
| | In celebration of Veterans Day this week, we honor Sabu Dastagir, star of the 1942 movie “Jungle Book,” who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery and valor. Read more on New Asian American Voices. |
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| | - REGISTER FOR “UNDERSTANDING THE AI BOOM: POWER, POLITICS, & THE FUTURE OF U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS” — In today's rapidly evolving world, preparing yourself and the next generation for digital and global citizenship requires critically examining the global forces shaping technology. Whether you’re an educator, industry professional, parent, student, or community member interested in AI and learning about what the future holds, join us to gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the AI revolution, with a specific lens on China's role. The final half hour of this webinar will provide context for teachers to educate for tomorrow’s global landscape. Register for “Understanding the AI Boom: Power, Politics, & the Future of U.S.-China Relations” on Wednesday, November 19 at 4 pm PT / 7 pm ET. Our speakers:
- Graham Webster, Editor-in-Chief, DigiChina Project, Stanford University — a policy expert on U.S.-China technology relations.
- Zeyi Yang, Senior Writer, WIRED — a journalist covering the cultural and human impact of China’s digital revolution.
- Clay Dube, Director Emeritus, USC U.S.-China Institute — an expert in historical U.S.-China relations who will moderate the conversation.
- WATCH “THREADS OF FREEDOM: THE CASE THAT CHANGED LABOR LAW IN AMERICA” — In 1995, an anonymous tip uncovered a horrifying reality in El Monte, California: 72 Thai immigrants forced into servitude and sewing for major U.S. brands. These women were promised the American Dream, but were held captive, working 18-hour days and trapped by a $5,000 debt they could never repay. "Threads of Freedom: The Case that Changed Labor Law in America" tells the story through the voices of Nantha Jaknang, one of the brave survivors, Julie Su, a young tenacious civil rights lawyer, and civil rights leader Stewart Kwoh. Together, they launched a legal battle that shook the foundations of the clothing industry and set a groundbreaking precedent for justice. Julie Su, the Deputy and Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2021 to 2025, was a Trailblazers panelist at our Roots & Wings Youth Symposium and introduced this documentary short at our event. This video is a joint collaboration between the 1990 Institute and the Asian American Education Project, whose co-founders and co-executive directors, Stewart and Pat Kwoh spoke at the symposium. For educators, here are lesson plans, activities, and resources from the Asian American Education Project and the 1990 Institute’s Teachers Portal. Be among the first to see this video which debuted on YouTube today.
- PARTNER PROGRAM: APALI’S CIVIC LEADERSHIP PROGRAM — Since 2007, the Civic Leadership Program from APALI (Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute) has gathered annual cohorts of community leaders and advocates to further personal civic involvement, fill leadership pipelines, and become members of a supportive community of 600+ active alumni and fellows. The 2026 program runs in January and February. Learn more and apply by November 18 for an early bird discount.
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| | Dim Sum – A Little Bit of Heart |
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| | | | 1990 Institute
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