On the eve of the Lunar New Year, River to River host Ben Kieffer talks with United States Ambassador to China Terry Branstad about a range of topics, including sanctions on North Korea, fentanyl regulation, and trade.
"Iowa as an agriculture producing state has had significant success marketing our agriculture products in all of Asia, but in China in particular," Branstad says.
The former governor of Iowa also discusses South China Sea territorial disputes, cyber security, censorship, and human rights.
“Human rights is a part of America’s DNA, and we believe that everyone has these rights," Branstad says. "Unfortunately, in China, they have a one party system, and anything they think could be a threat to that, they’re going to suppress. That includes media, social media between individuals, and the surveillance. They have the best facial recognition in surveillance that you could possibly imagine."
Sara Mitchell, F. Wendell Miller professor of political science at the University of Iowa, also joins the discussion to offer analysis on U.S.-China relations after Kieffer's conversation with Ambassador Branstad.
