Chrystia Freeland Study Group—Navigating Trade, Security & Human Rights in China

Study Group with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland: Navigating Trade, Security, and Human Rights with China in the Age of a Strained Transatlantic Alliance

Few people have experienced the collision of geopolitics and diplomacy more directly than Michael Kovrig. Detained in China for nearly three years as part of the Meng Wanzhou affair, Kovrig emerged with rare insight into authoritarian statecraft, great power competition, and the vulnerabilities — and strengths — of open societies. In conversation with Chrystia Freeland, he reflects on what his detention revealed about China's strategic calculus, the resilience of democratic institutions, and what the transatlantic alliance must do to compete in an era defined by rivalry, coercion, and contested rules.

GUEST: Michael Kovrig, former Canadian foreign service officer who previously served for more than a decade as a diplomat in China and at the United Nations.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address. 

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.