http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/03/28/china-america-and-shifting-balance-of-prestige/frd3
Ray was able to ask a nostalgic question (from his experience analyzing Sino-Soviet relations in the 60s) toward the end (starting at minute 80:18), and Chas’s response was characteristically insightful. One can learn an awful lot, and be thoroughly entertained in the process, by watching the whole event. For those unfamiliar with Chas, Here’s the blurb Carnegie used to introduce the event:
Richard Nixon’s 1972 decision to normalize relations with the China changed the global political balance in deep and lasting ways. Today’s U.S.-China relationship is in a place few could have imagined in 1972 … As the stakes grow larger, it will become even more important to manage the relationship in a sensible manner. From his role as Nixon’s interpreter on the president’s first trip to China and throughout his 30-year foreign service career, Chas W. Freeman, Jr. has been deeply involved in the U.S.-China relationship. At Carnegie, he discusses his recently released book, “Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige,” [[ and answered an hours-worth of questions.