China Town Hall Local Program at UC Irvine

The Long U.S.-China Institute at UC Irvine will host a local China Town Hall as part of the national program organized by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

China Town Hall (CTH) is a nationwide initiative that offers a timely snapshot of the U.S.–China relationship and explores how it reverberates across local communities, institutions, and public life. Since its launch in 2007, CTH has connected audiences across the United States with policymakers and leading experts, bringing informed discussion of U.S.–China relations to campuses and civic spaces nationwide.

The program will begin with a live national webcast, followed by a local discussion moderated by Samantha Vortherms (Associate Professor of Political Science, UC Irvine), featuring guest speaker Cory Combs (Associate Director, Trivium China).

The national webcast will feature a conversation between Stephen Biegun and Sarah Beran, offering senior diplomatic and policy perspectives on the evolving U.S.–China relationship.

Samantha Vortherms is Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine and a Public Intellectuals Program (PIP) Fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Her research focuses on Chinese politics, governance, and state–society relations, with particular attention to how institutions and local actors shape policy implementation and development outcomes in contemporary China.

Cory Combs is Associate Director at Trivium China, where he leads research on climate, energy, and industrial policy. He advises governments and multinational firms on China’s decarbonization and industrial upgrading strategies, and previously worked on clean energy technology commercialization at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Time: 3:30 PM PT
Location: SBSG 1517, UC Irvine + Zoom (hybrid)
Registration: https://uci.zoom.us/meeting/register/MP1vHP64R-e8Q1oKjJmwMQ#/registration

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Host or Publisher UCI Long US-China Institute