Over 30 Seattle area K-12 teachers learned the latest on “Global Asia: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” this year thanks to a unique, decade-long collaboration between The Seattle Times and the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.

The concept of a “pivot” is often examined from the perspective of Russia’s interactions with China. Liz Wishnick, Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair University, explained how China views the American rebalancing of its foreign policy priorities. As Asian countries become increasingly influential on the world stage, the United States and Russia have taken more active roles as Pacific powers.

Mikhail Alekseev, Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University, analyzed the emerging modern Sino-Russian relationship through public views on Chinese migration in the Russian Far East since 2000. Based upon mass opinion surveys in Russia in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2014, Alekseev found a significant decline in negative perceptions of Chinese migration among residents of the Russian Far East, particularly as a threat to sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia. The opinion surveys addressed perceptions of geopolitical threat, xenophobic prejudices, central government authority, economic valuations, and intergroup contact.

Most people are trying to leave campus as quickly as possible on a Friday evening, but in Thomson Hall, students, faculty and community members were gathering to finish the week off strong. Spearheaded by doctoral candidate Greg Shtraks and sponsored by the Ellison Center, the East Asia Center, and the Center for Global Studies, a panel on “Russia’s Pivot to China in the Context of a Burning Ukraine” brought together experts in economics and political science to examine the Sino-Russian relationship in light of the current events in Ukraine.