The United States and China are engaged in what appears to many experts to be a battle for supremacy between the world’s two most powerful economies, perhaps with India as the prize.

The Columbia Basin Badger Club’s June Forum: “Tiger by the Tail: U.S.-China relations” will offer the perspective of someone who is on the front lines. Literally.

Jim Mullinax could be described as an “old Asia hand” in the state department.

Until last July, he was our consul-general at the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, China. The 35-year-old consulate was ordered closed by the Chinese government in retaliation for the U.S. closing the Chinese Consulate in Houston in a dispute over espionage and theft of intellectual property.

At the state department, Mullinax is currently deputy director of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Office in the Economic Bureau and the Coordinator of the Economic Bureau’s China Team.

He has spent most of his career in Asia, previously serving in Manila, Philippines; Surabaya, Indonesia; Taipei; Hong Kong; and Shanghai.

Prior to his current stateside position, he served as economic counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.

“Tiger by the Tail: U.S.-China relations” begins at noon June 17. Attendees will be able to submit questions to Mullinax using Zoom’s Q&A box.

All Badger Forums are presented on Zoom.

To register, go to columbiabasinbadgers.com. Non-members pay $5; members pay nothing.

Next up for the Badger Club on July 15 is a closeup look at immigration – legal and otherwise – and its impact on Benton and Franklin counties. Our speakers will be Congressman Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, immigration attorney Eamon Roach and Ivone Guillen of the Broetje Family Trust.

Kirk Williamson is a founding member of the Badger Club. He currently serves as its president.