By Lee Durstock

An increasingly important international relationship will be discussed Tuesday at a lecture sponsored by the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.

The lecture, called “U.S.-China: Growing Economic Tensions,” will be hosted by U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commissioner Patrick Mulloy.

Mulloy is the former assistant secretary of commerce and was chartered by the department to look into the ongoing relations between the U.S. and China. This is his fifth two-year term with the commerce department, and he is an appointee of Sen. Harry Reid. He has also served on the U.S. Senate Banking committee and as a senior attorney in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.

“We’re going to talk about the commission, who it is, and what we do,” Mulloy said.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission submits an annual report to Congress that shows its findings on the economic and security relationship between the U.S. and China, and also recommends what type of action needs to be taken.

“When you get into the facts and look at what’s going on, it’s pretty clear that the imbalance in this relationship economically is not good for the United States,” Mulloy said. “It means less jobs for our people. When you’re running massive trade deficits year after year and a lot of companies are outsourcing to China, this is taking jobs for Americans and for young people coming out of universities away.”

The lecture will cover such topics as the problem of market access to China, intellectual property rights and international espionage.

“I feel privileged to have been invited by the university to come down and talk about these issues,” Mulloy said. “I think they’re important to the country and important to young people because it does affect their future standard of living and possibly their national security.”