This week: January 16, 2026 - Arianna Ross & Kellie Butsack - Story Tapestries
Sean Stein is the Deputy Director of the Office China and Mongolian Affairs, which advises the State Department on China. Sean has helped write the Secretary of State’s speeches on China. China – US relationships are significant, consequential and complex. US/China are economically interdependent. There is $500B trade between them. A rich China is good for the US. China’s growth rate has slowed from 11% per year to 7%. Two years ago the new Chinese President has become more hostel to US interests. He cracked down on human rights. China controls two bad actors: North Korea and Iran. China – Russian relations have improved with an oil/natural gas deal, but there are continuous tensions along the China/Russian border.
Over the last five years David has advised components of the National Institutes of Health on IT strategy and data quality management while pursuing a Masters of Public Health in epidemiology at the University of Maryland. En route to the 2014 International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, David stopped in Mongolia. He showed slides of urban and settlements. Buddhism has been an interest of David since 1983, and therefore he visited their Mongolian sights. He was also interested in the local food and sampled everything, In addition to his “culinary detour” he was interested in Mongolian history, nature, and humanity. He attended Rotary makeup meetings in Thailand and Melbourne, Australia.
