Richard Nixon's state visit to the People's Republic in 1972 marked a turning point in China's political position in the world in many respects. It was the first visit by a US president to the People's Republic - the meeting with Mao Tse-tung was a diplomatic summit that brought a certain degree of rapprochement. Years of upswing and economic change followed. Even after Mao's death, the country remained authoritarian in its domestic policy and reserved in its foreign policy. But under Xi Jinping, the most powerful head of state and party leader since Mao, the authoritarian state is reinventing itself, in open competition with the West.

In preparation for the new production of John Adams' opera NIXON IN CHINA, the Deutsche Oper Berlin is organising a foyer event with a political focus: Kai Strittmatter, former China correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and one of the country's greatest experts, will put the historic event of 1972 into context and look at China today: in his lecture, he will show how the authoritarian state under Xi Jinping has changed in recent years using the tools of the 21st century. Like no other country, China is using digitalisation and big data to create the perfect surveillance state. Strittmatter describes this change and what this development means for us and Western democracies. The event will be complemented by a musical contribution from NIXON IN CHINA: Hye-Young Moon presents "I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung", one of the most virtuoso arias from John Adams' minimal music opera.

Kai Strittmatter has dedicated most of his life to observing and describing China. He studied sinology in Munich, Xi'an and Taipei and was the correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Beijing from 1997 to the end of 2018. He has written several books about China, most recently "The Reinvention of Dictatorship", which was chosen as one of the books of the year 2020 by the Washington Post.