China
Against the backdrop of a shifting international order and the resurgence of strategic competition among powerful states, USIP’s work on China has two primary objectives: averting crisis or conflict between the United States and China and mitigating the potential for violence in countries and regions where China is extending its influence.
Learn more in USIP’s fact sheet on The Current Situation in China.
Featured Publications
Are China and the Philippines on a Collision Course?
Tensions between China and the Philippines have sharply escalated in recent months over territorial disputes in the South China Sea that could draw in the United States.
Will Sweden’s NATO Membership Deter Russian Aggression?
Sweden’s flag was hoisted at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels today as the Nordic country became the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance. Sweden’s membership, which follows that of neighboring Finland, is a consequence of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
How China Seeks to Dominate the Information Age
A combination of U.S.-China rivalry and China’s national security goals is driving Beijing to take a more assertive approach to the governance of international common spaces — from outer space to cyberspace. China’s leaders believe the world has transitioned from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. Consequently, Beijing sees the ability to generate, move, analyze and exploit information more rapidly and more accurately as the new currency of international power.
Current Projects
Tracking China’s Global Security Initiative
China’s ongoing push to change the international security order entered a new phase with the launch of the Global Security Initiative (GSI) in April 2022. The GSI promotes a set of distinct security concepts and principles — many of which reflect Beijing’s longstanding international normative preferences, such an emphasis on territorial sovereignty and noninterference. USIP is tracking how the GSI is being operationalized by China, with an initial focus on essay series examining China’s GSI activities in ASEAN and Central Asia.
NATO and Indo-Pacific Partners: Understanding Views and Interests
To increase understanding of these changes and their impacts, USIP convened an expert study group consisting of experts from NATO countries and from NATO’s formal partner countries in the Indo-Pacific: Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, which are informally known as the Indo-Pacific Four (or IP4).
USIP’s Work on Taiwan
Intensifying strategic competition has left U.S.-China ties at a historic low, and the resulting geopolitical tensions have turned Taiwan into a potential flashpoint for a military confrontation between the two great powers. Amid this complex diplomatic landscape, USIP is working to improve U.S. and Taiwanese officials’ decision-making during a potential crisis by convening “peace games” and “tabletop exercises”; to build a deeper understanding of China’s coercive strategies and capabilities; and to help policymakers develop strategies to deter Beijing from taking military action in the Taiwan Strait.