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

At the G7 Summit, Leaders Talk Tough on China but Moderate Tone

At the G7 Summit, Leaders Talk Tough on China but Moderate Tone

Thursday, May 25, 2023

By: Mirna Galic

The major headline from this year’s G7 summit in Hiroshima was the appearance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his push to end Russia’s war on his country. But another G7 concern, China, also featured prominently at the summit. While this year’s G7 leaders’ communique featured some more moderate language on China than last year’s, it also focused heavily on economic coercion, condemning a “disturbing rise” of the “weaponization of economic vulnerabilities” — a not too subtle jab at China’s economic statecraft. Still, even as U.S.-China relations remain tense, this year’s discussion of constructive engagement represents a shift more aligned with European and Japanese stances on how to deal with the challenges posed by China.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

China Looks to Fill a Void in Central Asia

China Looks to Fill a Void in Central Asia

Thursday, May 25, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D.;  Gavin Helf, Ph.D.;  Alison McFarland

As the Group of Seven met at the end of last week in Hiroshima, Japan, China organized a summit with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, marking a new chapter in Beijing’s engagement with the region. Central Asian states are looking for a new partner to help ensure their own security against domestic rebellions, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has limited Moscow’s ability to fulfill a longstanding role as a guarantor of domestic stability in the region. While most of the summit’s public discussion focused on economic and trade issues, China noted that it would help Central Asia enhance it’s law enforcement and security capabilities, which aligns with Beijing’s intensifying campaign for “global security.”

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Carla Freeman on China’s Vision for a New Global Security Order

Carla Freeman on China’s Vision for a New Global Security Order

Monday, May 22, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative seeks to supplant the U.S.-led order, and it is gaining traction in the Global South. “There is a sense among developing countries that the international security order isn’t working that well for them,” says USIP’s Carla Freeman. “But none of these countries want to be forced to choose between the U.S. and China.”

Type: Podcast

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Current   Projects

China Senior Study Group

China Senior Study Group

Over the last decade, China has become more engaged internationally, including in conflict zones and fragile states of strategic interest to the United States. From civil wars in neighboring countries, such as Afghanistan and Myanmar, to more distant conflicts in Africa, China is becoming an increasingly important player in regional and international efforts to mitigate conflict. In countries where China exerts a strong influence, its engagement can have a substantial impact on local and international efforts to curb violence and extremism.

Senior Study Group on Strategic Stability in Southern Asia

Senior Study Group on Strategic Stability in Southern Asia

Beginning in June 2021, USIP convened a group of senior experts to assess concerns that recent geopolitical and technological trends increasingly threaten the tenuous stability of Southern Asia. Over seven virtual plenary sessions, the senior study group assessed the changing capabilities, doctrines, threat perceptions and crisis response behavior of the main regional nuclear actors. Their final report summarizes those findings, considers U.S. policy options and identifies priority recommendations for the resolution or mitigation of core disputes, the enhancement of regional strategic stability, and the management of potential future crises.

Global Policy

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