The Third Revolution argues that Xi Jinping’s dual-reform trajectories—a more authoritarian system at home and a more ambitious foreign policy abroad—provide Beijing with new levers of influence that the United States must learn to exploit to protect its own interests.
About the Expert
Expert Bio
Elizabeth Economy is C. V. Starr senior fellow and director for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. She is an acclaimed author and expert on Chinese domestic and foreign policy, writing on topics ranging from China's environmental challenges to its role in global governance. In June 2018, Dr. Economy was named one of the "10 Names That Matter on China Policy" by Politico Magazine.
Her most recent book, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State, (Oxford University Press, 2018) analyzes the contradictory nature of reform under President Xi Jinping. She is also the author of By All Means Necessary: How China’s Resource Quest is Changing the World (Oxford University Press, 2014) with Michael Levi, and The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China’s Future (Cornell University Press, 2004; 2nd edition, 2010; Japanese edition, 2005; Chinese edition, 2011). The River Runs Black was named one of the top fifty sustainability books in 2008 by the University of Cambridge, won the 2005 International Convention on Asia Scholars award for the best social science book published on Asia, and was listed as one of the top ten books of 2004 by the Globalist, as well as one of the best business books of 2010 by Booz Allen Hamilton’s strategy+business magazine. Economy also coedited China Joins the World: Progress and Prospects (Council on Foreign Relations Press, with Michel Oksenberg, 1999) and The Internationalization of Environmental Protection (Cambridge University Press, with Miranda Schreurs, 1997).
She has published articles in foreign policy and scholarly journals including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Harvard Business Review, , and op-eds in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, among others. Dr. Economy is a frequent guest on nationally broadcast television and radio programs, has testified before Congress on numerous occasions, and regularly consults for U.S. government agencies and companies. She writes about topics involving China on CFR’s Asia program blog, Asia Unbound, which is syndicated by Forbes.com.
Dr. Economy serves on the board of managers of Swarthmore College and the board of trustees of the Asia Foundation and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. She has also served on the advisory council of Network 20/20 and the science advisory council of the Stockholm Environment Forum. Previously, she was a member of the Global Agenda Council on the United States at the World Economic Forum (WEF) from 2014 to 2016 and served as a member and then vice chair of WEF’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of China from 2008 to 2014. Dr. Economy has also served on the board of the China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development. She has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and the University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies.
Dr. Economy received her BA with honors from Swarthmore College, her AM from Stanford University, and her PhD from the University of Michigan. In 2008, she received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Vermont Law School. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children.
Affiliations:
- Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, distinguished visiting fellow
- Asia Foundation, member of the board of trustees
- National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member of the board of trustees
- Swarthmore College, member of the board of managers
- Providing outside informal counsel to the Biden for President Campaign
Current Projects
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In this virtual panel discussion, Foreign Affairs Editor Gideon Rose and magazine contributors Minxin Pei and Elizabeth Economy discuss the May/June 2020 issue. The conversation is focused on China—great-power competition, the coronavirus, and the potential weaknesses of Xi Jinping. Read the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, "The Fire Next Time," including the article "China’s Coming Upheaval" by Minxin Pei.
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As the opening session of the 2019 College and University Educators Workshop, Reuben E. Brigety II, Elizabeth C. Economy, and Suzanne Maloney discuss the global outlook for the year ahead, with James M. Lindsay.
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During the inaugural C.V. Starr & Co. Annual Lecture on China, panelists discuss the future of U.S.-China relations amidst ongoing trade frictions, tensions in the South China Sea, and political, demographic, and economic developments within China itself.
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Elizabeth C. Economy discusses her forthcoming book, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State, which analyzes the contradictory nature of reform under President Xi Jinping.
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Speakers discuss the proposed amendment to China’s constitution to eliminate presidential term limits, allowing President Xi Jinping to remain in power indefinitely, and the implications for China’s domestic politics and its relationship with the United States.
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The Council on Foreign Relations and the Metropolitan Museum of Art invite you and your guest to view the Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties exhibition, followed by a panel discussion on how these dynasties have informed contemporary Chinese art, politics, economics, and foreign policy.
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Experts discuss the issues the Trump administration can expect to encounter in its interactions with China, from tensions with Taiwan to the future of trade agreements.
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Experts discuss the Obama administration's "Pivot to Asia" strategy, its successes and failures, and the evolving dynamics of U.S. relations across Asia.
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Experts discuss the rise of China and the U.S.-Japan alliance.
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Experts discuss Chinese President Xi Jinping's leadership.
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Madeleine K. Albright, Jin-Yong Cai, David M. Cote, and Jon Huntsman join CFR's Elizabeth C. Economy to discuss the political, economic, and security aspects of the U.S.-China relationship and their policy implications.
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China's growing demand for natural resources has been a boon for commodity producers, but it has also raised concerns about its effects on the global economy. Following the publication of their new book, By All Means Necessary: How China's Resource Quest is Changing the World, CFR Fellows Elizabeth C. Economy and Michael A. Levi join CFR's Director of Studies James M. Lindsay to discuss some of their findings.
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CFR Fellows Elizabeth C. Economy and Michael Levi join CFR President Richard N. Haass to discuss their recently published book, By All Means Necessary: How China's Resource Quest is Changing the World.
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This meeting will be part of a series on the U.S. presidential inbox that examines the major issues confronting the administration in the foreign policy arena. Related Readings: China's Leadership Transition: Three Things to Know, CFR Video, Elizabeth C. Economy, November 16, 2012 Changes and Challenges for China in 2013, CFR Expert Roundup, December 26, 2012 "Democratize or Die: Why China's Communists Face Reform or Revolution," by Yasheng Huang, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2013