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Introducing CFR’s China Strategy Initiative

Competition with China poses a challenge unlike any the United States has faced before. To meet the challenge, CFR's new China Strategy Initiative will answer the questions that go to the heart of American China strategy through fresh analysis, granular policy recommendations, and convenings with experts from around the world.

Watch Introduction Video
Chinese military conductor gestures as he instructs his music band members during a rehearsal for the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People

Core Questions and Programs

The China Strategy Initiative will launch cross-cutting programs to address four foundational questions.

Text saying "What Does China Think? Open Source Observatory" over an image of the Xinqingnian magazine ('La Jeunesse') is on display at the Memorial for the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China
The Open Source Observatory will acquire, digitize, and translate vast quantities of Chinese-language material and make it publicly available.
Text saying "What Does China Do? China 360° " over an image of the President of China Xi Jinping looks on at the China-Africa Leaders' Roundtable Dialogue on the last day of the BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa
China 360° will pull expertise from across CFR to understand China’s global activities and how countries respond to them.
Text saying "How Should the United States Compete? China Policy Accelerator" over an image of a U.S. flag is seen on the container ship President Eisenhower in a seaport in Qingdao city in east China's Shandong province
The China Policy Accelerator will produce actionable policy recommendations on what the United States should do not just abroad but at home, from fixing the defense industrial base to securing critical infrastructure from cyberattack.
Text saying "How Should We Manage Competition? Global China Forum" over an image of the U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew (R) is about to shake hands with China's President Xi Jinping during the joint opening ceremony of the 8th round of U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogues and the 7th round of U.S.-China High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange
The Global China Forum will launch conversations with experts from the United States, China, and other countries around the world.

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Research Priorities

Explore CFR’s work on the key issues in China strategy.

Inside China

Taiwan

Defense and Security

Economics and Technology

Geopolitics and Diplomacy

Transnational Challenges

  • Why China Would Struggle to Invade Taiwan

    Although China’s ambition to gain control of Taiwan is clear, doing so through force would prove enormously difficult and costly.

    Interactive by David Sacks

    A Taiwanese soldier stands in a line during the Han Kuang military exercise.

  • Tracking China’s Control of Overseas Ports

    This interactive map tracks China’s growing maritime influence through investments in strategic overseas ports.

    Tracker by Zongyuan Zoe Liu

     

    A massive, loaded container ship being tugged from a shipyard.

  • U.S.-China Relations

    The United States and China have one of the world’s most important and complex bilateral relationships. Since 1949, the countries have experienced periods of both tension and cooperation over issues including trade, climate change, and Taiwan.

    Timeline by CFR.org Editors

    Photo of Chinese and US flags

More From the China Strategy Initiative

China Strategy Initiative Launch Event

Join us for the launch of CFR's China Strategy Initiative on Monday, June 24

Event with Rush Doshi

Worker installs a giant Communist Party flag outside a department store in Shanghai, China Event
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