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Introduction
Over the last several decades, governments have collectively pledged to slow global warming. But despite intensified diplomacy, the world is already facing the consequences of climate…
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
Core Questions and Programs
The China Strategy Initiative will launch cross-cutting programs to address four foundational questions.
The Open Source Observatory will acquire, digitize, and translate vast quantities of Chinese-language material and make it publicly available.
China 360° will pull expertise from across CFR to understand China’s global activities and how countries respond to them.
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.
The Global China Forum will launch conversations with experts from the United States, China, and other countries around the world.
Research Priorities
Explore CFR’s work on the key issues in China strategy.
Inside China
China’s Real Economic Crisis
with Zongyuan Zoe Liu via Foreign Affairs
Secure Jobs, Uncertain Future: China’s Growing Appetite for Government Employment
Blog Post by Yanzhong Huang
China Is Reversing Its Crackdown on Some Religions, but Not All
Expert Brief by Ian Johnson
Taiwan
Can the Taiwan People’s Party Survive?
Blog Post by David Sacks
Taiwan’s Latest Defense Budget Risks Falling Further Behind China
Blog Post by David Sacks
Taiwan’s Trump Conundrum
Blog Post by David Sacks
Defense and Security
Why Tensions in the South China Sea Are Bolstering the U.S.-Philippines Alliance
Expert Brief by Joshua Kurlantzick and Abigail McGowan
Does NATO Have a Role in Asia?
Expert Brief by David Sacks
Reflecting on a Changing Indo-Pacific: A Conversation With Admiral John Aquilino
Event with Admiral John Aquilino
Economics and Technology
The US Needs More than a Critical Minerals Stockpile, It Needs Market Infrastructure
Article by Arnab Datta and Ashley George
U.S.-China Economic Relations With Jay Shambaugh
Event with Jay C. Shambaugh, Matthew P. Goodman and Rush Doshi
China’s Imaginary Trade Data
Blog Post by Brad W. Setser
Geopolitics and Diplomacy
China in the Middle East: August 2024
Article by Benjamin M. Holtzman
China in Europe: August 2024
Article by Benjamin Harris
China in Africa: August 2024
Article by Alexandra Dent
Transnational Challenges
Washington and Beijing Don’t Understand Each Other’s Fentanyl Positions
Featuring Yanzhong Huang and Marcel Arsenault via Foreign Policy
Fentanyl Supply Chains in China: Chinese Fentanyl Makers and Domestic Circulation
Blog Post by Zongyuan Zoe Liu
China’s Battle Against Air Pollution: An Update
Blog Post by Yanzhong Huang
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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.
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Tracking China’s Control of Overseas Ports
This interactive map tracks China’s growing maritime influence through investments in strategic overseas ports.
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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.
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
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Conversation With Jake Sullivan—the Future of U.S.-China Relations
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discusses U.S.-China relations and the Biden administration’s policy priorities for the relationship going forward.
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America’s China Strategy, With Rush Doshi
Rush Doshi, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and director of the China Strategy Initiative, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how America should navigate its geopolitical rivalry with China.
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America’s New Cold Wars, With David Sanger
David Sanger, the White House and national security correspondent for the New York Times, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the post-Cold War ended and why the new era of geopolitical rivalry began.
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Manila has fully allied with Washington amid increasingly dangerous standoffs with Beijing in the South China Sea, heightening the prospect of a wider war.
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Throughout August, much of China’s engagement in Africa has set the stage for this week’s upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. While diplomats emphasized strengthening long-standing relationships with countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania, announcements of new investments focused on the African energy needs of the future.
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August witnessed significant Chinese engagement in the Middle East. Relations with Israel soured as China condemned Israel’s war in Gaza and supported Iran. Meanwhile, ties with Riyadh blossomed with multibillion-dollar deals across sectors. The breadth of China’s actions underscores its strategic ambitions and highlights the county’s efforts to bolster its influence in the Middle East.
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China and Europe had a busy month, despite the August vacation. A flurry of trade announcements dominated the headlines as the ongoing trade dispute between the EU and China heated up. The coming weeks are likely to only get hotter.
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A Harris-Walz administration would build upon the Biden administration’s focus on partners and allies and likely struggle to respond to regional democratic backsliding.
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Last month, Ganfeng Lithium, China’s largest lithium producer and refiner, announced plans to establish a $1.1 billion trading desk “to reduce the risk of market fluctuations” associated with its gro…
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China has a new way of calculating its good surplus in its formal balance of payments data. It is a deeply misleading. It also explains the apparent fall in the current account account surplus.
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Rush Doshi, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and director of the China Strategy Initiative, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how America should navigate its geopolitical rivalry with China.
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China’s industrial policies may boost its number of small-scale chemical intermediate producers, increasing the risk that certain opportunistic firms may venture into supplying various precursors for synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.