Robert S. Spalding III is a retired United States Air Force brigadier general. He currently serves as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. His work focuses on U.S.–China relations, economic and national security, and the Asia-Pacific military balance. From December 2016 to May 2017, he was U.S. Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché to China, Beijing and from May 2017 to January 2018, Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council, White House, Washington D.C