Asia Insight

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR President Michael Wills is joined by Rear Admiral Mike Studeman (U.S. Navy, ret.) and Cathy Johnston as they assess the People's Liberation Army ahead of the Chinese Communist Party's goal to build a world-class military by 2049.

Cathy Johnston spent 33 years in the Intel Community mostly focused on Asia. Her last assignment was as the Deputy Director of Intelligence at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Mike Studeman is the former Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and a retired Rear Admiral. He is a member of NBR’s Board of Advisors.

Michael Wills is President of NBR.

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR President Michael Wills hosts a conversation with Laura Rosenberger and Roy Kamphausen on strategic outlooks for Taiwan. This discussion follows an NBR delegation trip to Taiwan led by retired U.S. Navy Admiral John Aquilino, the 26th Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, from April 28–May 2, 2025.

On this special episode of Asia Insight, NBR Distinguished Fellow for China Studies Nadège Rolland and NBR Senior Fellow for Asian Security Bates Gill discuss the May 12, 2025 white paper released by China’s State Council Information Office on China’s national security in the new era.

In this episode of Asia Insight, Doug Strub hosts a conversation with Michael Beeman and Daisuke Kawai on how the United States and Japan are bolstering their technological and economic security while navigating digital disruptions and supply chain vulnerabilities.

Michael Beeman served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and APEC at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2017–2023.

Daisuke Kawai is Director of the Economic Security and Policy Innovation Program and Project Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. He is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR.

Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR President Michael Wills moderates a conversation with Robert Holleyman and Tami Overby on some of the insights and themes that arose during NBR's 2025 Pacific Technology Policy Conference. The conference took place in Seattle on March 13, 2025.

Ambassador Robert Holleyman served as Deputy United States Trade Representative from 2014-2017, responsible for U.S. trade and investment relations in Asia, including APEC, China, and India. He is a member of the Board of Advisors at NBR.

Tami Overby is a Senior Advisor in the East Asia & Pacific practice of Dentons Global Advisors-Albright Stonebridge Group. She is also a member of the Board of Advisors at NBR.

Michael Wills is President of NBR.

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs, Mr. Doug Strub engages in conversation with Dr. Jungmi Cha, Mr. Charlie Vest, Dr. Michelle Rozo, and Ms. Hodan Omaar as they examine strategies and policies of the United States and the Republic of Korea in the pivotal areas of battery technology, biotechnology, and quantum technology.

This Asia Insight episode complements the NBR special report "U.S.-ROK Tech Cooperation: Batteries, Biotech, and Quantum Technologies" (March 2025) and was produced by the National Bureau of Asian Research with support from the Korea Foundation.

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR’s executive vice president Michael Wills hosts a discussion with NBR distinguished fellow for China studies Nadège Rolland and advisor William McCahill Jr. in the aftermath of China’s 2024 parallel annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). 

In this podcast, we highlight the main findings of NBR’s research project "Into Africa: China’s Emerging Strategy,” explore the strategic drivers behind China’s increased engagement with African countries, examine the significance of its investments in African critical infrastructure, and detail the extent of its influence networks on the continent. 

The podcast is hosted by Rachel Bernstein, a former assistant director for the Political and Security Affairs team at NBR.

Yunnan Chen is a London-based researcher in the Development and Public Finance program at ODI, where her work centers on the changing global development finance architecture and China’s global footprint. 

Daria Impiombato is a research analyst specialized in Chinese technology and human rights at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Center.

Mareike Ohlberg is a Berlin-based Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund, specializing in China’s global influence networks and tactics.

Mandira Bagwandeen is a Senior Research Fellow at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she focusses on Africa's regional integration and industrialization and China-Africa relations.

Roukaya Kasenally is a democracy scholar and Associate Professor at the University of Mauritius. She is the current chair of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), a board member of West African Democracy Radio (WADR), and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP).

Nadège Rolland is Distinguished Fellow, China Studies, at NBR. 

With Japan assuming the G-7 presidency and the United States hosting APEC meetings this year, the two countries are well positioned to lead Indo-Pacific engagement on climate change and energy transition efforts that are in line with regional energy security needs. Clare Richardson-Barlow moderates this Asia Insight podcast with Ken Koyama (Institute of Energy Economics, Japan) and Jennifer Sklarew (George Mason University) on the energy security relationship between the United States and Japan. The participants consider how the two countries are tackling their respective energy transition challenges and how bilateral cooperation can help address both energy and economic security concerns.

Clare Richardson-Barlow is a lecturer at the University of Leeds and an interdisciplinary social scientist whose research and teaching explores just transitions, energy policy, political economy, and energy governance. 

Ken Koyama is Chief Economist and Senior Managing Director at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. Dr. Koyama also is a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Innovative Research at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.   

Jennifer Sklarew is an Assistant Professor for the Environmental Science and Policy Department at George Mason University and brings 30 years of energy and environmental policymaking and analysis to her research and teaching. 

Offering a strategic overview of the relationship between China and Myanmar across history, Ambassador Kelley Currie highlights grey zones, disaggregated sovereignty, fluid frontiers and deeply rooted mutual suspicions as permanent features of China’s southern strategic space’s hinterland in this podcast moderated by Nadège Rolland. This podcast is part of the project Mapping China's Strategic Space at strategicspace.nbr.org.