The US-China Podcast

The U.S. military is pulling out of Afghanistan, a process that should be complete by August 31. Both China and the United States face looming strategic challenges as a result. America’s presence has preserved a fragile balance of power in Central South Asia, benefitting both the United States and China. It has prevented terror activities from spilling over Afghanistan’s borders, as well as allowing for trade and facilitating the expansion of China’s BRI initiative into neighboring Pakistan. The U.S. foothold in Afghanistan has cost thousands of American lives and over two trillion dollars, but has also mitigated the threat of widespread terror activity, the initial impulse for going in in 2001. What will withdrawal mean for the security, politics, and economics of South Central Asia and for the U.S.-China relationship more broadly?

In an interview conducted on August 19, 2021, Mr. Derek Grossman and Ms. Niva Yau discuss the implications of the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan for U.S.-China relations in conversation with Dr. Daniel Markey.

The adverse effects of climate change are already being seen in crippling high temperatures, prolonged droughts, and a seemingly constant stream of extreme weather events testing countries all over the world. With the United States and China jointly accounting for over 40 percent of global greenhouse emissions and geopolitical competition intensifying, Dr. Scott Moore explains how domestic national security interests intersect with the bilateral conversation on climate. As each nation seeks to mitigate the worst effects of climate change within their borders, where is bilateral climate cooperation taking place now and how might it develop in the future?

In an interview conducted on August 5, 2021, Dr. Scott Moore discusses the implications for climate change on national security in both China and the United States.

On August 12, 2021, the National Committee on United States-China Relations published a report based on a survey of leading American academic centers, think tanks, and NGOs on China-related issues. The survey, conducted in late 2020, was commissioned by Carnegie Corporation of New York in order to assess the state of China-focused international relations and peace and security programs in the United States. The 82 responses present a snapshot of the field in an era of global disruption, instability, and growing Sino-American tensions. In this interview, National Committee Senior Program Officer Rosie Levine explores the key findings from the report and the broader implications for the U.S.-China relationship. Read the report: https://ncuscr.news/survey

In recent years Japan has found itself increasingly at a crossroads between its post-War ally, the United States, and rising neighbor, China. U.S. Editor and Chief Desk Editor of Nikkei Asia, Ken Moriyasu, examines the geopolitics, trade, and history that play a role in shaping Japan’s ties with both major powers.

In many critical technology industries, the United States and China are locked in an intense competition for economic and innovative primacy. At the same time, the supply chains, talent pools, and financial capital of individuals, corporations, and governments in both countries are deeply entangled in one larger tech ecosystem. Using the semiconductor industry as a case study, we asked NCUSCR Director Anja Manuel to shine a light on this complex web of collaboration and competition, and discuss what it could mean for humanity’s shared technological future.

Anja Manuel is co-founder and partner in Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, a strategic consulting firm that helps U.S. companies navigate international markets. She is a former diplomat, author, and advisor on emerging markets.

National Committee Professional Fellows Program alumni Jo Nelson and Li Sai discuss the impact of their exchange experiences on their professional and personal lives and on their broader views of people-to-people exchange. Learn more at www.ncuscr.org/pfp

Taiwan faces many internal issues, as well as pressures from China which exacerbate home-grown problems. Its responses to these internal and external challenges, and ultimately whether it can stand its ground against China’s ambitions, will be formulated within the island's lively democratic system. "In Difficult Choices: Taiwan’s Quest for Security and the Good Life," Richard Bush explores the issues and policy choices Taiwan confronts and offers suggestions for what Taiwan can do to help itself and what the United States should do to improve Taiwan’s chances of success.  In an interview conducted on June 8, 2021, Dr. Richard Bush discussed Taiwan’s predicament as it deals with internal issues and pressure from China, and recommended actions Taiwan and the United States could take to improve the likelihood that Taiwan will thrive.

The two sponsors of the Strategic Competition Act (S. 1169), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator James Risch (R-ID), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively, hailed committee passage of the legislation on April 21, stating that the bill “is an unprecedented, bipartisan effort to mobilize all United States strategic, economic, and diplomatic tools for an Indo-Pacific strategy that enables the U.S. government to compete effectively with the People’s Republic of China and the challenges it poses to our national and economic security for decades to come.” By contrast, Dr. Michael Swaine of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft sees the legislation as a dangerous “de facto declaration of a cold war with the People’s Republic of China.”

In an interview conducted on May 27, 2021, Dr. Michael Swaine and Dr. Rachel Odell discussed the Strategic Competition Act and its implications for U.S.-China relations.

In an interview conducted on May 12, 2021, Dr. Evan Medeiros discusses how conflict and conflict prevention are becoming increasingly central to American China policy as competition prevails in the policy framework.

In China, industry and political leaders are capitalizing on sci-fi’s unique ability to inspire the public and project a vision of the future that features China as a global innovation leader. Experts Aynne Kokas, Jing Tsu, and Yilin Wang explore how this genre can both reflect China’s present and shape its future.