What a pleasure to get to know this guy!

I'm very pleased with the work we did here. The takeaway is that by many metrics Chinese nationalism is off the charts and likely supportive of actions that could lead to conflict. At the same time, Chinese people are open to cooperation and very positive about multilateral organizations.

No one listening in Washington. Where should we turn? @nickzeller.bsky.social, writes about the devastation that accompanies the rise and fall of modern empires, including the U.S. and that the road to peace may lie in the survival strategies of smaller countries. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3!

A real pleasure doing this interview with Diego Ge, thanks to @nickzeller.bsky.social for making it happen

As editor here, @elifriedman.bsky.social has been top of my list to interview. The issues in this interview should be at the core of any and all discussions of U.S.-China relations, and yet they are probably the most difficult to raise. I highly recommend Eli's work.

This is going to be a big one. Not many organizations standing who can still do this work.

Very proud of the work we did here and looking forward to sharing it. We'll have a series of reports immediately before this event, and will also be live streaming for those that register.

Uncertainty in a key pillar of people-to-people diplomacy by Juan Zhang - #China no longer the top source of international students in US. No of #India students surge to 331,602, while Chinese student enrollment dropped by 4.2% to 277,398. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

An American Werewolf in London was released 44 years ago today. www.unemployednegativity.com/2020/10/what...

"The deepening partnership between Serbia and China offers a revealing case study of how Beijing capitalizes on a complex blend of historical grievance, economic aspiration, and political vulnerability," writes Stefan Vladisavljev for The Monitor. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a gravid tradwife on an all-white bus, being forced to stand by her unfilial brat, forever

What are the actual prospects for peaceful unification of mainland China and Taiwan? It's not a popular question in most circles in the West, but understanding China's position is still key to avoiding preventable bad outcomes. @edisonchen0222.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

"This state behavior is warranted by the world’s now multipolar configuration, where foreign policies challenge bipolar or unipolar dominance."

The US is demonstrably unreliable in its economic and military commitments, yet China is still looked on with suspicion even as its investments are welcomed by many. The result is a pattern of hedging between the US and China by nearly all of Asia's middle powers. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

I wrote for China Currents about the stakes of imperial decline and ascension, and how the impossibility of changing minds in Washington frees peace advocates to focus their work bringing together those countries hardest hit by US-China rivalry. Also, some Kant. www.chinacenter.net/2025/china-c...

Hedging is great and we need more of it. Whether the next US administration is Republican or Democratic, the drive to create economic blocs will continue. No economic ties means less incentive to act carefully on security issues. Economies outside US & China can and should still demand cooperation.

@hmarston.bsky.social at @seasia.csis.org writes about Vietnam's tightrope walk between the US and China. With a closer eye always on its nearest neighbor, hedging still means more than turning to the US for defense and China for profits. @csis.org open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

@diegoyc.bsky.social writes about the struggle of those living at the China-Myanmar border. Fear of organized crime to the south, demonization of refugees, and strict control over the flow of people, it should be a familiar story to anyone in the West. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

Ryan Hass at @brookings.edu spoke to The Monitor, making the case that negotiations are the only viable option for the U.S. and China. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

@vivianwu.bsky.social, CEO of @dashengmedia.bsky.social, spoke to us about the limitations of foreign reports in China, the politics of Chinese diasporic media, and the importance of informed, critical, and free journalism. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

My 80th anniversary tribute to Vannevar Bush's July 1945 manifesto: No winner can take all in #AI and we must keep it that way. 🙏 @cartercenter.bsky.social uscnpm.substack.com/p/winners-ca...

"A winner-take-all approach to AI is, quite plainly, unhumanitarian," writes @meicensun.bsky.social. To win in the current AI competition most likely means losing out on a host of material improvements to human life. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

Bilateral dialogues between the U.S. and China can collapse over the big questions. But, writes Jesse Marks, bringing in third countries can help set achievable targets remind the great powers that there's more than just their own interests on the line. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

@asiasociety.org's Orville Shell speaks with Edison Chen about the end of engagement and the inseparability of trade from all other aspects of the U.S.-China relationship. "Engagement is dead," he rightly observes, "Was it wrong?" Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

More bombs lead to more bombs. Grandview Institution's Zhang Tuosheng writes about the logic of China's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation with and eye toward Iran and North Korea. China's Resolve to Safeguard Nuclear Non-Proliferation open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

"The Chinese economy right now is confronting economic challenges on multiple fronts," Arthur Dong tells @edisonchen0222.bsky.social, "One might say it's a recession, but I would say that the present state of the Chinese economy goes beyond that." open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

NATO plans to spend $13.4 trillion on the military over five years. That’s enough to give every person on Earth $1,675 or to meet global climate finance needs. The emissions from this buildup would equal those of Brazil and Japan combined. www.tni.org/en/publicati...

"institutions of higher learning are about to be pummeled by the looming reconciliation bill which weaponizes working-class families’ debt financing college dreams. not only will it push millions to the financial brink, it will push them out of higher ed altogether." newrepublic.com/article/1970...

@jwassers.bsky.social on his new book covering a decade of protest in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia - The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia’s Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing. Three-Finger Salute to Autocracy w/ Jeffrey Wasserstrom open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p... @columbiagr.bsky.social

Happy to share a few thoughts for this piece: “China has little hope of expanding its soft power in the country. Yet at the same time, the NUG and various other ethnic armed groups are pragmatic enough to recognize that China's influence and presence in the country are not going away.” #Myanmar

I comment here on the USA's ambiguous relationship with Myanmar (and the so-called developing world) more generally, including: "As the US continues to fund and support Israel’s genocide in Gaza today, it seems nothing less than absurd to recommend more US engagement in places around the world."

After the earthquake in Myanmar, China may be filling a role once occupied by USAID, writes Miranda Wilson. However, while humanitarian aid is welcome, China's aid regime may be as much about buying influence as America's. @hmarston.bsky.social @epf.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

“Lucid, well-researched, and interesting, the book merits wide discussion.“ @asiancha.bsky.social has another great review of Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s forthcoming THE MILK TEA ALLIANCE (out next week!) chajournal.blog/2025/05/31/a...

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Juan Zhang writes that it is "increasingly clear to Chinese scholars that the tariff-driven confrontation has evolved into a broader, high-stakes strategic contest." Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

This stuff doesn’t look very protect-and-serve-y

My latest with Diego Ge on why the threat to Chinese student visas in the US still lingers, and why not every loss for the US is a win for China. Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p... #China #Visas #Harvard #US-China #Academia

Wu Xinbo at Fudan University's Center for American Studies sees no second attempt at a trade war ceasefire in sight. Juan Zhang writes, instead, that they believe "the tariff-driven confrontation has evolved into a broader, high-stakes strategic contest." Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

A new anonymous article on the opening of the June 4th memorial in LA. Anonymous for fear of repercussions on both sides of the Pacific. A statement of how important Tiananmen is now globally. #tiananmen #june4th

@jwassers.bsky.social has a new book on the Milk Tea Alliance. The main claim is that 2014-24 was a world historical period of popular protest in Asia. It's a very solid entry on a subject that deserves much more attention in the near future.

First reviews of my forthcoming book: chajournal.blog/2025/05/31/a... by the Carter Center's @nickzeller.bsky.social (a lot there on the book's handling of Thailand, a country he knows well) & chajournal.blog/2025/05/28/m... by diasporic HongKonger & gender studies scholar @sharonyamsy.bsky.social

In a corner of the world where the US is synonymous with anti-communism by any means necessary, it's no surprise those with the most oppressive politics domestically are split on whether China or America best serve their interests.

Important read heading into this weekend. I don't think anyone expects too much from first talks, but Beijing will definitely be looking to contain the trade war and maybe willing to allow Trump to claim a short term win.

The Carter Center calls for an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza. www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2025...