Ryan Hass and Ali Wyne argue that Beijing's self-imposed problems make it a less threatening challenger than it seems. The growing gap between Beijing's economic heft and its diplomatic aplomb will limit its potential influence globally.
David Dollar, Yiping Huang, and Yang Yao articulate in an IMF paper that China is facing serious domestic issues such as an aging population, a rural-urban divide, and an underdeveloped financial system amidst increasingly contentious economic relations with a number of major partners. They state that the country's long-term success will depend primarily on addressing its internal challenges.
Matthew M. Kavavanaugh joined David Dollar for a conversation about what can be done to increase the global production of vaccines, including a proposal to waive the World Trade Organization rules protecting the intellectual property for vaccine technology.
Reshaping U.S.-China Engagement. The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations hosted a virtual program with Cheng Li to discuss China's middle class, the dynamism, and diversity in contemporary China, as exemplified and led by Shanghai, and the constructive impact of exchanges between China and the United States.
Taiwan's vitality. Margaret Lewis reviews the state of Taiwan through its most recent outbreak of COVID-19. She argues, "What the outbreak has highlighted are challenges to Taiwan's vitality… More than a month into Taiwan's most stringent COVID-19 containment measures, many preexisting challenges are coming to the fore."
Edited by Tarun Chhabra, Rush Doshi, Ryan Hass and Emilie Kimball
To better address the implications of China's new status, both for U.S. policy and for the broader international order, Brookings scholars conducted research over the past two years, culminating in a project: "Global China: Assessing China’s Growing Role in the World." The project is intended to furnish policymakers and the public with hard facts and deep insights for understanding China’s regional and global ambitions.
G-7 and NATO rebuke Beijing. Ryan Hass told The Wall Street Journal that the broadsides from the G-7 and NATO aren't likely by themselves to undermine Mr. Xi's powerful standing in China. He added, "It could open the aperture on the question of, are we on the right track?"
National Security Law invokes change in Hong Kong. The Diplomat featured a piece by Diana Fu and Sida Liu regarding Beijing's growing coercive influence in Hong Kong since enacting the National Security Law. As the island was once an inspiration to Chinese activists, people in Hong Kong "must now learn from mainland grassroots activists how to confront a paranoid regime."
China's influence in Latin America. David Dollar was interviewed for a commentary piece published by Radio Free Asia on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ties with Latin America. He says that the BRI is controversial in the West because of a lack of transparency that makes it difficult to get reliable information on the finances of the initiative as well as on specific projects and their terms.
About the China Center
The John L. Thornton China Centerdevelops timely, independent analysis and policy recommendations to help U.S. and Chinese leaders address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here.
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