ChinaPower

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Arne Westad joins us to discuss his new book, The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History. He explains why the years leading up to World War I, rather than the Cold War, offer a striking parallel from history for today’s U.S.–China relationship and great power competition. He highlights how mistrust, multipolarity, and unclear strategic aims can fuel miscalculation. The conversation examines how flashpoints such as Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and India–China tensions could escalate under these conditions, why rapid technological change and weak crisis communication heighten risks, and the steps major powers can take to reduce these dangers.

Arne Westad is an Elihu Professor of History at Yale University. Before joining Yale, he taught at the London School of Economics, where he was School Professor of International History, and at Harvard University, where he was the S.T. Lee Professor of US-Asia Relations.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Robert Greenway joins us to discuss key findings from his new report, TIDALWAVE: Strategic Exploitation and Sustainment in a US–China Conflict. The conversation explores China’s vulnerabilities in fuel and ammunition sustainment and how instability in the Middle East could affect PLA operations. He also discusses the risks associated with the sustainment gaps facing U.S. forces and potential steps Washington and its partners could consider to strengthen their position.
Robert Greenway is the Director of the Allison Center for National Security at The Heritage Foundation.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Witold Rodkiewicz joins us to discuss Russian elite assessments of the China‑Russia relationship at the strategic level, how they interpret China’s growing power and the emerging U.S.–China competition, and whether U.S. policy can still influence Moscow’s strategic trajectory.Witold Rodkiewicz is a Senior Fellow in the Russian Department at the Centre for East European Studies.

In this special episode of the China Power Podcast, listen to our recent event assessing Xi Jinping’s widespread purges of China’s military and what they reveal about China’s priorities, dynamics within the PLA, and China’s overall military readiness.

To discuss these issues, our event brought together six leading experts on China: Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens (Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin), Mr. John Culver (Nonresident Senior Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings), Mr. Jon Czin (Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings), Dr. Taylor Fravel (Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Dr. Bonny Lin (Director, China Power Project and Senior Adviser at CSIS). Mr. Brian Hart (Deputy Director and Fellow of the China Power Project at CSIS).

For more on the topic, access the China Power dataset and full report here and read our compilation of expert commentaries here.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, William Hannas and Hugh Grant‑Chapman join us to discuss key findings from Bill’s new report, China’s Embodied AI: A Path to AGI, as well as the CSIS report Is China Leading the Robotics Revolution? They examine why Chinese researchers view embodied AI as a critical pathway toward advanced intelligence, how Beijing is prioritizing robotics and physical‑world AI applications, and what lessons China’s AI strategy may offer for other countries.

William Hannas is the Lead Analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, or CSET. Before joining CSET, he served in the Senior Intelligence Service at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked as an executive expert on advanced technical programs.

Hugh Grant-Chapman is a fellow with the Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.