ChinaPower

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Randy Schriver and Mike Kuiken join us to discuss key findings from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s 2025 Annual Report to Congress, which they helped draft. They examine how Beijing is increasingly using the PLA for political signaling, how China’s treatment of space as a warfighting domain marks a notable shift, and how China’s dominance across key supply chain choke points creates structural vulnerabilities for the U.S. and global markets. The conversation also covers several other recommendations from the report, including proposals related to Taiwan’s role in supporting U.S. posture initiatives and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.  Randy Schriver is the Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security (IIPS) and a partner at Pacific Solutions LLC. Prior to this, he served for two years as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs during the first Trump Administration.  Mike Kuiken is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and spent over two decades in the Senate.   Both are commission members of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

In this episode of the China Power Podcast, Chad Sbragia joins us to discuss the current state of U.S.-China mil-mil relations and the overall defense relationship between the two countries. He provides his insight into the continuities and changes in defense ties between the countries from the first Trump administration until now and the current opportunities that exist for greater engagement and increased understanding between the two sides. Sbragia also discusses his key takeaways from this year’s Xiangshan forum, Beijing’s premier defense and security forum, and what he is looking out for in the upcoming release of the U.S. National Defense Strategy and China Military Power Report. Chad Sbragia is currently a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Previously he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

In this episode of the China Power Project, Chad Sbragia joins us to discuss the current state of U.S.-China mil-mil relations and the overall defense relationship between the two countries. He provides his insight into the continuities and changes in defense ties between the countries from the first Trump administration until now and the current opportunities that exist for greater engagement and increased understanding between the two sides. Sbragia also discusses his key takeaways from this year’s Xiangshan forum, Beijing’s premier defense and security forum, and what he is looking out for in the upcoming release of the U.S. National Defense Strategy and China Military Power Report. Chad Sbragia is currently a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Previously he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Elizabeth Economy examines the key outcomes of China’s Fourth Plenum and what they reveal about Beijing’s evolving economic priorities and push for technological self-reliance ahead of the release of the 15th Five-Year Plan. She discusses China’s strategy in the U.S.-China trade war, including its expanding retaliatory toolkit, rare-earth export controls, and the global pushback triggered by China’s industrial overcapacity. She concludes by assessing how domestic pressures and external frictions will shape China’s policy direction and its economic engagement with the United States over the next few years. Dr. Elizabeth Economy is the Hargrove Senior Fellow and co-chair of the Program on the US, China, and the World at the Hoover Institution. From 2021 to 2023, she served as the senior advisor for China in the Department of Commerce. Dr. Economy was previously at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she served as the C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and director for Asia Studies for over a decade.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Henrietta Levin and Gregory Poling unpack the outcomes of the ASEAN Summit and the Trump–Xi meeting on the sidelines of APEC. They examine how Washington and Beijing are prioritizing economic stability over strategic confrontation, why topics like Taiwan and the South China Sea were not discussed, and how ASEAN is seeking balance through new trade and digital initiatives. The discussion concludes with what to watch next, particularly with China’s trade implementation and rising tensions in the South China Sea. Henrietta Levin is a senior fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS in Washington, D.C. She previously held senior roles at the U.S. Department of State and the White House, spearheading U.S. strategy and diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific. Greg Poling is the director of the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at CSIS, focusing on maritime security and regional diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific.