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It’s easy, in the United States, to talk about China as a monolith. But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. As in the West, Chinese society is divided by inequality, geography, gender, and generation — after all, China is home to more than one billion people. As we seek to understand China’s role in the 21st century, we do well to consider where change is comin...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to start his second five-year term when the 19th Party Congress convenes in Beijing this fall. Under him, a new generation of leaders will emerge as China continues to position itself for maximum strategic and economic influence around the globe. As the United States enters an era of “America first,” Beijing is launching projects of s...
Former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has had unprecedented access to modern China’s political and business elite.
The most populous country in the world has economic might, military muscle, and a governing philosophy at odds with democracy. While the rest of the world watches China’s sphere of influence grow, can we count on them to be partners in tackling global problems?
China’s economy is slowing and the world has no choice but to pay attention. And in Beijing, Xi Jinping’s administration pursues policies increasingly divergent from democratic ideals. These developments are philosophically challenging, especially as they concern the world’s largest population and second-largest economy. And yet they also pose threats to multilateral coope...
Which strategies are most promising to stop gun violence in Chicago?
The Aspen Challenge presents three high school teams from Philadelphia and one team from Chicago who developed brilliant solutions to issues they see plaguing their communities. See these young change-makers take to the stage to prove that effective community solutions can be created at any age. Learn how Wendell Philips High School is improving police relations and violen...
In 2018, economic activity was accelerating in almost all regions of the world. One year later, much has changed. The escalation of US-China trade tensions, credit tightening in China, and macroeconomic stress in key G20 economies have all contributed to a weakened global expansion. As the US trade war with China deepens, what are the biggest risks at this delicate moment?...
After decades with no significant geopolitical rivals, the United States now faces the emergence of China as a major adversary. How will this change the landscape of the emerging world order? What new forms of geopolitical conflict will arise, and what new forms of cooperation are necessary?
World order is never in stasis for too long. And indeed, we seem to be witnessing a historic shift now. The relatively stable decades after World War II saw gains for global democracies, rapid economic growth fueled by globalization, and the birth of the Internet. But they also saw the speeding of global warming, widening inequality, and the scourge of transnational terror...
Which countries are doing the most harm to democracy? And why is the United States struggling to maintain a healthy democratic system?
As the US and China continue their trade war, economic instability is rising in countries around the world.
Trump in America, Brexit in the U.K., anti-EU parties in Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, and Hungary, and nativist or authoritarian leaders in Turkey, Russia, India, and China -- Why has nationalism suddenly returned with a vengeance? Why has globalization become a dirty word? Can a new international order be created that doesn't dismiss what is c...
The hard work of diplomacy, often mostly invisible, is arguably more important now than ever. In a shifting geopolitical landscape characterized by the emergence of Russia and China as significant rivals to the United States, new dangers threaten the American idea and an American-led world order. And yet, our diplomatic muscles have atrophied. Ambassador William Burns, pre...
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, foreign policy strategists continue to debate what motivates Russian President Vladimir Putin and what could be his endgame. Not far behind are concerns about Chinese President Xi Jinping and whether developments in Europe will reverberate in the Far East. What do Putin and Xi have in common? What brings them together, and conve...
Billions of people around the world do not have access to inexpensive and reliable energy that is critical for economic growth. At the same time, the world’s current energy choices lead to pollution that is shortening lives and causing climate change. Finding a way to balance the need for energy with its environmental consequences defines the global energy and climate chal...
Within our lifetimes, AI will, by design, begin to behave unpredictably, thinking and acting in ways which defy human logic. Big tech companies may be inadvertently building and enabling vast arrays of intelligent systems that don't share our motivations, desires, or hopes for the future of humanity. Is it too late to change course and realize a human-centered future for a...