SAIS launches new Institute on U.S.-China relations

The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) celebrated the public launch of a new institute on Feb. 3, the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs (ACF), established to add rigor and reason to public and policy discussions on China and the range of domestic and international issues that intersect with its global role.

The daylong event titled "Getting China Right" featured prominent speakers and experts discussing the economic, technological, and political complexities of the relationship between China and the United States. The event coincided with the publication of a report that grew out of a workshop held in October 2024 to access domestic challenges of the intensifying competition that shape U.S.-China relations and offer recommendations.

The day began with welcoming remarks from SAIS Dean James Steinberg and Jessica Chen Weiss, the founding faculty director of ACF, setting the stage for a series of insightful discussions. Steinberg then sat down with U.S. Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey for a discussion titled "What's at Stake in U.S. Policy on China?" Kim underscored the need for a comprehensive approach that balances U.S. national security with economic engagement with China, emphasizing bipartisan efforts to strengthen domestic resilience.

"The question is really how does America navigate a multipolar world where we are no longer an undisputed hegemon?" he said. "We are struggling to determine where we see ourselves."

Image caption: Jessica Chen Weiss, founding faculty director of the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs.

The launch event also featured several panels:

Artificial Intelligence, U.S.-China Relations, and Emerging Threats

This panel explored the implications of AI on U.S.-China relations and the emerging threats posed by technological advancements. Speakers included:

• Henry Farrell, a professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS
• Jim Mitre, vice president and director of global and emerging risks at RAND
• Kathleen Fisher, director of the information innovation office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Jeffrey Ding, assistant professor of political science at George Washington University.

Richard Danzig of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory moderated the discussion.

China's Economic Challenges, U.S. Interests, and the Global Economy

Moderated by Ana Swanson, a reporter who covers trade and international economics for The New York Times, this panel examined the economic challenges China faces, including its trade policy and slowing growth, and their impact on U.S. interests and the global economy. The participants were:

• Yuen Yuen Ang, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University
• Matt Turpin, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution specializing in U.S. policy toward China
• Jeremy Wallace, a professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS.

Getting China Right at Home: Report Launch and Panel Discussion

The launch of the "Getting China Right at Home" report was a focal point for discussions on the domestic challenges posed by U.S.-China competition and how these domestic policy discussions shape the engagement between the two countries. David Sanger, a New York Times reporter, moderated the panel in which speakers discussed the findings of the new report. The conversation included:

• Ho-Fung Hung, a professor at SAIS and Johns Hopkins University
• Margaret Pearson, a professor at the University of Maryland
• Samm Sacks, a research scholar and senior fellow at Yale Law School
• Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the national security project at the American Civil Liberties Union

In the last afternoon event before the closing reception, Stephen Hadley, a former National Security Advisor, engaged in a conversation with Weiss titled "The Way Ahead: A Conversation on the United States, China, and the Future of Global Affairs." Hadley emphasized that the United States must pursue its national security objectives in a way that supports and reinforces its soft power rather than undermines it.

The day concluded with an evening reception, during which David M. Lampton, a professor emeritus of China Studies and senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Institute at SAIS, delivered remarks celebrating the launch of the institute.