Council on Foreign Relations

Starting July 1, I will be the new senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. This means I’ll be working full-time for the Council, helping to improve understanding of China and–one hopes–contribute in a small way to global policy debates about this rising superpower. 

   I have a variety of responsibilities, including finishing my book on Chinese counter-histories–a huge issue that affects the government’s legitimacy. I’ll also be organizing roundtables about key issues facing China (suggestions welcome), and will be authoring a major study about China later this year. I hope to continue engaging publicly on China through the media, public speaking, and so on. 

   The Council is headquartered in New York City, where I’ll be working, but also has a strong presence in Washington, D.C. GIven the importance of the policy debates there, I’ll be spending a fair amount of time in the U.S. capital. I hope, Covid-willing, to travel around the U.S. and globally. In fact, I’ll be spending the first few months of my job in Berlin, winding down work there. This will also give me a chance to better understand the EU-US-China relationship. And so if you’re based in Europe, drop me a note and let’s try to talk in person or at least while in the same time zone. 

   I’m really looking forward to this job. After having worked in China for twenty years, I think I have something different to contribute to the conversation on how we live with one of the world’s most fascinating countries.