A Joint Project by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Institute for International Economics

The dramatic rise in China’s global economic power, its increasing regional influence, its growing military capabilities and the complex dynamics of its internal transformation are sources of increasing concern to the U.S. policy community and public.  The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) have launched a joint multi-year project that will bring together leading specialists and analysts from the two institutions to provide regular, comprehensive and objective information and analysis of changes in contemporary China’s internal evolution and global role.  The project is designed to help the United States better understand the facts and dynamics underpinning China’s rise and suggest policy responses in both countries that not only maximize the opportunities for China’s constructive integration into the international community but also contribute to forming a domestic consensus that will provide a stable foundation for such policies.

The centerpiece of the project will be a series of comprehensive books, entitled China: The Balance Sheet, the first of which was published in April 2006.  China: The Balance Sheet presents the most important statistical facts about China’s economic, political, social and military development, along with analysis and discussion of their implications for the United States. As such, the book will serve as an indispensable resource for policymakers and practitioners who need to think strategically about China.

In May 2007, CSIS and the Peterson Institute hosted a major public conference on China that brought together members of the project and other experts to present discuss the facts and implications of China’s rise. The China Balance Sheet in 2007 and Beyond, a compendium of papers written on a wide range of topics by the authors of the book and other China experts, was presented at the conference.

As part of Phase III, the China Balance Sheet project will release a new book in spring 2008 that will include both analysis of the most pressing China issues of today and tomorrow as well as accompanying policy prescriptions.

The project is chaired by C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute, and John J. Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS.  The project leads of The China Balance Sheet are Dr. Bergsten, Charles Freeman, Nicholas R. Lardy and Derek Mitchell.  CSIS and the Peterson Institute also have drawn on the extensive experience of an expert advisory committee representing a diverse range of perspectives on China.

Primary Scholars

John Hamre, CSIS President and CEO

Charles Freeman, Freeman Chair in China Studies

Derek Mitchell, Senior Fellow, International Security Program