Henrietta Levin

Senior Fellow, Freeman Chair in China Studies
Henrietta Levin

Henrietta Levin is a senior fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies 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, with particular focus on China and its global impact, Southeast Asia, and the region’s multilateral architecture. Most recently, Henrietta served as deputy China coordinator for global affairs at the Department of State, director for China at the White House National Security Council, and director for Southeast Asia, also at the National Security Council. Earlier, she held several positions across the Department of State, including at U.S. Embassy Beijing, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. She began her government career at the Pentagon, where she served as a spokesperson and presidential management fellow in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Henrietta is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds several Department of State Superior Honor Awards. She received a bachelor's degree in international relations and a master of public diplomacy degree from the University of Southern California.

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Pekingology

The Broken China Dream

Minxin Pei joins the show to trace the evolution of China's political and economic system through the post-Mao era, highlighting key moments in which the Party's efforts to strengthen collective leadership inadvertently planted the seeds of Xi Jinping's eventual power grab.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — December 11, 2025

CSIS Pekingology

ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2025

Please join us for the 10th annual ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum, our premier international forum that brings together officials, policymakers, and experts to discuss issues important to the U.S.-ROK alliance.

Event — December 3, 2025

Pekingology

China's Demographic Dilemma

Henrietta Levin is joined by Philip O’Keefe to unpack the rapid aging of Chinese society; the impact of a shrinking population on China's politics, economy, and innovation ecosystem; as well as its trade imbalances and Beijing's global ambitions.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — November 25, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
The Impossible State

What Does China Want?

Dr. Victor Cha, Dr. Zenobia Chan, and Ms. Henrietta Levin discussed whether China is a status quo power with limited global aims, or a revisionist state with goals of expanding power and reshaping the global international order, and more.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Henrietta Levin — November 24, 2025

The Impossible State Podcast
Pekingology

China's Africa Strategy

Henrietta Levin is joined by Cobus van Staden, Managing Editor of the China Global South Project, to unpack China’s Africa strategy, as well as China's bilateral ties with South Africa ahead of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. 

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — November 13, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

How Firms Serve the Party-State

Ning Leng joins the show to explore the relationship between politics and business in China, what the Party really wants from Chinese firms, and why a malfunctioning wastewater treatment plant in southwest China has so many decorative fish.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — October 30, 2025

CSIS Pekingology

Unpacking the CRINK Axis

Join the CSIS Korea Chair for a discussion unpacking the growing ties among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, which some have called a CRINK axis or an "Axis of Upheaval." 

Event — October 28, 2025