Freeman Chair in China Studies

The Freeman Chair in China Studies is a leading source of insight and analysis on China’s evolving political system and the dynamics that impact its domestic policy agenda and external behavior

The Freeman Chair in China Studies is a leading source of insight and analysis on China’s evolving political system and the dynamics that impact its domestic policy agenda and external behavior. Our mission is to shape the public policy debate by providing timely and objective analysis that challenges the status quo and informs policymakers, the public, and corporate executives on the most important issues impacting China’s political trajectory.

Our work focuses on five key areas:

  • Leadership politics
  • Policy- and decisionmaking
  • Party-state governance
  • Political discourse and the role of ideology
  • Sources of political stability and risk

CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies was established in the late 1990s to advance the study of China and to promote understanding between the United States and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The Freeman Chair in China Studies was founded and continues to be guided by the principles of Houghton “Buck” Freeman (1921-2010).

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Learn more about the Freeman Chair in China Studies through our experts, staff, and non-resident affiliates.

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Interpret: China

Interpret: China is a Freeman Chair in China Studies project that seeks to enable a more objective understanding of China through the translation and analysis of primary source material.

 

The project seeks to transform how policymakers, companies, researchers, journalists and the broader public understand China.

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Featured Analysis

Photo: dore art/Adobe Stock

Photo: dore art/Adobe Stock

Defining Success: Does the United States Need an “End State” for Its China Policy?

In this report, more than 20 experts in China and grand strategy weigh in on whether the United States needs an “end goal” for its China strategy, expanding and deepening discussion of how America should navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.

Report by Jude Blanchette and Lily McElwee — October 7, 2024

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Freeman Chair Events

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Watch past Freeman Chair events and find out about our upcoming events.

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Podcasts

All Freeman Chair in China Studies Content

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The Asia Chessboard

The Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Legacy

This week Mike joins Mira Rapp-Hooper, a political scientist and expert on the Indo-Pacific who formerly served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, White House.

Podcast Episode by Michael J. Green — April 15, 2025

CSIS The Asia Chess Board
Pekingology

Dictatorship and Information

In this episode from January 2023, Jude Blanchette is joined by Martin K. Dimitrov, a professor of political science at Tulane University, to discuss his recent book, ‘Dictatorship and Information’: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China.

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — April 3, 2025

CSIS Pekingology

Could Allies Decide the Future of the Indo-Pacific?

In this Marshall Paper, Phillips P. O’Brien assesses the critical importance of allies in deciding major conflicts. O’Brien argues that the U.S. allies appear strong on paper, but a long conflict may hinge more on commitment than on capability.

Brief by Phillips O'Brien — April 1, 2025

The Asia Chessboard

South Korean Tumult and Strategic Direction

This week Mike joins Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair. They discuss South Korea's recently failed coup in 2024, and the future of South Korean international relations in the region.

Podcast Episode by Michael J. Green and Victor Cha — April 1, 2025

CSIS The Asia Chess Board
The Asia Chessboard

Abe's Legacy and Japan's Next Moves

This week Mike joins Nobukatsu Kanehara, Professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Mr. Kanehara previously served as assistant chief cabinet secretary to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012 to 2019. In 2013, he also became the inaugural deputy secretary-general of the National Security Secretariat. He also served as deputy director of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. They discuss Japan's foreign policy and what to expect in the coming years.

Podcast Episode by Michael J. Green — March 18, 2025

CSIS The Asia Chess Board
Pekingology

Why Does the CCP Need a Core?

Jude Blanchette is joined by Xuezhi Guo, the Lincoln Financial Professor of Political Science at Gilford College, to discuss his book, The Politics of the Core Leader in China: Culture, Institution, Legitimacy, and Power.

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — March 13, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
The Asia Chessboard

Schemes and Scam Inc. in Southeast Asia

Mike hosts Sue-Lin Wong, the Economist’s Southeast Asia correspondent. She was formerly a China correspondent for The Economist and host of The Prince, a multiple award-winning Economist podcast series about Xi Jinping. They discuss Southeast Asia and her new podcast Scam Inc.

Podcast Episode by Michael J. Green — March 6, 2025

CSIS The Asia Chess Board
Pekingology

Coalitions of the Weak

In this episode of Pekingology from June 2022, Jude Blanchette is joined by Victor Shih, associate professor and Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego. They discuss his book, Coalitions of the Weak: Elite Politics in China from Mao’s Stratagem to the Rise of Xi.

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette and Victor Shih — February 27, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
The Asia Chessboard

Technology Competition: The New Great Game

Mike hosts Tarun Chhabra, former Coordinator for Technology and National Security on the Biden administration’s National Security Council. He was also formerly the NSC Director for Strategic Planning and Director for Human Rights and National Security issues in the Obama Administration. They discuss developments in U.S.-China technological competition.

Podcast Episode by Michael J. Green — February 20, 2025

CSIS The Asia Chess Board

U.S. Allies and Partners Under the Trump Administration

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department for a discussion of the ways in which U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Americas are navigating the new administration’s policies.

Event — February 18, 2025