Defense Secretaries Harold Brown, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, and  William J. Perry, in conversation with National Committee President Stephen A. Orlins, reflect on their experiences at DoD and the future of the U.S.-China security relationship.

The National Committee’s Track II Strategic Security Dialogue (at times called the Northeast Asia Strategic Security Dialogue) began in 1999 and stemmed from an earlier National Committee mil/mil program and the joint Stanford-Harvard Preventive Defense Project (PDP), a research collaboration of Stanford University and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government set up by former Secretary of Defense William Perry and Assistant Secretary Ash Carter.

Following a cooling of relations in the early 1990s, the National Committee revitalized the U.S.-China military dialogue, sending a group of retired four-star generals and admirals to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in 1994 and 1996. Since then, the success of this program has continued to foster constructive exchange, in addition to inspiring other programs like the U.S.-China Strategic Security Dialogue.

At a National Committee program on Monday, March 18 Richard Bush, a senior fellow at Brookings, discussed his new book at Dorsey & Whitney in New York City.

Despite its impressive size and population, economic vitality, and drive to upgrade its military capabilities, China remains a vulnerable nation surrounded by powerful rivals and potential foes. In China's Search for Security, authors Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell argue that the key to understanding China’s foreign policy is to grasp these geostrategic challenges, which […]

In early March, China’s central government proposed a defense budget for 2011 that increases military spending nearly 13 percent over 2010. As China expands and modernizes its armed forces, it holds an increasingly influential position in Asian-Pacific security. China has been a crucial player in the Six Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear proliferation during […]

On March 8, sixty miles off of Hainan Island, an American surveillance ship, the USNS Impeccable, and five Chinese ships were involved in what Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair called the “most serious” military dispute between United States and China since the April, 2001 EP-3 incident. The United States protested the action and […]

In July, 2008, the National Committee brought together 30 of the best minds on various aspects of China and several specialists in other areas for a synergistic, cross-cutting look at some of the major challenges facing China and the United States and what the best policies might be to enhance cooperation and ameliorate conflict over […]

The purpose of these seminars for mid-career U.S. military officers who have been fast-tracked for top leadership positions but do not focus on China in their daily work is to provide them with a background on China and to brief them on issues not conventionally covered in their military training — issues such as China's domestic politics, economic development, business and trade, foreign policy, rule of law, growth of civil society, environmental concerns and climate change, energy, and the use of soft power.