April 30, 2020

Webinar recap: Fighting COVID-19 On April 3, the John L. Thornton China Center hosted a webinar featuring health experts discussing their experiences and lessons from the frontlines of COVID-19 in Asia. Brookings President John R. Allen delivered opening remarks, which were followed by two discussions moderated by interim Vice President of Foreign Policy Suzanne Maloney and China Center scholars Cheng Li and Ryan Hass. Watch the webinar

New papers on US-China tech competition In the latest installment of the Brookings Global China project, experts assess China's growing technological reach in the world by focusing on both thematic and technology-specific topics. See the papers | Learn more about the Global China project

The US, China and Asia after the pandemic: more, not less, tension The world's two most powerful countries are mired in a narrative war over the causes of the COVID-19 pandemic and the apportionment of blame for the global destruction it is causing, write Ryan Hass and Kevin Dong in East Asia Forum. These arguments, they argue, may result in negative-sum outcomes for the United States and China and could lead to heightened tensions across the region. Read more

Fears of a Chinese global takeover are greatly exaggerated   Writing in Barron's, Susan A. Thornton argues that although "China will not emerge from this crisis as a dominant world power...it will use the crisis to adapt and change, as it has in the past." Read more

New podcast episodes How will COVID-19 reshape America's logistics workforce? Adie Tomer joins David Dollar on the latest episode of the Dollar & Sense podcast to discuss the geographic distribution of logistics workers, their role in supply chains, the lack of protection for essential workers, and the potential movement of multinational companies out of China. China's advanced technology ambitions. In this special edition of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, Lindsey Ford interviews two authors of the most recent release of papers in the Global China series focused on China's aspiration to be a global technology leader.

In the news China is making diplomatic inroads with many countries after a slow response to the outbreak early on. But Beijing's early missteps may haunt it: "I am skeptical that many countries will soon forget China's early missteps that contributed to the global spread of the virus," Ryan Hass commented in Reuters. Cheng Li on US-China pandemic cooperation. Cheng Li joins other American scholars in Cankao Xiaoxi (in Chinese) to explain why U.S.-China cooperation is critical to combating the COVID-19 epidemic and addressing other future global crises. The global supply chain is changing amid the coronavirus crisis. in the South China Morning Post, David Dollar stated that "this crisis is more likely to accelerate decoupling than to lead to better cooperation." After COVID-19, Taiwan will have to navigate a world that will never be the same. The coronavirus crisis has exposed a range of fresh challenges and questions about the future of the US-China relationship, writes Ryan Hass in a recent Taipei Times op-ed. Taiwan's role in this changing environment depends largely on how the people of Taiwan answer a number of these looming questions.

About the China Center  The John L. Thornton China Center develops timely, independent analysis and policy recommendations to help U.S. and Chinese leaders address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.

A note on the Brookings response to COVID-19   The Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. will be closed through at least June 1. For more information, read our full guidance here. As Brookings experts continue to assess the global impacts of COVID-19, read the latest analysis and policy recommendations at our coronavirus page or stay up to date with our coronavirus newsletter.