East Asia

For more than seventy years, East Asia has been the nexus of US presence and engagement in Asia. Today, the region is becoming a hotbed for the return of great power competition, with long-term US allies and partners like Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan next door to competitors and challengers including China, Russia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. While East Asia continues to navigate a number of longstanding traditional security issues, it must also address the rise of online disinformation, competition to pioneer emerging technologies, and more.

Explore
Lessons from Taiwan’s experience with COVID-19

New Atlanticist Mar 31, 2025

Dispatch from Hong Kong: How the ‘geoeconomic city’ is weathering global headwinds

By Josh Lipsky, Ananya Kumar

From Chinese and US economic growth to stablecoin regulations, a recent visit to Hong Kong offered important insights for two Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center experts.
China Digital Currencies
Lessons from Taiwan’s experience with COVID-19

New Atlanticist Mar 25, 2025

Reading between the lines of Taiwan’s new Quadrennial Defense Review

By Kitsch Liao

The recently released Quadrennial Defense Review offers a window into the Taiwanese military’s issues with prioritization, operational readiness, and manpower retention.
China East Asia
Lessons from Taiwan’s experience with COVID-19

Report Mar 24, 2025

How Beijing uses inducements as a tool of economic statecraft

By William Piekos

As strategic competition between the United States and China intensifies, Washington and Beijing seek every possible advantage to gain an edge. In this environment, both countries are increasingly turning to economic statecraft—the use of economic coercion or inducement to pursue strategic goals—to advance their interests.
China Economy & Business

Programs

The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative equips the transatlantic community to “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific and to position the Atlantic Council to serve as the essential link between high-level transatlantic and Asian leaders and thinkers

EXPLORE THE Initiative

Content

New Atlanticist

Apr 7, 2020

Lessons from Taiwan’s experience with COVID-19

By Chang-Ching Tu

Early intervention, a flexible command structure, a comprehensive epidemic prevention strategy, integrated medical big data, and proactive information disclosure allowed Taiwan—which at its closest point is only eighty-one miles (130 kilometers) away from China and has a very high population density—to record only a few confirmed cases in recent months. There are a number of lessons to be learned from the Taiwanese government’s effective response to COVID-19 that should be shared with other parts of the world fighting the ongoing pandemic.

Coronavirus Taiwan
GeoTech Center's work on Smart Partnerships, picture of a globe showing china and southeast asia

Timely Commentary & Analysis

Apr 6, 2020

GeoTech and smart partnerships: potential AI & China futures

By David Bray

The Atlantic Council is honored to partner with the Rockefeller Foundation via a grant focused on data and AI efforts by China around the world. We started these activities in the middle of 2019 and they were part of a bigger plan to launch the new Atlantic Council GeoTech Center in 2020 – focused on the geopolitics of new technologies and advances in data.

Americas China

In the News

Apr 5, 2020

Robert Manning in Global Times about the necessity of US – China cooperation on Coronavirus

By Atlantic Council

China Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2020

China’s failing coronavirus strategy

By Joe Bodnar

While it is too early to understand the impact of the coronavirus on geopolitics, it is not too early to recognize China as a rising power that is aggressive, opportunistic, and susceptible to mistakes.

China Coronavirus

In the News

Apr 3, 2020

Kroenig writes article on democratic advantages for The Atlantic

By Atlantic Council

Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Matthew Kroenig argues that democracies possess inherent advantages over autocracies.

China National Security

New Atlanticist

Apr 1, 2020

Reconciling sanctions and humanitarian need during COVID-19

By Brian O’Toole

As the world economy shuts down to try to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, the humanitarian collateral effects of sanctions become more pronounced and potentially deadly. But the argument that the United States should unilaterally roll back sanctions draws a false dichotomy; sanctions do not have to be suspended or rolled back for the United States to better address humanitarian concerns.

Cuba Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

In the News

Apr 1, 2020

Feng and Saha in China Brief: Global supply chains, economic decoupling, and US-China relations, part 1: The view from the United States

By Atlantic Council

On April 1, 2020, Ashley Feng and Sagatom Saha published a piece in The Jamestown Foundation’s China Brief.

China Economy & Business

In the News

Mar 31, 2020

Shullman in War on the Rocks: How China is exploiting the pandemic to export authoritarianism

By Atlantic Council

On March 31, 2020, War on the Rocks published an article by David O. Shullman, “How China is Exploiting the Pandemic to Export Authoritarianism.”

China Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2020

China’s ineffective coronavirus response could create its own Black Swan

By Chang-Ching Tu

At this time of increasing uncertainty, the Chinese Communist Party is facing a severe test of its ability to prevent coronavirus from becoming a “black swan” that severely impacts its political stability and security.

China Coronavirus
AI Policy Primer 2020 Peter

Issue briefs and reports

Mar 27, 2020

AI, society and governance: An introduction

By Peter Engelke

AI’s increasing range of applications are having real-world consequences, both positive and negative. Those consequences, in turn, have animated spirited and at times emotional debates about how governments can craft policies to come to grips with a world increasingly shaped by AI.

China Digital Policy
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Experts

Staff

Philippe Dickinson

Deputy Director

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Chinese East Asia

Board director

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky

Vice Chair, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Latin America China

Fellow

Hanna Dohmen

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

China Chinese
Jenny Domino

Fellow

Jenny Domino

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Digital Policy East Asia

Fellow

Nicholas Eftimiades

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Intelligence

Fellow

Zoltán Fehér

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

Central Europe China
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Events

Public Event Mon, March 23, 2026 • 10:00 am ET

Kurt Campbell on what to expect from Trump’s Beijing visit
China Economy & Business Politics & Diplomacy Technology & Innovation