Overview

The Hoover Institution’s program on the US, China, and the World (USCW) delivers data-driven analysis and strategy about issues at the heart of the US-China relationship.

Its research agenda centers on three objectives:

  • developing a foundational understanding of the new domestic political and economic dynamics in China that are shaping Beijing’s capabilities and intentions
  • advancing US policymaking in the bilateral U.S.-China relationship around technology, economics, national security, and competitiveness
  • creating strategies with partners to address shared challenges posed by China on the global stage.

This agenda reflects a US-China relationship that is today more contentious and complex than at any time since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1979. China has become a near-peer economic, military, and political rival to the United States. It increasingly challenges US leadership in the Indo-Pacific, disrupts global trade and investment through its nonmarket practices, and seeks to shape a new international order that is in several respects antithetical to US values and interests. The two countries vie for influence across the globe on issues as wide-ranging as the future of the dollar, how best to sustain peace and security, and the future governance of the internet.

US policymakers must also grapple with a complex web of issues involving the two nations that defy straightforward solutions, such as supply-chain resilience, rapid advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence, and the most effective use of economic tools for national security. And Beijing’s growing constraints on international access to information and economic data compromise the ability of US officials and business leaders to make informed decisions.

The USCW program distinguishes itself by engaging not just the traditional think tank and policy communities but also voices from outside, including those of business leaders, scientists, and technologists. Through cutting-edge research, briefings, public events, publications, and workshops, it will inform and educate audiences in the US and around the world on the complex challenges and opportunities that China presents, and the policies and strategies needed to advance the economic, political, and military security and competitiveness of the United States and its partners.  

The USCW program is the Hoover Institution’s hub for China-related research and incorporates the work of the former project on China’s Global Sharp Power (CGSP).

The opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.

CHAIR
Elizabeth Economy

Elizabeth Economy

Hargrove Senior Fellow

Elizabeth Economy is the Hargrove Senior Fellow and co-chair of the Program on the US, China, and the World at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. From 2021–2023, Economy served as the senior advisor for China in the Department of Commerce. Economy was previously at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she served as the C.V. Starr senior fellow and director for Asia Studies for over a decade.

Glenn Tiffert

Glenn Tiffert

Distinguished Research Fellow

Glenn Tiffert is a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a historian of modern China. He co-chairs Hoover’s program on the US, China, and the World, and also leads Stanford’s participation in the National Science Foundation’s SECURE program, a $67 million effort authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to enhance the security and integrity of the US research enterprise.

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