Our Mission
Since 2006, EWI’s East Asia (formally Asia-Pacific) program has focused on convening constructive, high-level dialogues that engage key American and regional stakeholders from government, business and military sectors to address important security issues, aiming to enhance greater mutual understanding and prevent conflicts. The program has strengthened trust and developed original policy ideas, which are receiving attention in Washington, Beijing and Tokyo.
East Asia is one of the most crucial frontiers in global affairs; its regional dynamics reveal the unfolding shifts of power that lie at the heart of current U.S.-China tensions. China’s rise, along with its rapidly growing economic, military and political influence, has challenged American predominance in the Asia-Pacific region. As the balance of power in the Western Pacific continues to shift, potential flashpoints abound—from U.S.-China trade frictions to instability in the Taiwan Strait and Korean Peninsula; from territorial disputes in the South China Sea to transnational issues, including environmental threats and infectious diseases. Thus, coordination between the United States, China and other major players is more critical than ever to ensuring security and stability in the region.
What We Do
EWI’s East Asia program continues to explore new initiatives to enlarge its network and influence in anticipation of emerging opportunities and challenges.
U.S.-ASIA ROUNDTABLE SERIES
Building on the success of the program’s earlier U.S.-China Strategic Seminar Series, EWI launched a new series of U.S.-Asia roundtables that aim to engage thought leaders to look beyond the headline, creating discussions that spark ideas and solutions to emerging global issues, including techno-nationalism, science and diplomacy and the evolution of civil discourse.
U.S.-CHINA STRATEGIC SEMINAR SERIES
In light of growing tensions in the U.S-.China trade and commercial relationship, EWI initiated a series of roundtables in collaboration with Red Bison in 2018-19. The series generated ideas for a proposal of 11 recommendations to address issues of common concern, including the broader themes of peace and security, trade opportunities, cybersecurity and the environment These recommendations, focusing on the future 10-20 years of the geopolitical landscape, are a result of several discussions among a select group of 25 influential public and private stakeholders. More information regarding the specific outcomes of each seminar can be found at the following links: China and the U.S. in the Next Decade, China and the United States in 2038: Charting a Path Forward and China and the United States: The Endgame?
ASIA-PACIFIC FELLOWS NETWORK
EWI’s Asia-Pacific Fellows Network is a diverse group of established and emerging experts from nearly 20 countries in the region. The fellows continue to produce insightful thought leadership on myriad issues across the region, with articles featured in prominent international outlets including the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Bloomberg, The National Interest and the South China Morning Post. EWI continues to expand this network to give experts in the Asia-Pacific region a wider platform to engage the international community through their publications and interactions with EWI. If you are interested in being considered for a fellowship with the program, please click here.
Dialogues and Impacts
EWI’s U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue (P2P) is the only U.S.-China dialogue process involving sitting officials from the Communist Party of China and the U.S. Democratic and Republican National Committees. Launched in 2010, the dialogue builds trust and understanding among political leaders from the U.S. and China through an exchange of views on domestic governance and foreign policy issues. LATEST REPORT
Since 2008, the U.S.-China Sanya Initiative has regularly assembled retired U.S. and Chinese four-star generals and admirals to build greater military-to-military understanding between the two countries and to mitigate the chance of escalation and miscalculation. Delegations have discussed a wide spectrum of strategic security issues, including North Korea, maritime disputes in the South and East China Seas, China’s military reform and counterterrorism. LATEST REPORT
The U.S.-Japan Military-to-Military Dialogue, launched in 2017, demonstrates ongoing efforts to integrate more players from the Indo-Pacific into programmatic initiatives and outreach. These dialogues have facilitated exchange among four-star generals and admirals from the Japanese and U.S. militaries on issues of critical concern to both countries. The East Asia program will seek to broaden this exchange to include both India and China, to enrich the discussion of evolving issues in the Indo-Pacific region. LATEST REPORT
