Evan Medeiros
Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service
Evan Medeiros is the inaugural Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies at the Walsh School of Foreign Service and a senior fellow for the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University. He also serves as the Cling Family Distinguished Fellow in U.S.-China Studies, working with the Asian Studies Program to expand engagement and research on China. Medeiros holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics, an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, an M.A. in China studies from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, and a B.A. in analytic philosophy from Bates College.
In the News:
- Provided testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Moderated the virtual event “U.S.-China Decoupling: Separating Myth From Reality”
- Co-authored article in Foreign Affairs magazine, “The Pandemic Won’t Make China the World’s Leader”
Featured in:
Participating in:
May 8, 2025
News: The Trade War and Geopolitical Competition with China
In this interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Evan Medeiros discusses the trade war and the next phase of U.S.-China tensions.
April 30, 2025
News: The Hidden Danger in Trump’s Trade War
April 24, 2025
News: Chaos at the Pentagon Threatens Hegseth’s Tenure
April 8, 2025
News: China’s New Economic Weapons
In this article for the Washington Quarterly, Evan Medeiros examines how China is increasingly using its economic power as a tool of statecraft, employing tactics such as trade restrictions, investment controls, and financial leverage to influence…
April 4, 2025
News: China and Russia Will Not Be Split
In this article co-authored with Michael McFaul for Foreign Affairs, Evan Medeiros argues that U.S. efforts to drive a wedge between China and Russia are unlikely to succeed due to their deepening strategic partnership and shared interests in…
February 3, 2025
News: For China, Trump’s Moves Bring Pain, but Also Potential Gains
January 21, 2025
News: China Global Podcast: Beijing's Approach Toward a Second Trump Presidency
In this episode with the German Marshall Fund's China Global Podcast, Evan Medeiros discusses China's approach towards the new Trump administration and the likely trajectory of U.S.-China relations in the coming four years.
January 4, 2025
News: Xi Has a Plan for Retaliating Against Trump’s Gamesmanship
In this op-ed for the Financial Times, Evan Medeiros examines Xi Jinping's strategy for managing the incoming Trump administration and its China policies. He argues that Beijing's responses to Trump fall into three baskets: retaliation, adaptation…
November 18, 2024
News: China Rushes to Connect with Potential Trump Officials
November 13, 2024
News: U.S.-China Relations Will Depend On Which Trump Shows Up
In this op-ed for the Financial Times, Evan Medeiros assesses the future of U.S.-China relations under the new Trump administration.
October 26, 2024
News: Election 2024: Cooperation, Competition, or War with China?
In this podcast episode with Pod Save the World, Evan Medeiros provides an overview of Washington's views of China and how the 2024 U.S. election will shape the future of U.S. policy towards China.
October 7, 2024
News: Defining Success: Does the United States Need an “End State” for Its China Policy?
Read Evan Medeiros' contribution in this recent CSIS report on whether the United States needs to more clearly define the end goals for its China policy. Medeiros argues that U.S. strategy towards China requires both a well-articulated end state and…
September 23, 2024
News: Faculty Spotlight: An Interview with Evan Medeiros
The initiative sat down with Evan Medeiros to reflect on his career at the National Security Council and current research on U.S.-China relations.
September 10, 2024
News: How Washington Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace Protectionism
June 4, 2024
News: China Outlook: Evan Medeiros on the China’s Complex, Competitive Relations with the U.S. and EU
In this interview with The Asia Group's Tea Leaves podcast, Evan Medeiros discusses the expanding scope of U.S.-China and E.U.-China competition in the spheres of security, economics, technology, and governance, commenting on recent bilateral…
May 28, 2024
News: The Future According to Xi and Putin
May 6, 2024
News: Inside China's New Diplomatic Push
April 24, 2024
News: The Delusion of Peak China
August 9, 2023
News: Podcast: "What Comes Next for U.S.-China Relations?"
March 17, 2022
News: Ukraine Gives Europe a Key Swing Vote in the U.S.-China Rivalry
In this op-ed for the Financial Times, Senior Fellow Evan Medeiros considers recommendations for how European leaders should deal with China regarding the Ukraine crisis.
January 31, 2022
News: Can America Rebuild Its Power in Asia?
In this article for Foreign Affairs, Senior Fellow Evan Medeiros and Michael Green considers actions the Biden administration should take to rebuild U.S. power in Asia.
November 25, 2021
News: China and the US: competition or conflict?
September 27, 2021
News: American Siblings Barred From Leaving China for 3 Years Return to U.S.
September 15, 2021
News: Former U.S. Policymakers Offer Suggestions for a New China Strategy
September 10, 2021
News: New Chinese Ambassador Snaps at U.S.: ‘Please Shut Up’
June 15, 2021
News: Back-to-Back Rebukes of China Mark a Turning Point
June 8, 2021
News: The United States’ Strategic Competition with China
This testimony was published by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services following Evan Medeiros’s June 8, 2021 presentation on the current state of the U.S.-China relationship.
April 22, 2021
News: China and its Relationship with the U.S. and the World
April 21, 2021
News: Major Power Rivalry in East Asia
In this paper for the Council on Foreign Relations, Evan Medeiros explores how to promote a stable and mutually beneficial relationship among major global powers.
March 19, 2021
News: Beyond Colossus or Collapse: Five Myths Driving American Debates About China
In this article for War on the Rocks, Evan Medeiros considers how the Biden administration can create a political consensus on China.
March 17, 2021
News: How to Craft a Durable China Strategy
In this article for Foreign Affairs, Senior Fellow Evan Medeiros considers how the Biden administration can craft a new China strategy.
February 8, 2021
News: Evan Medeiros: How Should Biden Approach China?
February 8, 2021
News: Evan Medeiros: Risk of Conflict over Taiwan
September 14, 2020
News: The Tea Leaves Podcast - Evan Medeiros
August 17, 2020
News: Testimony on Hong Kong to the Canadian Parliament's Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
This testimony was published by the Canadian Parliament's Special Committee on Canada-China Relations following Evan Medeiros’s August 17, 2020 presentation about Canada, the United States, and Hong Kong.
August 14, 2020
News: Why Biden Might Follow Trump’s Hardline Policy on China
July 24, 2020
News: What Is The Future Of U.S.-China Relations?
July 8, 2020
News: Is Taiwan the Next Hong Kong?
June 29, 2020
News: U.S.-China Relations and Its Impact on National Security and Intelligence in a Post-COVID World
This testimony was published by the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence following Evan Medeiros’s July 1, 2020 presentation on the U.S.-China relationship post COVID-19.
October 11, 2019
News: The Changing Fundamentals of U.S.-China Relations
In this article for the Washington Quarterly, Evan Medeiros examines the changing dynamics at the heart of the U.S.-China relationship, focusing on two basic issues: the drivers as well as accelerants of competition and the buffers as well as…
October 7, 2019
News: Trump’s Credibility With China Plummets
December 2, 2018
News: Did the U.S. Get China Wrong? Conference on U.S.-China Policy
The Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues and the Asian Studies Program convened leading experts and practitioners on U.S.-China policy for a day-long closed-door conference.
April 2, 2025
U.S.-China Strategic Competition: Views from Asia's Frontline Event
Join us for a conversation with Georgetown University Professor Michael Green (on leave at the U.S. Studies Center of the University of Sydney) about U.S.-China strategic competition from Australia's perspective. Dr. Evan Medeiros will moderate the…
February 28, 2025
Affluence Without Influence: The Inducement Dilemma in China’s Economic Statecraft Event
When can economic inducements—like foreign aid, large-scale investment initiatives, and discounted sales of natural resources—buy influence abroad? Zenobia Chan argues that inducements can be lucrative to not just the recipient but also the sender.…
October 30, 2024
Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security Event
Fiona Cunningham joined Evan Medeiros to discuss her forthcoming book, Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security (2025). Among states facing the dilemma of fighting limited wars, only China has given…
December 8, 2023
The Complex Domestic Politics of U.S.-China Relations Event
While geopolitical tensions continue to define much of the U.S.-China relationship, changing domestic politics in both countries — often underappreciated and little understood — have become a major factor in this great power rivalry. Over the past…
September 27, 2023
Cold Rivals: The New Era of U.S.-China Strategic Competition Event
The U.S.-China relationship is now defined by "strategic competition." In Cold Rivals: The New Era of U.S.-China Strategic Competition (2023), a distinguished group of scholars from the United States and China examine the reasons for this…
April 11, 2023
Assessing China’s Influence in South Asia Event
China balances a set of complex relationships with its neighbors in South Asia. Tensions with India extend not only to an unsettled border where clashes have broken out, but also to broader regional competition for influence across the Indian…
March 28, 2022
China-Russia Relations: Peers, Allies, Competitors? Event
Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin declared that there was “no limit” to their partnership and “no forbidden” areas of cooperation. The conflict in Ukraine further probes this relationship, with…
December 8, 2021
Looking Forward: People-to-People Under Xi and Beyond? Event
Despite what appears to be a fraying of the U.S.-China relationship at the executive level, what are the prospects for the future of people-to-people exchanges? This event explored how rising geopolitical tensions with China have re-calibrated U.S…
May 13, 2021
First 100 Days of U.S.-China Relations under President Biden Event
To the surprise of some observers, the Biden administration has adopted a frank and sometimes confrontational stance towards China during its first several months in office. China has done the same, with the critique of the United States becoming…
July 30, 2020
The Inside Story of the Global 5G Competition between the United States and China Event
Over the past two years U.S. sanctions against Huawei and Chinese retaliation have highlighted the strategic importance of 5G mobile technology. Espionage and counterespionage accusations have gone hand in hand with U.S. and Chinese efforts to rally…
June 11, 2020
U.S.-China Decoupling: Separating Myth From Reality Event
The decoupling of the U.S. and Chinese economies is one of the headline risks in U.S.-China relations today. Many in the Trump administration have actively pursued an agenda to bring U.S. manufacturing back home. At the same time, they have sought to…
April 16, 2020
The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Challenges and Opportunities of the COVID-19 Crisis Event
Since late 2019 the COVID-19 crisis has added a new level of complexity to an already tense U.S.-China relationship. As the health emergency spread from China to the United States and around the world, American and Chinese leaders have failed to…
December 9, 2019
Hong Kong Protests Event
Dennis Kwok is a member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) representing the legal profession in Hong Kong. In this discussion Mr. Kwok provided a recent update on the protests in Hong Kong from his…
April 4, 2019
Research Workshop on Managing Competition and the Future of U.S.-China Relations Event
U.S.-China relations are at a critical juncture as increasing global competition and high trade tensions leave many wondering whether a new equilibrium is possible in this great power relationship, or whether the rivalry between the two greatest…
Faculty Spotlight: An Interview with Evan Medeiros Feature
Coordinating Asia Policy at the NSC
Before joining President Barack Obama’s national security team, Medeiros was a senior political scientist at the RAND corporation and served for a year as a policy advisor for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Hank…
U.S. and Chinese Scholars Launch New Book on Strategic Competition in U.S.-China Relations Feature
Cold Rivals
The downturn in U.S.-China relations since 2016 has raised the specter of a new cold war. The Georgetown University Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues has sponsored several workshops with leading U.S. and Chinese scholars…
Evan Medeiros, Wang Jisi, and Michael Green | April 26, 2020
COVID-19 and the Role of China in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Campaign Response
Evan Medeiros
I think in the upcoming presidential election you're going to see China be as much, if not more, of an issue as the 1992 election after Tiananmen. In fact I think it's probably going to be worse.
The Tiananmen Massacre was repugnant to…
Wang Jisi, Evan Medeiros, Michael Green, and Wu Xinbo | April 26, 2020
The Taiwan Issue in U.S.-China Relations: Cause for Concern Response
Wang Jisi
I think there is a potential flash point in Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen will be inaugurated on May 20 as the Taiwanese leader. The kind of gesture the United States makes around her inauguration will have some implications for China-U.S. relations…
Evan Medeiros, Wang Jisi, and Wu Xinbo | April 26, 2020
The COVID-19 Crisis and the U.S.-China Blame Game Response
Evan Medeiros
The timing of the COVID-19 crisis is highly unfortunate for U.S.-China relations. It's really going to just accelerate this movement towards strategic competition. This should have been a period of substantial cooperation between the…
December 8, 2023
The New Domestic Politics of U.S.-China Relations Publication
In this report published by the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, Evan S. Medeiros identifies substantial new dynamics at play in the United States and China that have had an increasingly negative impact on U.S.-China ties.
January 31, 2022
Can America Rebuild Its Power in Asia? Publication
This Foreign Affairs article by Senior Fellow Evan Medeiros and Michael Green considers actions the Biden administration should take to rebuild U.S. power in Asia.
July 8, 2020
Is Taiwan the Next Hong Kong? Publication
This article by Michael Green, director of the Asian Studies Program, Georgetown School of Foreign Service and Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies and the Cling Family Senior Fellow, featured in Foreign Affairs magazine, delves into…
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown Unit
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded in 1919 as the first school of international affairs in the United States. It offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs in Washington, D.C., and through Georgetown's campus in…
Main Campus Georgetown Unit
The Main Campus is the administrative center of Georgetown University and home to six of its schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the McDonough School of Business, the McCourt School of Public…
Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security Video
Join us for a book talk with Fiona Cunningham in conversation with Evan Medeiros to discuss her forthcoming book, Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security (2025). Among states facing the dilemma of fighting…
China and the UN Human Rights Regime Video
China is consistently elected to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), where it is currently serving its sixth three-year term. Although China engages at the UNHRC and has ratified and signed a number of international human rights…
Unpacking China's Multilateral Initiatives: GDI, GSI, GCI Video
Over the past several years, China has proposed a trio of initiatives–the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). In some ways, this set of initiatives is a repackaging…
BRI in Crisis? The Future of the Belt and Road Initiative Video
Fall 2023 marks 10 years of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), arguably Beijing’s most significant development and foreign policy instrument. While the BRI has become a hallmark of China’s foreign relations, the…
China’s Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing’s Alternative World Order Video
Drawing on her extensive fieldwork, Dawn Murphy of the U.S. National War College highlighted key points from her book China’s Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing’s Alternative World Order (2022). She analyzed China’s…
American and Chinese Perspectives on U.S. Politics Video
As the U.S.-China relationship has grown to be one of the most consequential for international politics, two-way ties have come to take greater space in each country’s domestic political discourse. From China, scholars observe what have become…
Taiwan and the Future of U.S. Defense Strategy in Asia Video
Taiwan has found itself increasingly at the center of tensions between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. While policy disagreements between Taipei and Beijing over the self-governed island’s status are not new, Beijing has…
China-Russia Relations: Peers, Allies, Competitors? Video
Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin declared that there was “no limit” to their partnership and “no forbidden” areas of cooperation. The conflict in Ukraine further probes this relationship, with…
Looking Forward: People-to-People Under Xi and Beyond? Video
Despite what appears to be a fraying of the U.S.-China relationship at the executive level, what are the prospects for the future of people-to-people exchanges? This event explored how rising geopolitical tensions with China have re-calibrated U.S…
Xi's China and the Narrowing of People-to-People Contacts Video
For many years, leaders in the United States and China viewed expanding the scope and frequency of interpersonal interactions as a viable path to stabilizing their relationship. However, the increasingly palpable tension between Washington and…
Deciphering the Future of U.S.-China Economic Relations Video
U.S.-China economic relations have been the center of attention for multiple stakeholders as strategic competition has become a core element of the overall relationship. Yet, at the same time, U.S. and Chinese business interests have a huge financial…
First 100 Days of U.S.-China Relations under President Biden Video
To the surprise of some observers, the Biden administration has adopted a frank and sometimes confrontational stance towards China during its first several months in office. China has done the same, with the critique of the United States becoming…
America's Taiwan Policy: Debating Strategic Ambiguity and the Future of Asian Security Video
China-Taiwan tensions have been rapidly growing in recent months, prompting speculation that the basic foundations of cross-Strait stability are eroding. Mainland China has increased its military exercises and general coercion of Taiwan, Taiwan…
The Inside Story of the Global 5G Competition between the United States and China Video
Over the past two years U.S. sanctions against Huawei and Chinese retaliation have highlighted the strategic importance of 5G mobile technology. Espionage and counterespionage accusations have gone hand in hand with U.S. and Chinese efforts to rally…
U.S.-China Decoupling: Separating Myth From Reality Video
The decoupling of the U.S. and Chinese economies is one of the headline risks in U.S.-China relations today. Many in the Trump administration have actively pursued an agenda to bring U.S. manufacturing back home. At the same time, they have sought to…
The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Challenges and Opportunities of the COVID-19 Crisis Video
Since late 2019 the COVID-19 crisis has added a new level of complexity to an already tense U.S.-China relationship. As the health emergency spread from China to the United States and around the world, American and Chinese leaders have failed to…
Uncharted Territory: Exploring the Future of U.S.-China Relations with China's America Hands Video
At this event a discussion was held between Georgetown faculty and Chinese academics with deep expertise on the history of U.S.-China relations. The dialogue explored the trajectory of the bilateral relationship at this critical juncture in the…