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Virtual Event | Countering China’s Digital Silk Road

Oct 15, 2025
1:00pm to 2:15pm ET


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On Wednesday, October 15, CNAS hosted a live, virtual event​ on Countering China's Digital Silk Road featuring former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s flagship initiative to strengthen its global ties and influence through technology. A decade after its launch, the DSR has become more vital to Beijing than ever as technology has moved to the center of its global ambitions. Since the DSR's inception, Beijing has signed bilateral technology agreements with over 80 countries, and Chinese tech exports have increased nearly 10-fold in the past three years alone.

This CNAS event featured a fireside chat between former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and CNAS Senior Fellow Vivek Chilukuri, followed by an expert panel that examined the DSR's evolution and effectiveness to date, U.S. and allied efforts to counter it, and key domains of U.S.-China tech competition in emerging markets. The panel featured:

  • James Palmer, Deputy Editor at Foreign Policy and author of FP's weekly China Brief newsletter (moderator)
  • Jonathan Hillman, Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics, Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Digital Silk Road: China’s Quest to Wire the World
  • Ruth Berry, Senior Director and Head of Policy, NVIDIA Government Affairs
  • Ruby Scanlon, Research Associate, Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security

The event marked the release of a major new CNAS report that will offer an in-depth examination of these questions and outline recommendations for more ambitious U.S. technology statecraft to counter China's Digital Silk Road.


Fireside Chat:

Kurt Campbell
Former Deputy Secretary of State
Chairman and Co-Founder of the Asia Group


Vivek Chilukuri
Senior Fellow and Program Director, Technology and National Security Program
Center for a New American Security

Panel Discussion:


Ruth Berry
Senior Director and Head of Policy, NVIDIA Government Affairs
Former Director for Digital Technology Policy, White House National Security Council


Jonathan Hillman
Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations
Author of The Digital Silk Road: China's Quest to Wire the World


Ruby Scanlon
Research Associate, Technology and National Security Program
Center for a New American Security


Moderated by:


James Palmer
Deputy Editor, Foreign Policy
Author, Foreign Policy's China Brief newsletter