CNAS Releases Congressionally Mandated Study on U.S. Strategy Toward China

Washington, January 28, 2020—The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) today released a major independent assessment, “Rising to the China Challenge: Renewing American Competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific,” as mandated by Congress in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The report prescribes a comprehensive approach to competition with China and offers nearly 100 specific, actionable policy recommendations across seven critical vectors of American competitiveness:

1. Sustaining Conventional Military Deterrence
2. Securing Vital U.S. Technological Advantages
3. Bolstering U.S. Economic Power and Leadership
4. Strengthening American Diplomacy
5. Competing Over Ideology and Narrative
6. Promoting Digital Freedom and Countering High-Tech Illiberalism
7. Cultivating the Talent to Compete with China

“This assessment outlines a path for competition with China and other adversaries that will utilize all tools available to the United States,” said Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “A whole-of-government approach isn’t just necessary to compete effectively with China; it’s also a reminder that just like our security, our prosperity and the values we share with allies and partners are at stake in this competition.”

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “Effectively countering Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific requires a comprehensive U.S. strategy that goes beyond defense relationships to ensure access and influence in the Indo-Pacific. This CNAS study provides a blueprint for smarter solutions to critical aspects of the U.S.-China competition, including diplomacy, economics, and technology.”

Richard Fontaine, CNAS Chief Executive Officer, added, “Many have called for a comprehensive strategy to compete with China. “Rising to the China Challenge” represents precisely that. A bipartisan collaboration of more than a dozen senior CNAS experts, the study focuses on strengthening American competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific across a range of critical issues, including economics, technology, diplomacy, defense, ideology, human capital, and more.”

Read the full report.

For more information or to schedule an interview the report authors, contact Cole Stevens at cstevens@cnas.org or (202) 695-8166.

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