U.S. Foreign Policy
An America adrift risks falling behind China
The United States remains the preeminent power, but its position is eroding relative to China. In this competition, the United States is like a patient whose condition is not yet acute, but whose health indicators are trending negative. The Brookings Institution’s deep bench of experts on both foreign and domestic policy will lay out bold policy initiatives the next presidential administration—whether Republican or Democratic—can take to ensure the U.S. maintains its edge over China.
Latest
Past Event
May
11
2026
China
US-China competition: Policy priorities from Capitol Hill
China
Beijing’s playbook for the US-Iran war
China
Is China’s military as strong as it looks?
The Beijing Brief
As part of the project, Brookings launched The Beijing Brief, which takes listeners behind the scenes of policymaking in Washington, D.C. and Beijing.
China
What Beijing got from the Trump-Xi summit
China
Beijing’s playbook for the US-Iran war
China
Is China’s military as strong as it looks?
China
What to know about China’s economic ambitions and its Five-Year Plan
Pillars of research
This project will devise new and bold policy solutions across eight pillars—four on the home front, four in foreign policy.
The home front
Identifying coherent bipartisan policies
This pillar will focus on identifying politically viable ways that the U.S. can develop coherent, bipartisan policies for competing with China.
Finding ways and means for a strong foreign policy
This research will consider how policymakers can find additional resources to maintain its edge over China given the deteriorating U.S. fiscal situation.
Investing in tomorrow’s tech
This pillar will provide recommendations from across Brookings for policies that would position the United States to outpace China in key technologies.
Securing supply chains
This research will identify critical chokepoints, outline the fundamentals of the relevant markets, and design targeted incentives to develop supply chains that are resilient to strategic interventions from Beijing.
Foreign policy
Focusing the U.S. military on China
This pillar of research will include recommendations for the military to raise risks and uncertainties for China, as well as ways to enhance the U.S. defense industrial base.
Renovating U.S. economic statecraft
This research will identify both the punitive and affirmative economic policies the United States should pursue in the Indo-Pacific in order to secure its competitive edge.
Identifying key international partners in a multipolar world
This pillar will generate ideas for initiatives like the Quad and AUKUS focused on specific aspects of the competition with China and the diplomatic pathways needed to achieve them.
Assessing and dealing with China
This research will provide fresh assessments of China’s strengths and vulnerabilities, right-size the China challenge, as well as lay out proposals for how best to engage China even as the two sides compete.
