Asia Insight

The project Documenting China's Borderlands is led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. The project investigates how China invests in, engages with, and deepens its presence within its land and maritime border neighbors in an attempt to reshape its immediate periphery. In this introductory episode hosted by NBR President Michael Wills, Rolland discusses what sparked th...

Documenting China's Borderlands, led by NBR Distinguished Fellow, China Studies Nadège Rolland, investigates how China invests in, engages with, and deepens its presence within its land and maritime border neighbors in an attempt to reshape its immediate periphery. This research effort is the second phase of NBR's Mapping China’s Strategic Space project ( https://strategicspace.nbr.org/ ) which de...

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR President Michael Wills is joined by Rear Admiral Mike Studeman (U.S. Navy, ret.) and Cathy Johnston as they assess the People's Liberation Army ahead of the Chinese Communist Party's goal to build a world-class military by 2049. Cathy Johnston spent 33 years in the Intel Community mostly focused on Asia. Her last assignment was as the Deputy Director of Intell...

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR President Michael Wills hosts a conversation with Laura Rosenberger and Roy Kamphausen on strategic outlooks for Taiwan. This discussion follows an NBR delegation trip to Taiwan led by retired U.S. Navy Admiral John Aquilino, the 26th Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, from April 28–May 2, 2025.

On this special episode of Asia Insight, NBR Distinguished Fellow for China Studies Nadège Rolland and NBR Senior Fellow for Asian Security Bates Gill discuss the May 12, 2025 white paper released by China’s State Council Information Office on China’s national security in the new era.

In this episode of Asia Insight, Doug Strub hosts a conversation with Michael Beeman and Daisuke Kawai on how the United States and Japan are bolstering their technological and economic security while navigating digital disruptions and supply chain vulnerabilities. Michael Beeman served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and APEC at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative...

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR President Michael Wills moderates a conversation with Robert Holleyman and Tami Overby on some of the insights and themes that arose during NBR's 2025 Pacific Technology Policy Conference . The conference took place in Seattle on March 13, 2025. Ambassador Robert Holleyman served as Deputy United States Trade Representative from 2014-2017, responsible for U.S....

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs, Mr. Doug Strub engages in conversation with Dr. Jungmi Cha, Mr. Charlie Vest, Dr. Michelle Rozo, and Ms. Hodan Omaar as they examine strategies and policies of the United States and the Republic of Korea in the pivotal areas of battery technology, biotechnology, and quantum technology. This Asia Insight episode compleme...

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR’s executive vice president Michael Wills hosts a discussion with NBR distinguished fellow for China studies Nadège Rolland and advisor William McCahill Jr. in the aftermath of China’s 2024 parallel annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). 

In this podcast, we highlight the main findings of NBR’s research project " Into Africa: China’s Emerging Strategy ,” explore the strategic drivers behind China’s increased engagement with African countries, examine the significance of its investments in African critical infrastructure, and detail the extent of its influence networks on the continent.  The podcast is hosted by Rachel Bernstein, a...

With Japan assuming the G-7 presidency and the United States hosting APEC meetings this year, the two countries are well positioned to lead Indo-Pacific engagement on climate change and energy transition efforts that are in line with regional energy security needs. Clare Richardson-Barlow moderates this Asia Insight podcast with Ken Koyama (Institute of Energy Economics, Japan) and Jennifer Sklare...

Offering a strategic overview of the relationship between China and Myanmar across history, Ambassador Kelley Currie highlights grey zones, disaggregated sovereignty, fluid frontiers and deeply rooted mutual suspicions as permanent features of China’s southern strategic space’s hinterland in this podcast moderated by Nadège Rolland. This podcast is part of the project Mapping China's Strategic Spa...

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR counselor Charles Boustany hosts a discussion on APEC 2023 with Ambassador Robert Holleyman and Shihoko Goto. NBR is grateful to the Hinrich Foundation for their generous support of this podcast.   Charles W. Boustany Jr., MD, is a Counselor for the National Bureau of Asian Research. Congressman Boustany retired from the U.S. Congress after serving from 2005 to...

With many nations aiming for midcentury net-zero emissions targets, massive amounts of critical minerals will be necessary to build the commodities and infrastructure for supporting a lower-carbon energy network. Each interlocking facet of energy production, trade, and consumption relies on the stability of existing partnerships and processes, many of which have been turned upside down in the wake...

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR’s Doug Strub has conversations with two experts on Japan’s digital transformation (DX). First, Ulrike Schaede discusses digital transformation among Japanese industry. Following that conversation, Daisuke Kawai joins to talk about the Japanese government’s DX strategies and objectives.   Daisuke Kawai is a Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International...

In this episode of NBR’s Asia Insight, NBR executive vice president Michael Wills hosts a discussion with senior fellow Nadège Rolland and advisor William McCahill Jr. in the aftermath of China’s 20th National Party Congress.

In this episode of NBR's Asia Insight, NBR executive vice president Michael Wills hosts a discussion with Aaron Friedberg on his new book Getting China Wrong .

In this episode of Asia Insight, moderator Michael Wills is joined by Christopher Hughes and Yuka Koshino for a discussion of the political legacy of former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo as Japan prepares for the state funeral, which is set take place on September 27.

In this episode of Asia Insight, moderator Michael Wills is joined by experts discussing the four partner countries of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Hayley Channer is a senior policy fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, Sheila Smith is a senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Alison Szalwinski is vice president of research at the National Bureau of Asian R...

In advance of the May 8, 2022, Hong Kong chief executive election, Yvonne Chiu (U.S. Naval War College) and NBR advisor William McCahill joined NBR executive vice president Michael Wills for an Asia Insight podcast to discuss Hong Kong's future under the only candidate, John Lee. As Hong Kong emerges from two years of political crackdowns and strict pandemic measures, Lee will face the task of rev...

In this episode of NBR’s Asia Insight, NBR counselor Charles Boustany is joined by Wendy Cutler and Robert Holleyman to discuss the latest developments in Indo-Pacific trade, including the Biden administration’s proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, challenges around market access and digital trade, and how to overcome political obstacles in the United States to allow for more effective trade...

This is the second of three episodes in the Asia Insight podcast miniseries  China’s Strategic Approach to the Digital Revolution  examining the findings of the NBR report “ China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order .” NBR nonresident fellow Emily de La Bruyère, the project’s principal investigator, is joined by two of the report’s authors—Greg Levesque and Matt Tu...

This is the second of three episodes in the Asia Insight podcast miniseries  China’s Strategic Approach to the Digital Revolution  examining the findings of the NBR report “ China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order .” NBR nonresident fellow Emily de La Bruyère, the project’s principal investigator, is joined by three of the report’s authors—Nigel Cory, Samantha Ho...

This is the first of three episodes in the Asia Insight podcast miniseries  China’s Strategic Approach to the Digital Revolution  examining the findings of the NBR report “ China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order .” NBR’s Doug Strub speaks with nonresident fellow Emily de La Bruyère, the project’s principal investigator, about the nature of China’s digital ambiti...

Leading up to the 26th United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP26), both Japan and the United States laid out ambitious goals to achieve net zero for their respective economies. Notably, Japan is taking substantial steps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years, with a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The United States has been a longtime partner of Japan and i...