Penn Washington Center

September 9, 2025

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Neysun Mahboubi, Director, Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations

Celeste Wallander, Executive Director, Penn Washington Center

National Security

Elsa Kania, “Cross-Strait Credibility Challenges: Impacts of U.S.-Taiwan Security Cooperation on China’s Strategic Calculus and the Outlook for Deterrence”

Xiaoyu Pu, “Bounded Securitization:  Preserving U.S. Competitiveness in an Era of Great Power Competition”

Neil Thomas, “How to Use Backchannel Diplomacy in U.S.-China Relations?”

Trade and Economics

Matthew Mingey, “The Financial Limits of China’s Overseas Engagement”

Carrie Shu Shang, “Securing U.S. Pharmaceutical Supply Chains Through Strategic Engagement with China”

Climate & Environment

Joshua Busby, “De-risk, Decouple, or Do Something Different?: U.S. Responses to China’s Advantages in Critical Minerals, Batteries, and Electric Vehicles”

Kyle Chan, “Lessons from China’s Clean Technology Industrial Policy”

Margaret Jackson, “Expanding U.S. National Security Concerns with China: Impacts for the Clean Energy Transition”

Science and Technology

Abigail Coplin, “Getting Biotechnology Right: Managing Risk and Reward Between the U.S. and China in the Life Sciences”

Kendra Schaefer, “Responding to China’s Strategy for Harnessing the Economic Power of Data”

Research, Education, and Academic Freedom

Yingyi Ma, “Reforming the H-1B Visa Program to Retain America-Trained Chinese Talent”

Emily Matson, “Teaching American History in China through the American Studies Network”

Ali Wyne, “Taking Stock of U.S. Policy Towards China: Strengthening the Talent Pipeline to Congress and Spurring Fresh Thinking”

Human Rights, Law, and Democracy

Elizabeth Donkervoort, “Building Democratic Resilience: A Framework for Subnational Engagement with the PRC”

Carl Minzner, “Responding to China’s Emerging Pro-Natalist Push”

Jake Werner, “Advancing U.S.–China Cooperation to Create a Global Public Goods System”