Aaron Friedberg on China, the War in Ukraine, and the Geopolitical Stakes

On China's response to the War in Ukraine, its authoritarian politics, and why the West must prepare for strategic competition with China.For more conversations, visit

Chapter 1 (00:15 - 34:46): China and the War in Ukraine

Chapter 2 (34:46 - 1:14:59): A New Cold War?

How has China responded to Russia’s War in Ukraine, and what lessons could the CCP draw from the course of the war? How has the war and other recent developments affected US-China relations—and how should the US and allies advance the cause of deterring China? To discuss these questions, we are joined again by Princeton professor Aaron Friedberg. While China has been cautious about intervening directly on behalf of Russia in the war, Friedberg explains that much is at stake for the CCP in Vladimir Putin not losing. Friedberg argues that continued American and allied support for victory by Ukraine would have a strong effect in deterring China and its ambitions to reshape the geopolitical order. He notes that over the last few years Americans increasingly have come to understand the grave military and economic threat to the US posed by China. To meet this challenge, he argues the US must brace itself for a potentially long period of strategic competition with China—and work in concert with allies to develop new networks of military, technological, and political capacities.