Stephen Rosen on the China Challenge

The Harvard emeritus professor of foreign policy shares his perspective. Click "Show more" to view all chapters. For more conversations, visit

Chapter 1 (00:15 - 29:04): The China Challenge

Chapter 2 (29:04 - 1:12:47): Deterrence and Competition

How has American strategic analysis and policy planning toward China developed over the last few years? What parallels can we draw between the early Cold War and America’s geopolitical situation today? How has the war in Ukraine affected US-China competition?

To discuss these questions we are joined, again, by Stephen Rosen, Harvard professor emeritus of international relations. Rosen argues that American government and civil society are beginning to take geopolitical competition with China much more seriously. He notes that, much like the Korean War in the Cold War, Putin’s War in Ukraine could serve as a galvanizing event that could lead the US to make the kind of economic and political commitments necessary to deter China in the long term. In a wide-ranging and historically rich Conversation, Rosen explains why talent, technological innovation, and forward-thinking military planning all will be essential for America to meet the China challenge.