Elizabeth C. Economy, NPR

Elizabeth C. Economy

NPR

New York, NY, United States

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • NPR
  • ChinaFile
  • The Hill
  • Forbes
  • Fortune
  • The Atlantic

Past articles by Elizabeth:

NPR

Opinion: How China Challenges America's World Leadership

Chinese President Xi Jinping is ready for a change — specifically the transformation of the international system and China's role within it, writes author Elizabeth Economy. → Read More

Where Does Africa Fit in Xi Jinping’s Worldview?

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit will take place at a delicate time for Chinese President Xi Jinping, as he confronts enormous challenges related to the ongoing trade war with the United States and, at the same time, huge opportunities to expand his country’s role in global affairs. What should African leaders should be prepared for when they arrive in Beijing? → Read More

When it comes to handling China, plenty of action but no clear plan

America has taken an approach that inspires hope but has thus far failed to help realize U.S. interests. → Read More

Is American Policy Toward China Due for a ‘Reckoning?’

Former diplomats Kurt M. Campbell and Ely Ratner argue that United States policy toward China, in administrations of both parties, has relied in the past on a mistaken confidence in America’s ability to “mold China to the United States’ liking.” They call for a new U.S. approach to China, one which faces the degree to which China’s actions have diverged from U.S. expectations, discards the… → Read More

Trump must sell America as key leader in Asia as he visits region

The president needs to articulate a coherent strategy for the role of the United States in Asia. → Read More

China's tradition of dissent needs America's unwavering support

OPINION | U.S. political leaders must continue to defend Chinese democracy activists. → Read More

Zuckerberg's Love Affair With Xi Jinping

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently stirred up controversy by advising his employees to read Chinese President Xi Jinping’s book The Governance of China, because he wants them to “understand socialism with Chinese characteristics.” The book appeared prominently placed on his desk during a recent visit from China’s Internet czar Lu Wei, and [...] → Read More

Behind the APEC Summit’s landmark deals

China’s unexpectedly easy cooperation with the U.S. on climate change, security and trade says a lot about the interests at the very top: Barack Obama’s legacy and Xi Jinping’s ambitions, says Elizabeth Economy, director in Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. → Read More

Obama's Big China Win At APEC: Not What You Think

Let’s be clear, the United States won big this week, but not for the reasons most people think. The media and China analysts have focused overwhelmingly on the climate deal, touting the new commitments from both the United States and China as exceptional, even “historic.” But this is missing the forest for [...] → Read More

Why Hong Kong’s economy can take on protesters

While this most recent round of demonstrations has captured the world’s attention, mass protests are common and have long been part of the city’s political landscape. → Read More

What Beijing Should Do About Hong Kong

Hong Kong is not Beijing, 2014 is not 1989, and Civic Square is not Tiananmen Square. Still, the images of tens of thousands of Hong Kong Chinese demonstrating in the streets for democratic reform cannot help but bring back memories of a quarter century ago. Like the 1989 Tiananmen Square [...] → Read More

Chinese Drop-Off In U.S. Graduate Schools Triggers False Alarm

The Chronicle of Higher Education blog first sounded the alarm on August 21: a just-released survey by the Council of Graduate Schools reported that graduate school admission offers to Chinese students had plateaued. As a result, the Chronicle made clear: “Chinese appetite for American higher education may have finally hit a saturation point. [...] → Read More

Missing In Asia: The Pivotal Person In Obama's Pivot

It is tough to get a fix on what is wrong with President Obama’s Asia pivot. On the face of it, it is the perfect policy at the perfect time: it serves America’s economic interests by pushing a high-end trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); it reinforces and expands America’s [...] → Read More

China's Round Two On Electric Cars: Will It Work?

Everyone loves China’s five-year plans. They tell you everything you need to know about the future direction of the Chinese economy: intentions and priorities, along with timetables and targets. The only thing missing are the results. After five years, though, who keeps track of what was promised and what was [...] → Read More

The Four Drivers Of Beijing's Emerging Arctic Play And What The World Needs To Do

If you pay attention, Chinese foreign policy rarely surprises. Of course there is the odd moment when Beijing catches the world unaware: for example, its declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea in late 2013. Generally speaking, however, the Chinese telegraph their long-term strategic intentions [...] → Read More

Michelle Obama's China Choice: Public Diplomacy Vs. Politics

Public diplomacy matters, but it is no substitute for policy. As First Lady Michelle Obama prepares to travel to China, she should consider weaving some policy into what appears to be almost entirely a week-long public diplomacy push. With her mother and two daughters in tow, the first lady will [...] → Read More

China's Soft 'Nyet' To Russia's Ukraine Intervention

This post is one of a three-part Asia Unbound series on the implications for Asia of the crisis in Ukraine. See related posts from my colleagues Alyssa Ayres and Sheila Smith. Russia’s de facto assertion of military control in Ukraine’s Crimean region has put China in a bind. Moscow’s actions fly in the face of [...] → Read More

Getting At The Heart Of China's Resource Quest

It all begins with courtship. The Chinese president arrives in the resource-rich country to woo the local leader with a large entourage of government and state-owned enterprise officials, bearing gifts of trade, aid and investment. Love—or at least great friendship—is in the air, and a match is made. As Carly [...] → Read More

The Political Plight of China's Wealthy

Technically, the news that many rich people in China have personal ties to China’s top leaders is not really news anymore. Nor is it news that many rich Chinese have placed their assets in offshore accounts or even that many rich people in China get that way through peddling influence [...] → Read More

Biden's Important Message for Human Rights in China

Though perhaps impolite to his Chinese hosts, the vice president's calls for transparency and accountability were necessary and politically valuable. → Read More