Caption
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
China
China
Caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on December 15, 2021. (Photo by Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping make a statement to the press following their talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 11, 2018. (Sergei Chirikov/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Chinese Leader Xi Jinping holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Photo by Li Tao/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Caption
China's sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning (R), arrives in Hong Kong waters on July 7, 2017. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Ukrainian soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade in military position situated around the city of Avdiyivka on February 8, 2022 in Avdiyivka, Ukraine. (Photo by Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images)
Caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping pose during their meeting in Beijing, on February 4, 2022. (Photo by Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
A Taiwanese soldier in position during an Army Preparedness Enhancement Drill amid escalating Chinese tensions in Taiwan. (Photo by Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Experts
Alexander Aibel
Research Associate
Alexander Benard
Adjunct Fellow
Patrick M. Cronin
Asia-Pacific Security Chair
Bill Drexel
Fellow
