Join us for a timely roundtable featuring former U.S. officials with deep experience in China policy and bilateral negotiations – Amb. Nicholas Burns, Sarah Beran, and Ryan Hass, with Amb. Winston Lord providing introductory remarks virtually. The discussion will be moderated by Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the Editor of Foreign Affairs, and Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Vice President of the Center on U.S.-China Relations. The discussion will assess the current state of U.S.–China relations and explore what is likely to be on the table as the two governments prepare for one of this year's most consequential diplomatic engagements.
The global geopolitical landscape is shifting rapidly under President Donald Trump's second term. The U.S.' dramatic military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has reverberated across the Americas and challenged China's strategic influence in Latin America nurtured over the past two decades. At the same time, Trump's renewed tariff threats to non-supportive European countries over the control of Greenland have caused unprecedented strain on U.S. relations with key European allies, prompting fierce discussions within the European Union about deploying its anti-coercion instrument to defend EU economic interests.
Against this backdrop of realignment and uncertainty in alliances, President Trump is set to visit Beijing from March 31 to April 2 for direct talks with President Xi Jinping – a critical moment for U.S.-China relations that could shape the direction of trade, technology, policy, and global security.
This event is presented with Foreign Affairs.
Speakers
Nicholas Burns was the Ambassador of the United States of America to the People's Republic of China from 2022 to 2025. Ambassador Burns is Goodman Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where he founded the school's Future of Diplomacy Project. Ambassador Burns has had a long career in American diplomacy, serving six Presidents and nine Secretaries of State. As a career Foreign Service Officer, he was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2005-2008), when he led numerous negotiations, including on the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Deal, a long-term military assistance agreement with Israel, and on Iran's nuclear program.
Sarah Beran leads the China practice and is a partner at Macro Advisory Partners, a geopolitical risk and strategic advisory firm. Sarah had a distinguished 23-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the White House National Security Council under President Biden. Sarah also served as Deputy Executive Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, led the office responsible for U.S. engagement in APEC, and served as director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. She has been posted overseas in Beijing, Islamabad, Jerusalem, Tunis, and Quito. Sarah is a senior fellow at UC San Diego's 21st Century China Center, a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and a member of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations' Task Force on U.S.-China Policy.
Ryan Hass is director of the John L. Thornton China Center and the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies at Brookings Institution. He is also a senior fellow in the Center for Asia Policy Studies. From 2013 to 2017, Hass served as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia at the National Security Council staff. In that role, he advised President Obama and senior White House officials on all aspects of U.S. policy toward China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and coordinated the implementation of U.S. policy toward this region among U.S. government departments and agencies. Prior to joining NSC, Hass served as a Foreign Service Officer in U.S. Embassy Beijing. Hass also served in Embassy Seoul and Embassy Ulaanbaatar, and domestically in the State Department Offices of Taiwan Coordination and Korean Affairs. Hass received multiple Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor commendations during his 15-year tenure in the Foreign Service.
Winston Lord (joining virtually) was U.S. Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. In the 1970s, he was Special Assistant to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and then Director of the State Department Policy Planning staff. During this period, he was on every China trip and attended every meeting that President Nixon, President Ford, and Dr. Kissinger had with President Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and Deputy Premier Deng Xiaoping, and was a principal drafter of both the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords.
Daniel Kurtz-Phelan is Editor of Foreign Affairs, a position he has held since January 2021. He previously spent three years as Executive Editor of the magazine and served in the U.S. State Department, including as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff. His narrative history of George Marshall's post-World War II mission to China, The China Mission, was published by WW Norton in 2018 and named a best book of the year by The Economist and an editor's pick by the New York Times Book Review. He has been a fellow at New America, the Wilson Center, and the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and taught at New York and Yale Universities. His writing has also appeared in publications including New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic.
Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Vice President of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society. He is a former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism. Schell is the author of fifteen books, ten of them about China, and a contributor to numerous edited volumes, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Nation, and The New York Review of Books. His most recent book, My Old Home: A Novel of Exile was published in 2021. Schell worked for the Ford Foundation in Indonesia, covered the war in Indochina as a journalist, and has traveled widely in China since the mid-70s.
The Trump-Xi Summit: What to Expect? Four Former U.S. Officials Assess What's at Stake
Host
Mon, Mar 02, 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM (EST)
To be shared on approval (New York)
30 attendees
Join us for a timely roundtable featuring former U.S. officials with deep experience in China policy and bilateral negotiations – Amb. Nicholas Burns, Sarah Beran, and Ryan Hass, with Amb. Winston Lord providing introductory remarks virtually. The discussion will be moderated by Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the Editor of Foreign Affairs, and Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Vice President of the Center on U.S.-China Relations. The discussion will assess the current state of U.S.–China relations and explore what is likely to be on the table as the two governments prepare for one of this year's most consequential diplomatic engagements.
The global geopolitical landscape is shifting rapidly under President Donald Trump's second term. The U.S.' dramatic military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has reverberated across the Americas and challenged China's strategic influence in Latin America nurtured over the past two decades. At the same time, Trump's renewed tariff threats to non-supportive European countries over the control of Greenland have caused unprecedented strain on U.S. relations with key European allies, prompting fierce discussions within the European Union about deploying its anti-coercion instrument to defend EU economic interests.
Against this backdrop of realignment and uncertainty in alliances, President Trump is set to visit Beijing from March 31 to April 2 for direct talks with President Xi Jinping – a critical moment for U.S.-China relations that could shape the direction of trade, technology, policy, and global security.
This event is presented with Foreign Affairs.
Speakers
Nicholas Burns was the Ambassador of the United States of America to the People's Republic of China from 2022 to 2025. Ambassador Burns is Goodman Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where he founded the school's Future of Diplomacy Project. Ambassador Burns has had a long career in American diplomacy, serving six Presidents and nine Secretaries of State. As a career Foreign Service Officer, he was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2005-2008), when he led numerous negotiations, including on the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Deal, a long-term military assistance agreement with Israel, and on Iran's nuclear program.
Sarah Beran leads the China practice and is a partner at Macro Advisory Partners, a geopolitical risk and strategic advisory firm. Sarah had a distinguished 23-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the White House National Security Council under President Biden. Sarah also served as Deputy Executive Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, led the office responsible for U.S. engagement in APEC, and served as director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. She has been posted overseas in Beijing, Islamabad, Jerusalem, Tunis, and Quito. Sarah is a senior fellow at UC San Diego's 21st Century China Center, a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and a member of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations' Task Force on U.S.-China Policy.
Ryan Hass is director of the John L. Thornton China Center and the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies at Brookings Institution. He is also a senior fellow in the Center for Asia Policy Studies. From 2013 to 2017, Hass served as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia at the National Security Council staff. In that role, he advised President Obama and senior White House officials on all aspects of U.S. policy toward China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and coordinated the implementation of U.S. policy toward this region among U.S. government departments and agencies. Prior to joining NSC, Hass served as a Foreign Service Officer in U.S. Embassy Beijing. Hass also served in Embassy Seoul and Embassy Ulaanbaatar, and domestically in the State Department Offices of Taiwan Coordination and Korean Affairs. Hass received multiple Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor commendations during his 15-year tenure in the Foreign Service.
Winston Lord (joining virtually) was U.S. Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. In the 1970s, he was Special Assistant to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and then Director of the State Department Policy Planning staff. During this period, he was on every China trip and attended every meeting that President Nixon, President Ford, and Dr. Kissinger had with President Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and Deputy Premier Deng Xiaoping, and was a principal drafter of both the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords.
Daniel Kurtz-Phelan is Editor of Foreign Affairs, a position he has held since January 2021. He previously spent three years as Executive Editor of the magazine and served in the U.S. State Department, including as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff. His narrative history of George Marshall's post-World War II mission to China, The China Mission, was published by WW Norton in 2018 and named a best book of the year by The Economist and an editor's pick by the New York Times Book Review. He has been a fellow at New America, the Wilson Center, and the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and taught at New York and Yale Universities. His writing has also appeared in publications including New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic.
Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Vice President of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society. He is a former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism. Schell is the author of fifteen books, ten of them about China, and a contributor to numerous edited volumes, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Nation, and The New York Review of Books. His most recent book, My Old Home: A Novel of Exile was published in 2021. Schell worked for the Ford Foundation in Indonesia, covered the war in Indochina as a journalist, and has traveled widely in China since the mid-70s.