Oxford China Policy Lab’s Post

New year, new country: I’m happy to officially announce that I’ve moved to the UK to join the Oxford China Policy Lab (OCPL) as Head of Policy Programmes. In 2023, as China’s post-COVID reopening was underway, a six-year-old girl on vacation in Chongqing with her family asked me, “中国和美国之间的战争会不会爆发？”, “Will China and the U.S. go to war?” After working on U.S.-China relations and broader Asia policy in international organizations and U.S. government for the past four years, the reply I gave her remains my view today: I believe war is far from inevitable, but it depends on both of us. That’s why I spent two years in Beijing deepening my Mandarin language skills and trying to understand a more complex picture of China than we often see in our news feeds, and communicate a more complex picture of the U.S. than many of my Chinese counterparts see on their 小红书 (at least before last week…). But in a more multipolar world - with chaotic information environments, spiraling defense industrial buildups, leaps in emerging technology capabilities, and total breakdowns of international cooperation - we desperately need to bridge the gap between policymaking communities and academic, technical, and global perspectives. We need to stress test evidence-based ideas and train talent working on the hardest problems. I’ve joined OCPL to do just that. As Head of Policy Programmes, I’m thrilled to help build a global community of China and emerging tech researchers dedicated to rigorous, policy-relevant analysis of the U.S.-China relationship and its international impacts. Now that I’ve touched down in London, I’d love to meet you all! So please reach out if you want to grab a coffee.