This week, President Trump and President Xi agreed to a trade truce on the sidelines of APEC, the center-left D66 party won the most votes in the Dutch election, paramilitary forces in Sudan seized control of Darfur, and Category 5 Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the Caribbean.
Read more below.
Out Now: New ASG Publication
The Aspen Strategy Group is proud to release a series of original papers and op-eds authored by ASG members and distinguished experts who joined us for the 2025 ASG Workshop. This collection examines the rapidly evolving U.S.-China relationship at a time of major upheaval in the international system.
Thank you to Graham Allison, Elizabeth Economy, Jane Harman, Kay Bailey Hutchison, David Ignatius, Leland Miller, Anne Neuberger, David Petraeus, Lawrence Summers, Kent Walker, and Arne Westad for contributing to this effort.
“Our meeting this summer, and this collection of articles, aimed to step back from the issue, to question our conventional assumptions and examine U.S.-China relations from a fresh perspective. The pieces collected here reflect some key themes from those discussions, delving into the political, economic, military, and technological dimensions of the great power competition unfolding today.”
– Condoleezza Rice, Co-Chair; Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair; and Anja Manuel, Executive Director
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice interviewed Ron DeSantis at the Hoover Institution: “Fireside Chat With Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary Condoleezza Rice”
Nicholas Burns interviewed by David Gura for Bloomberg: “This Is a Competitive U.S.-China Relationship: Burns”
Anja Manuel interviewed by Joe Kernen for CNBC: “Pres. Trump’s Asia Trip: Aspen Strategy Group’s Anja Manuel on Keys to U.S.-China Trade Deal”
Kurt Campbell for The Washington Post: “Japan’s New Prime Minister Has Two Excellent Models for Trump Summit”
Chris Coons and James Lankford interviewed by Dasha Burns for C-SPAN: “Bell Ringer: Role of the Senate and Congressional Power”
Elizabeth Economy for the Hoover Institution’s Freedom Frequency: “Trump in Asia: A Trade Win for the U.S.?”
Susan Glasser and David Ignatius interviewed by Jeffrey Goldberg for PBS News: “How Trump Defies All Norms of Presidential Behavior”
Michael J. Green interviewed Barbara Weisel for the Asia Chessboard podcast: “Trade Policy and U.S. Geopolitical Strategy”
Dina Powell McCormick at the Future Investment Initiative Conference: “Board of Changemakers: Public-Private Powerbrokers”
David Petraeus for The National Interest: “My Encounter With Syria’s New President”
Jack Reed mentioned by Greg Tourial for Bloomberg Law: “BGOV On Point: Defense Policy Bill Talks Heat Up in Congress”
David Rubenstein interviewed Amy Coney Barrett for the America’s Book Club podcast: “Justice Amy Coney Barrett on ‘Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution’”
Anne-Marie Slaughter interviewed James Roscoe at the Future Security Forum 2025: “What Is the Future of the U.K.-U.S. Relationship?”
Dan Sullivan mentioned by Laura Kelly for The Hill: “As Trump Meets Xi, Republicans Push for Release of Detained Americans”
Applications Open | Rising Leaders Program
We are pleased to share that applications for the Rising Leaders Class of 2026 are now open! Throughout the year-long program, Rising Leaders learn from key decision-makers—and most importantly, each other—under the aegis of the Aspen Strategy Group. Apply now or share this opportunity with your networks.
Post of the Week
Rising Leaders Program
Features from ASG Rising Leaders
Chris Li (‘24) and Eric Rosenbach for The New York Times: “The U.S. and China Are One Misstep Away From War”
Michelle McCluer (‘24) delivered a keynote address at Recorded Future’s “Predict 2025”
Sahil Shah (‘21) for Foreign Policy: “Trump’s Vagueness Over Nuclear Testing Could Fuel an Arms Race”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Natalie Allison, Cat Zakrzewski, Katrina Northrop, and Adam Taylor for The Washington Post: “Trump Directs Pentagon to Test Nuclear Weapons for First Time Since 1992”
Jonathan A. Czin for Foreign Affairs: “China Against China: Xi Jinping Confronts the Downsides of Success”
Nick Davis and Rachel Hagan for BBC News: “Jamaicans Take Stock After Hurricane Causes Damage, Flooding, and Power Cuts”
France 24: “Venezuela Suspends Energy Agreement With Trinidad Amid U.S. Warship Dispute”
Stephen Gibbs for The Times: “Police Raids Kill 132 in Rio in Run-Up to Prince William’s Visit”
Rishi Iyengar for Foreign Policy: “The Countries Courting Trump With Critical Minerals”
Laurence Norman for The Wall Street Journal: “Dutch Hard-Right Leader Geert Wilders Set to Exit Power”
Demetri Sevastopulo and Joe Leahy for the Financial Times: “U.S. and China Agree One-Year Trade Truce After Donald Trump-Xi Jinping Talks”
Shotaro Tani and Mitsuru Obe for Nikkei Asia: “Japan PM Takaichi and U.S. President Trump Tout ‘New Golden Age’ for Alliance”
Sasha Vakulina for Euronews: “Moscow Says It Tested Poseidon Underwater Drone, Another Nuclear ‘Super Weapon’”
WIlliam Wallis for the Financial Times: “Sudan Siege Ends in Bloodbath Despite Pleas for Mercy”
Alexander Ward, Meridith McGraw, and Dasl Yoon for The Wall Street Journal: “On Trump’s Asia Trip, Many Opportunities Were Golden”
Kathryn Watson for CBS News: “U.S. Strikes 4 More Alleged Drug Boats in the Pacific, Killing 14 and Leaving 1 Survivor”
Sui-Lee Wee for The New York Times: “Under Trump’s Aegis, Cambodia and Thailand Agree to Resolve Border Dispute”
Dan Williams, Eric Martin, and Jennifer A. Dlouhy for Bloomberg: “Israeli Army Says Ceasefire in Gaza Resumed After Strikes”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on the West’s approach to managing competition with China from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
The China Challenge: Rivalry and the Road Ahead
Stephen Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
Reinhard Bütikofer, Senior Adviser, European Policy Center; Former Member, European Parliament
Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the U.S., China, and the World Program, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former Senior Advisor for China, U.S. Department of Commerce
Moderator: Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal
Book of the Week
How to Navigate the Risks of AI and Unlock Its True Potential
By Ray Eitel-Porter, Paul Dongha, and Miriam Vogel
“Governing the Machine is the essential guide to harnessing the transformative potential of AI, while navigating and mitigating its inherent risks. Despite AI’s power to innovate daily life and revolutionize organizations, public trust in AI is low. For companies to take full advantage of AI, it is vital that they adopt and communicate a responsible approach in order to build consumer, employee and investor confidence. Governing the Machine provides business leaders with a practical and flexible framework for building comprehensive and robust AI governance. It empowers organizations to reap the benefits, while ensuring that AI is trustworthy, sustainable and a source of opportunity and profit rather than liability and harm.”
Podcast of the Week
Michael Froman joined Gideon Rachman for the Financial Times’ Rachman Review podcast: “U.S. Versus China: A Test of Strength”
