Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, National Security Council
Moderator: Joseph Nye, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group, and Dean Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
Kurt Campbell discussed his views on the U.S. strategy towards Asia, noting that the “dominant relationship” between the United States and China will be one of competition, but that it should be driven towards peace with guardrails that will prevent the relationship form going into destabilization. His discussion with Joseph Nye covered the importance of developing U.S. domestic tech capabilities to compete with China, the set of Chinese domestic challenges – including a slowing economy and uncertainty regarding COVID – that may deter a hostile relationship with the United States, as well as increasing, “unprecedented” trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan, and South Korea to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait. Campbell also discussed U.S.-India and China-India relations, noting that he remained “very bullish” on the future of the QUAD.
