In recent years, China has courted its neighbors with deeper economic, military-to-military, and cultural ties. China also serves as a friendly diplomatic and economic partner for human rights and proliferation pariahs such as Uzbekistan, Burma, and Iran. As China develops these relations, it inevitably raises questions about the impacts of its accumulation of soft power in Asia.

What are the components of Chinese soft power in Asia—economic, political, cultural, and others? Will China’s newfound strength gradually pull its neighbors away from the geopolitical pull of Washington? Will China’s exercise of soft power conflict with the U.S. promotion of democracy, open markets, and the rule of law?

Please join AEI and the Institute for National Strategic Studies for a panel discussion to consider these and other questions. Presenters include Joshua Kurlantzick, foreign editor for The New Republic; Robert Sutter, visiting professor at Georgetown University; and Elizabeth Economy, senior fellow and director for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Information about the series and links to previous sessions are available at: http://www.aei.org/ChinaInAsiaSeries/.