Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A decade ago, conventional wisdom in Washington abruptly swung 180 degrees, from the assumption that US–China economic entanglement was good for both countries’ economies and world peace to the conviction that China’s presence in the American economy poses an intolerable threat to the national security and economic future of the country.
Today, the situation has undergone a sweeping transformation. Many of the practices that American leaders once considered Beijing’s worst sins are widely accepted in US statecraft. Chinese companies now compete in cutting-edge sectors, posing new competitive challenges but also inspiring newfound openness to technology transfer in Washington. The costs of economic warfare are more evident now that Beijing has learned the US playbook.
With the Trump administration mooting an ill-defined Board of Investment to draw Chinese capital into the United States, the time is right rethink US–China economic relations. What are the real dangers of expanding Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) and can they be mitigated? What are the real risks to US economic health and geopolitical security of excluding China’s presence? What would a smart investment policy that would allow both sides to benefit look like, and how could it contribute to the kind of industrial policy the United States needs to develop new strategic industries while protecting workers and manufacturing communities?
To discuss these questions and more, the Quincy Institute held a conversation featuring Jake Werner, director of the East Asia program at the Quincy Institute, Susan Helper, former chief economist of the U.S. Commerce Department, and Jonas Nahm, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Marcus Stanley, director of studies at the Quincy Institute, moderated.
A decade ago, conventional wisdom in Washington abruptly swung 180 degrees, from the assumption that US–China economic entanglement was good for both countries’ economies and world peace to the conviction that China’s presence in the American economy poses an intolerable threat to the national security and economic future of the country.
Today, the situation has undergone a sweeping transformation. Many of the practices that American leaders once considered Beijing’s worst sins are widely accepted in US statecraft. Chinese companies now compete in cutting-edge sectors, posing new competitive challenges but also inspiring newfound openness to technology transfer in Washington. The costs of economic warfare are more evident now that Beijing has learned the US playbook.
With the Trump administration mooting an ill-defined Board of Investment to draw Chinese capital into the United States, the time is right rethink US–China economic relations. What are the real dangers of expanding Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) and can they be mitigated? What are the real risks to US economic health and geopolitical security of excluding China’s presence? What would a smart investment policy that would allow both sides to benefit look like, and how could it contribute to the kind of industrial policy the United States needs to develop new strategic industries while protecting workers and manufacturing communities?
To discuss these questions and more, the Quincy Institute held a conversation featuring Jake Werner, director of the East Asia program at the Quincy Institute, Susan Helper, former chief economist of the U.S. Commerce Department, and Jonas Nahm, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Marcus Stanley, director of studies at the Quincy Institute, moderated.
