Nick Zeller
@nickzeller.bsky.social
87 followers 74 following 74 posts
China Focus @ The Carter Center | All opinions stolen from smarter people but still don't represent my employer Empires age like dynamite.
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nickzeller.bsky.social
What a pleasure to get to know this guy!
hmarston.bsky.social
Grateful to @nickzeller.bsky.social & @cartercenter.bsky.social for the opportunity to discuss US-China relations, SE Asia & Trump 2.0 at last week’s Emerging Voices for U.S.-China Cooperation workshop in San Francisco. I enjoyed exchanging views with colleagues and making new friends!
nickzeller.bsky.social
I'm very pleased with the work we did here. The takeaway is that by many metrics Chinese nationalism is off the charts and likely supportive of actions that could lead to conflict. At the same time, Chinese people are open to cooperation and very positive about multilateral organizations.
global-affairs.bsky.social
As China’s global influence continues to grow, a groundbreaking new Chicago [email protected] survey provides a rare window into how the Chinese public views the world and China's place in it. Some key takeaways 📊⬇️ brnw.ch/21wVpgL
a photo of a woman holding a Chinese flag and text that says: A rare window into how the Chinese public views the world--and China's place in it
Reposted by Nick Zeller
uscnpm.bsky.social
No one listening in Washington. Where should we turn?

@nickzeller.bsky.social, writes about the devastation that accompanies the rise and fall of modern empires, including the U.S. and that the road to peace may lie in the survival strategies of smaller countries.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
Empires Age Like Dynamite
The worst is always avoidable, but historical precedent is not on the side of peace
open.substack.com
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elifriedman.bsky.social
A real pleasure doing this interview with Diego Ge, thanks to @nickzeller.bsky.social for making it happen
uscnpm.bsky.social
How should we respond when the US rightly condemns actions in China it wrongly perpetrates itself elsewhere?

Part 1 of 2 of our interview with @elifriedman.bsky.social on what international solidarity means in US-China relations today.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
Neither Washington Nor Beijing w/ Eli Friedman (Part 1)
Another internationalism is possible
open.substack.com
nickzeller.bsky.social
As editor here, @elifriedman.bsky.social has been top of my list to interview. The issues in this interview should be at the core of any and all discussions of U.S.-China relations, and yet they are probably the most difficult to raise.

I highly recommend Eli's work.
uscnpm.bsky.social
How should we respond when the US rightly condemns actions in China it wrongly perpetrates itself elsewhere?

Part 1 of 2 of our interview with @elifriedman.bsky.social on what international solidarity means in US-China relations today.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
Neither Washington Nor Beijing w/ Eli Friedman (Part 1)
Another internationalism is possible
open.substack.com
nickzeller.bsky.social
Not the case. Best friend is an Accountancy professor. There are tons of jobs, and good departments are heavily networked to help you. Finish the CPA, work a burn out gig to get your money in order, then get on to the finance team of an organization you actually like. You're gonna be just fine.
nickzeller.bsky.social
This is going to be a big one. Not many organizations standing who can still do this work.
nickzeller.bsky.social
Very proud of the work we did here and looking forward to sharing it. We'll have a series of reports immediately before this event, and will also be live streaming for those that register.
Reposted by Nick Zeller
jimlaurie.bsky.social
Uncertainty in a key pillar of people-to-people diplomacy by Juan Zhang - #China no longer the top source of international students in US. No of #India students surge to 331,602, while Chinese student enrollment dropped by 4.2% to 277,398. open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
U.S.-China Educational Exchange under a Second Trump Administration
Uncertainty in a key pillar of people-to-people diplomacy
open.substack.com
Reposted by Nick Zeller
uscnpm.bsky.social
"The deepening partnership between Serbia and China offers a revealing case study of how Beijing capitalizes on a complex blend of historical grievance, economic aspiration, and political vulnerability," writes Stefan Vladisavljev for The Monitor.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
The Cost of Disengagement: How Serbia Became China’s Strategic Win in Europe
As the West looks elsewhere, China quietly builds its strongest European foothold—in a place few expected: Serbia.
open.substack.com
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bokane.org
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a gravid tradwife on an all-white bus, being forced to stand by her unfilial brat, forever
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uscnpm.bsky.social
What are the actual prospects for peaceful unification of mainland China and Taiwan? It's not a popular question in most circles in the West, but understanding China's position is still key to avoiding preventable bad outcomes.

@edisonchen0222.bsky.social

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Assessing Peaceful Unification w/ Xin Qiang
Cross-strait relations are up to Taiwan; Beijing will be flexible until it won't
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hmarston.bsky.social
"This state behavior is warranted by the world’s now multipolar configuration, where foreign policies challenge bipolar or unipolar dominance."
uscnpm.bsky.social
The US is demonstrably unreliable in its economic and military commitments, yet China is still looked on with suspicion even as its investments are welcomed by many. The result is a pattern of hedging between the US and China by nearly all of Asia's middle powers.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
Quiet Hedging: Indo-Pacific Middle Powers’ Strategic Deterrence
Diversification functions as a form of quiet deterrence
open.substack.com
Reposted by Nick Zeller
uscnpm.bsky.social
The US is demonstrably unreliable in its economic and military commitments, yet China is still looked on with suspicion even as its investments are welcomed by many. The result is a pattern of hedging between the US and China by nearly all of Asia's middle powers.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
Quiet Hedging: Indo-Pacific Middle Powers’ Strategic Deterrence
Diversification functions as a form of quiet deterrence
open.substack.com
nickzeller.bsky.social
I wrote for China Currents about the stakes of imperial decline and ascension, and how the impossibility of changing minds in Washington frees peace advocates to focus their work bringing together those countries hardest hit by US-China rivalry.

Also, some Kant.

www.chinacenter.net/2025/china-c...
Empires Age Like Dynamite | China Research Center
Kant began with impossibility. Critique of Pure Reason opens with the assertion that, for much of its history, Western philosophy was dedicated to answering fundamentally unanswerable questions, to pr...
www.chinacenter.net
nickzeller.bsky.social
Hedging is great and we need more of it. Whether the next US administration is Republican or Democratic, the drive to create economic blocs will continue. No economic ties means less incentive to act carefully on security issues. Economies outside US & China can and should still demand cooperation.
Reposted by Nick Zeller
uscnpm.bsky.social
@hmarston.bsky.social at @seasia.csis.org writes about Vietnam's tightrope walk between the US and China. With a closer eye always on its nearest neighbor, hedging still means more than turning to the US for defense and China for profits.

@csis.org

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Vietnam Navigates Global Frictions by Doubling Down on Hedging
Relations with the United States and China are not so neatly cut on purpose
open.substack.com
nickzeller.bsky.social
If there's an outside power to share blame here, it's the French and it's from a while ago.
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uscnpm.bsky.social
@diegoyc.bsky.social writes about the struggle of those living at the China-Myanmar border. Fear of organized crime to the south, demonization of refugees, and strict control over the flow of people, it should be a familiar story to anyone in the West.

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...
The Southern Great Wall on the China-Myanmar Border
Funding both sides of a civil war and demonizing refugees? Truly, China is a great power.
open.substack.com
Reposted by Nick Zeller
uscnpm.bsky.social
Ryan Hass at @brookings.edu spoke to The Monitor, making the case that negotiations are the only viable option for the U.S. and China.

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Talking It Out w/ Ryan Hass
Obama's NSC China expert makes the case for negotiations
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Reposted by Nick Zeller
Reposted by Nick Zeller