NSI hosted an event to foster discussion around policy positions and recommendations found in its latest publication,&nbsp;<a href="https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/addressing-the-national-security-threat-of-chinese-technological-innovation-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Addressing the National Security Threat of Chinese Technology Innovation</a>. This panel of experts expanded upon the policy solutions found in NSI’s latest paper and explain how the U.S. and our allies can lead in free-market innovation and what Congress can do to support and promote U.S. technological leadership. The panel discussion featured national security policy and industry experts and will take place in-person on Capitol Hill on November 2nd, 2023. Panelists:<ul><li><a href="https://www.technet.org/person/carl-holshouser/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carl Holshouser</a>,&nbsp;Senior Vice President &amp; Corporate Secretary, TechNet</li><li><a href="https://itic.org/about/staff/robert-strayer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Robert Strayer</a>,&nbsp;Executive Vice President of Policy Information Technology Industry Council</li><li><a href="https://itif.org/person/liza-tobin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Liza Tobin,&nbsp;</a>Senior Director for Economy Special Competitive Studies Project</li><li><a href="https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/about-us/faculty/jamil-jaffer/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jamil N. Jaffer</a>, Founder &amp; Executive Director, National Security Institute, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University</li></ul>

Innovation Race: U.S. Public and Private Efforts to Outpace China

As part of NSI’s ongoing series, “A Spotlight on China’s Global Repression,” we are excited to host a discussion examining how China uses economic tools, such as the Belt-and-Road Initiative, foreign direct investment, and debt diplomacy, to further the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive goals. Experts will outline the dangers these pose inside and outside China and how the U.S. can counter these global threats. Participants:&nbsp;<ul><li>Matthew P. Goodman,&nbsp;Senior Vice President for Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies</li><li>The Honorable Nazak Nakakhtar, Former Assistant Secretary for Industry &amp; Analysis, Department of Commerce</li><li>The Honorable Randall G. Schriver,&nbsp;Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific</li><li>Lester Munson (moderator),&nbsp;Former Staff Director, Senate Foreign Relations Committee</li></ul>

On the Road to Global Repression: China's Economic Tools of Exploitation 

As part of NSI’s ongoing series, “A Spotlight on China’s Global Repression,” we are excited to host a discussion examining how China uses digital tools, such as social media platforms like WeChat and TikTok and its social credit system, to further the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive goals. Experts will outline the dangers these tactics pose inside and outside China and how the U.S. can counter these global threats. Participants:<ul><li>Geoffrey Cain,&nbsp;NSI Fellow, Senior Fellow, Lincoln Network</li><li>Lindsay Gorman,&nbsp;Senior Fellow, Emerging Technologies, Alliance for Securing Democracy,&nbsp;German Marshall Fund</li><li>Yaqiu Wang,&nbsp;Senior China Researcher, Human Rights Watch</li><li>Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg,&nbsp;NSI Advisory Board member, President of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (moderator)</li></ul>

 Surveillance State: China's Digital Tools of Repression

NSI held our inaugural cryptocurrency and blockchain technology event, “Crypto and National Security: How to Validate American Innovation and Verify U.S. National Security.” This event featured a panel of experts discussing critical U.S. national security policy opportunities and challenges related to crypto innovation and adoption.“Crypto and National Security” kicked off NSI’s year-long policy programming initiative focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology – an emerging and important area of policy and innovation. NSI will host a range of conversations throughout 2022 that bring leading experts together to discuss and analyze issues such as crypto’s implications for:<ul><li>U.S. leadership in tech and financial markets;</li><li>Illicit finance and sanctions policy;</li><li>Privacy and human rights at home and abroad; and</li><li>Other key national security objectives.</li></ul>Participants:<ul><li>Jerry Brito, Executive Director,&nbsp;Coin Center</li><li>Sheila Warren, Chief Executive Officer, Crypto Council for Innovation</li><li>Juan Zarate, Global Co-Managing Partner &amp; Chief Strategy Officer, K2 Integrity, and NSI Advisory Board Member</li><li>Moderator: Laura Shin, Author of&nbsp;The Cryptopians&nbsp;and host of&nbsp;Unchained&nbsp;podcast</li></ul>

Crypto and National Security: How to Validate American Innovation and Verify U.S. National Security

As geopolitical competition moves into the digital age, the United States and China find themselves locked in a battle for technological and innovation dominance.&nbsp;As China seeks to decrease their reliance on Western tech – including through Chinese industry’s theft of stolen U.S. technology and state financing by the CCP – how can the U.S. and American industry continue to lead in the years to come? Join NSI for this important discussion featuring Anja Manuel, co-founder and Principal at Rice, Hadley, Gates &amp; Manuel LLC, and Nick Schifrin, Foreign Affairs Correspondent at PBS, which not only answered this question but dove into evolving U.S.-China relations and the implications of an ever transforming digital economy. As a special added treat, Nick Schifrin, having just returned from Ukraine, will also share his experiences on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and will discussthe relationship between Russia and China with Anja Manuel.

Tomorrow's Battlefield: How the U.S. Can Win the Tech Competition with China

NSI hosted Sarah Isgur, political commentator – including at The Dispatch and podcast host of Advisory Opinions – and former spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Lauren Claffey Tomlinson, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security and now President of Claffey Communications, and Heather Molino, who has over two decades of Capitol Hill and communications experience, as well as a decade in broadcast journalism. Tal Kopan, Senior Political reporter and Washington correspondent for the SF Chronicle, moderated the event. These four powerful women in media drew from their extensive and diverse backgrounds to share their stories on how they get to where they are and what lessons they have for those interested in joining the national security and media ranks.

Front and Center: Nat Sec Women in Media

NSI was honored to host Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division at the Department of Justice, to discuss how DoJ views the new range of threats emanating from nation-state actors, including from China, Iran, and others. AAG Olsen kicked off the event with remarks, which was then be followed by a fireside chat with John Lipsey, Director of Policy at NSI, to further discuss how to counter espionage, trade-secrets theft, and cybercrime cases – all of which pose significant dangers to U.S. economic and national security interests, as well as on American innovation.

The Department of Justice’s Role in Combatting Nation State Threats

Enes Kanter Freedom from the Boston Celtics, Joey Siu, an outspoken Hong Kong activist and Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-08) joined us for a critical examination of China’s human rights violations happening in the Winter Olympics’ backyard. Josh Rogin from the Washington Post moderated the discussion, which highlighted how everyone can become an ally of the Uyghur community and pressure China now and beyond the Olympic games. All panelists have been outspoken critics of China’s genocide of the Uyghur community and the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive regime. Enes Kanter Freedom has publicly called on American Olympians to boycott this year’s Winter Games and has repeatedly pressured prominent corporation, Nike, to speak out on the genocide. Joey Siu, an exiled Hong Kong activist, led the push for the Biden Administration to announce a diplomatic boycott, which she argued was the first step in holding China accountable at the Winter Games. Rep. Mike Gallagher has been busy in Congress and a year ago, led the international effort with nine other countries to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the Winter Games from Beijing. When Chinese Olympian, Peng Shuai, went missing, Rep. Gallagher also introduced legislation that would sanction senior members of the IOC for being complicit, and called on the Biden Administration to take a stand as well. Josh Rogin has written numerous op-eds for the Washington Post that highlight the ongoing human rights atrocities China has been committing. Most recently his articles focus on the controversy of the Winter Games, and what athletes and lawmakers can do to protest.

2022 Winter Olympics: Disrupting the Games

On Tuesday, October 19, 2021, as part of NSI’s&nbsp;<a href="https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/tech-innovation-2020/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tech Innovation and American National Security project</a>, NSI hosted the third panel of a four-part series examining the national security implications of antitrust challenges at home and abroad.&nbsp;This third event took a look at how U.S. adversaries are addressing antitrust questions related to the tech industry as well as the implications of such efforts for our national security. Our panel features Maureen Ohlhausen, Matt Perault, and Alex Petros, and was moderated by NSI Founder and Executive Director, Jamil N. Jaffer. Adversarial nation-state governments, such as China’s, are known to bolster their own economy through government financing of certain private sector industries, including companies in the tech industry, in order to effectuate national goals, including national security related goals. In particular, while China has encouraged rapid growth in its domestic tech sector in a bid to challenge its biggest economic competitor—the United States—it has at times, placed a heavy regulatory hand on both foreign and domestic tech companies, including using the levers of antitrust policy at home. China’s antitrust challenges are seen by many to have little to do with protecting competition; rather, Beijing’s antitrust and other policies appear to punish companies and executives that don’t adhere to the party line. This panel will look at the ways in which China and other adversarial nations both encourage and discourage foreign and domestic tech competition and how such nations choose its antitrust targets.

Tech 2020/21: Allies, Enemies, and the Homefront Part 3: The National Security Implications of Antitrust

Each year, NSI hosts dozens of events in person and online with policymakers, business leaders, and experts focused on the hardest national security questions facing America and its allies. Along with NSI's events, this podcast will serve as a home for breaking news and special podcast series. Tune in for incisive analysis, enlightening commentary, and actionable recommendations for taking on the threats of today and tomorrow.

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