Jude Blanchette Named Distinguished Tang Chair in China Research; Tapped to Lead RAND's China Research Center
For Release
Thursday
December 5, 2024
Jude Blanchette, a leading expert on China's political landscape, has been named the inaugural director of the RAND China Research Center and Distinguished Tang Chair in China Research at nonpartisan, nonprofit RAND.
The new RAND China Research Center will expand the scope of RAND's existing work on China with a specific focus on building up expertise on China's internal politics and decisionmaking; domestic issues including social, economic, demographic, and environmental challenges; and other nonmilitary aspects of competition such as diplomatic relations and science and technology investments.
“Jude's vision and deep expertise in the inner workings of China's politics is exactly what we need to help grow the new China Research Center and will go a long way in helping to improve U.S. and allied policymakers' understanding of China,” said RAND President and CEO Jason Matheny. “As competition with China continues to intensify, the need for comprehensive, objective analysis becomes increasingly important and I look forward to working with Jude to help raise the bar on China-related research.”
Most recently Blanchette held the prestigious Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) where he became a key source of insight on China's evolving political system. Prior to CSIS he served as the engagement director at the Conference Board's China Center for Economics and Business in Beijing and earlier in his career he was the assistant director of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego.
A prolific writer, his analysis has been featured in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Wall Street Journal, War on the Rocks, The Financial Times, and the Washington Post. He also is the author of “China's New Red Guards: The Return of Radicalism and the Rebirth of Mao Zedong.”
Blanchette holds a master's degree in modern Chinese studies from the University of Oxford and a bachelor's degree in economics from Loyola University Maryland. He also is a public intellectual fellow at the National Committee on United States–China Relations and serves on the board of the American Mandarin Society.
The China Research Center will be housed within RAND's new Global and Emerging Risks division.