Dean Cheng is a senior advisor to the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

He joined USIP from The Heritage Foundation, where he spent over a decade as a senior research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs. He has written extensively on China’s military doctrine, the technological implications of its space program and “dual use” issues associated with China’s industrial and scientific infrastructure.

Before joining The Heritage Foundation, Cheng worked at Science Applications International Corporation and the China studies division of the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research institute. He also served as an analyst for the international security and space program at the Office of Technology Assessment, a congressional agency, with particular expertise on China’s defense-industrial complex.

Cheng has testified many times before U.S. House and Senate committees on various aspects of Chinese security. He has appeared on public affairs shows such as “John McLaughlin’s One on One” and C-SPAN, as well as programs on NPR, CNN International, BBC World Service and International Television News.

He has been interviewed by or provided commentary for publications such as Time magazine, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Bloomberg News, Jane’s Defence Weekly, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo, and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, and is the author of “Cyber Dragon,” an examination of Chinese information and cyber activities. He has also spoken at the National Space Symposium, National Defense University, the Air Force Academy, MIT and the Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies.

Publications By Dean

Dean Cheng on What China’s Pressure on Taiwan Means for the Region

Dean Cheng on What China’s Pressure on Taiwan Means for the Region

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

As Beijing ratchets up military pressure along the Strait, Taiwan remains “the one area where we are most likely to see … a direct confrontation between the United States and China” because a conflict “would affect a lot of our allies [like] Japan, South Korea and the Philippines,” says USIP’s Dean Cheng. 

Type: Podcast

Dean Cheng on Jake Sullivan’s Trip to Beijing

Dean Cheng on Jake Sullivan’s Trip to Beijing

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Details from U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan’s recent meetings in Beijing with senior Chinese officials have been scarce. But amid simmering tensions, the fact the meeting occurred at all is notable, says USIP’s Dean Cheng: “The point here, I suspect, is simply to have communications.”

Type: Podcast

Sullivan’s Beijing Mission: Managing Competition Amid Simmering Tensions

Sullivan’s Beijing Mission: Managing Competition Amid Simmering Tensions

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

President Joe Biden’s top national security aide, Jake Sullivan, met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week, along with other top Chinese officials, as Washington and Beijing look to address bilateral tensions. Relations hit one of their lowest points in years in August 2022 after then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and China responded by cutting off bilateral communications on areas ranging from military matters to climate cooperation. But both sides have attempted to pull back from the brink with a series of high-level meetings in the last two years, including between Biden and Xi in November 2023.

Type: Question and Answer

Global PolicyMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

China, Philippines Have Big Disagreements Over Their Recent Deal

China, Philippines Have Big Disagreements Over Their Recent Deal

Thursday, July 25, 2024

China and the Philippines this weekend reached a deal aimed at reducing their growing tensions over Second Thomas Shoal. The agreement comes as maritime confrontations have been increasing in frequency and intensity, raising fears of a broader conflict that could lead to the Philippines invoking its mutual defense treaty with the United States. While the deal could be a key step to reducing tensions, messaging from both Beijing and Manila suggests that both sides still firmly maintain their positions on the disputed waters, and that they see the agreement’s provisions in fundamentally different ways.

Type: Question and Answer

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Dean Cheng on China’s Expanding Space Capabilities

Dean Cheng on China’s Expanding Space Capabilities

Monday, July 1, 2024

China’s successful trip to the far side of the moon — the first nation to accomplish the feat — is not only “great advertising” for potential technology partnerships, it’s “part of the larger Chinese space effort” that seeks to expand China’s own dual-use capabilities in space, says USIP’s Dean Cheng.

Type: Podcast

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