event

Strategic Deterrence in the Information Age: Why China’s Approach is Different

Tue. March 11th, 20252:00 PM - 3:30 PM (EDT)
Washington, DC and Live Online

Non-nuclear weapons play a prominent role in China’s approach to strategic deterrence. In the 1990s, China began investing in offensive cyber capabilities, counterspace systems, and precision conventional missiles to coerce its adversaries, instead of relying on nuclear weapons. Over time, however, Beijing has learned more about the pitfalls of these information-age weapons and built up its conventional and nuclear capabilities. Meanwhile, the United States has worked to counter the potential impact of China’s information-age weapons on the U.S. ability to conduct military operations in the Indo-Pacific.  

What is the future of China’s approach to strategic deterrence? What do China’s choices reveal about contemporary strategic deterrence? 

Join Carnegie Endowment nonresident scholar and University of Pennsylvania assistant professor Fiona Cunningham for a conversation with Pranay Vaddi from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mallory Stewart, former assistant secretary of state, and Tong Zhao of Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program, about China’s approach to strategic deterrence and to preview Cunningham’s new book, Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security (Princeton, 2025). 

Light refreshments will be provided.

Arms ControlTechnologyNuclear PolicyChina
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Fiona Cunningham

Nonresident Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program

Fiona Cunningham is a nonresident scholar in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an assistant professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. She was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow in 2020-21.

Mallory Stewart

Former Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability

From April 2022 to January 2025, Mallory Stewart was the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability (ADS) at the U.S. Department of State. She joined the bureau in 2022, after serving as a Special Assistant to President Biden and Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation at the National Security Council since January 2021. Prior to that, Ms. Stewart had been a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Arms Control Bureau under the Obama Administration and had served as a lawyer in the State Department's Office of the Legal Adviser since 2002.

Tong Zhao

Senior Fellow, Carnegie China, Nuclear Policy Program

Tong Zhao is a senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China. Formerly based in Beijing, he now conducts research in Washington on strategic security issues.

Pranay Vaddi

Senior Nuclear Fellow, Center for Nuclear Security Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Pranay Vaddi is currently a Senior Nuclear Fellow in the Center for Nuclear Security Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, conducting research on U.S. nuclear strategy and arms control policy. From May 2022 to January 2025, he served as President Biden's Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation at the National Security Council.