On May 8, 2026, the Third Strategic and Policy Research Seminar was successfully held. The seminar was jointly organized by the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University and the Center for Global Competence Development (CGCD) at Tsinghua University, with support from the Student Association for International Strategy Studies (SAISS) at Tsinghua University. The seminar aimed to help young students aspiring to careers in diplomacy, strategic planning, and international relations research broaden their global perspectives and cultivate strategic thinking. A total of 27 students from institutions including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Central Party School of the Communist Party of China, and Beijing Foreign Studies University participated in the event.

The coming year could prove consequential for China-U.S. relations. With multiple leader-levelmeetings expected, both sides will have a chance to stabilize ties. Yet most debates remain focusedon trade disputes, technology controls, and regional crises. What is missing from these debates isjust as important: global governance, where cooperation remains not only possible but necessary.

In recent years, artificial intelligence has moved to the very center of U.S.-China relations. Onceseen primarily as a driver of economic growth and technological progress, AI is now increasinglyframed through the lens of strategic competition. The language of a "race"-to build morepowerful models, to secure compute advantage, to dominate the future of intelligence-hasbecome a defining feature of bilateral discourse.

The Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University held the 26th session of “CISS StratFocus” on April 27, 2026, under the theme “Biosecurity Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The forum was moderated by CISS Senior Fellow Dong Ting and featured Bao Yuhan, Lecturer at the School of International Organizations of Beijing Foreign Studies University, as the keynote speaker.

On the morning of April 24, a delegation from the Institute for Strategic Studies of Mongolia’s National Security Council visited the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University. The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on topics including China–Mongolia bilateral relations, regional security, and think tank cooperation

On the afternoon of April 21, a delegation from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft visited the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University. The two sides engaged in in-depth exchanges on topics including the international order, China–U.S. relations, and regional hotspot issues.

The Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University held the 25th session of “CISS StratFocus” on April 15, 2026, under the theme “Institutional Competition and Order Reconstruction in the Middle East.” The forum was moderated by Wen Jing, Postdoctoral Fellow at CISS. Duan Jiuzhou, Assistant Researcher at the Institute of International and Area Studies of Tsinghua University, was invited as the keynote speaker. Zhu Quangang, Associate Research Fellow at the Department of Political Studies of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Wu Shiyao, Lecturer at the School of International Relations of the University of International Business and Economics, participated in the discussion as guest commentators.

On April 20, 2026, the think tank seminar titled “Cross-Border Water Governance under Lancang–Mekong Cooperation”, held in celebration of the 115th anniversary of Tsinghua University and alongside the launch of the research report “A Decade of Water Cooperation”, was successfully convened at Room 428B, Mingli Building. The event was organized by the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS).

On April 9, 2026, the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University hosted a China–Russia expert seminar titled “Geopolitical Conflicts and Major Power Coordination.” The event brought together leading scholars and experts from China and Russia specializing in international security, major power relations, and regional conflict studies. The seminar was chaired by Da Wei, Director of CISS.

In 1969, with the Cultural Revolution raging at home andtensions rising abroad, Chinese leader Mao Zedong instructedfour elder military leaders to study the relationships between China and the world’s two superpowers. Using Mao’s theoretical framework of “contradictions,” which states that the struggle between opposing forces is what drives history forward, they posited that the contradiction between the United States and the Soviet Union was greater than that between China and the Soviet Union, which in turn was greater than that between China and the United States.

On April 13, 2026, during the visit to Tsinghua University, Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain, attended the Seminar on China-EU Relations hosted by the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University. He held in-depth discussions with Chinese experts on the development of China-EU relations and the prospects for China-Spain cooperation amid the current international situation. The seminar was moderated by Yang Bin, Vice Chancellor of Tsinghua University Council.

On April 3, a delegation from the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE) and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, visited the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University.