From May 18 to 22, 2026, the Arms Control Negotiation Academy (ACONA) convened its annual program in Reykjavík, Iceland. Sixteen early-career scholars and policy researchers from multiple countries gathered for a series of negotiation exercises, policy discussions, and exchanges on topics including arms control, strategic stability, and artificial intelligence governance. Sun Chenghao, Fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS), Tsinghua University, participated in the program as an ACONA Fellow.

​On May 19, 2026, the 2026 Spring Tsinghua-Georgetown Undergraduate Dialogue concluded successfully. The event was co-hosted by the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University and the Georgetown University Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

On May 19, 2026, a student delegation from Princeton University visited Tsinghua University and participated in a Student Exchange hosted by the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS). Nearly 40 students from China and the United States engaged in in-depth discussions on the current state, future opportunities, and challenges of China-U.S. relations.

On May 18, 2026, the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University hosted the 99th session of its Strategic and Security Forum, titled “Frontier AI Risks and Governance: Space for China-U.S. Cooperation.” The seminar was moderated by Xiao Qian, Deputy Director of CISS, and brought together more than ten experts and scholars from institutions including Tsinghua University, the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, Beijing Normal University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and the Overseas Policy Research Center of the Alibaba Research Institute.

On May 14, 2026, during his meeting with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed defining the bilateral relationship as a “China-U.S. constructive strategic stability relationship,” a new positioning for China-U.S. relations that was endorsed by President Trump and formally confirmed by the White House.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin pays a state visit to China, the digital education monograph Information and Communication Technologies for Global Peace («Информационно-коммуникационные технологии для глобального мира»), co-authored by experts from the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University, has been adopted as teaching material by multiple Russian universities and is beginning to exert significant influence in the field of international education.

On the morning of May 11, a delegation from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung visited the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University. The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, regional development in Northeast Asia, and other regional hotspot issues of mutual concern.

On May 12, 2026, the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University hosted a Wisdom Dialogue titled “The Rise and Fall of Nations from the Perspective of the Comprehensive National Power Index” in Room 428B of the Mingli Building at Tsinghua University.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump paid a state visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese side, attracting widespread attention from domestic and international media. Experts and scholars from the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University, including Da Wei, Zhou Bo, Sun Chenghao, Wen Jing, and China Forum experts Gong Jiong and Zhao Minghao, gave interviews to numerous major Chinese and international media outlets. They provided analysis and commentary on issues including the China-U.S. leaders’ meeting, China-U.S. economic and trade relations, and the evolving global geopolitical landscape.

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.