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A weapon is mounted on the Lehit ground robotic system, developed by specialists of the International Legion under the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, during a demonstration in Ukraine on December 9, 2025. (Getty Images)
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The sun rises of the Gubeikou Great Wall in Beijing on September 28, 2023. (Fei Maohua via Getty Images)
While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has weathered crises before, a sudden regime collapse in China is not entirely unthinkable. Policymakers need to consider what might happen and what steps they would have to take if the world’s longest-ruling Communist dictatorship and second-largest economy collapses.
Hudson Institute’s China Center will convene experts and policymakers to discuss the potential collapse of CCP authority in China. The event will examine the possibilities and analyze what steps the United States should take in the immediate aftermath to stabilize China’s political, economic, and social institutions. Finally, they will assess the forces required to shape China’s post-CCP future.
The conference will feature remarks from experts in military affairs, intelligence, economics, human rights, transitional justice, and constitutional governance, and include two moderated panels to discuss the larger implications of a potential CCP collapse on regional and global security.
Agenda
8:30 a.m. | Registration
9:00 a.m. | Welcome Remarks
- John Walters, President and CEO, Hudson Institute
9:05 a.m. | Opening Remarks
- Miles Yu, Senior Fellow and Director, China Center, Hudson Institute
9:15 a.m. | Panel 1: After Collapse—Security Implications and the International Community’s Response
- Randall Schriver, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs
- Gordon G. Chang, Former Counsel to Paul Weiss LLC, Shanghai, and Partner, Baker and McKenzie, Hong Kong
- Rick Fisher, Senior Fellow, Asian Military Affairs, International Assessment and Strategy Center
Moderator
- Dr. Miles Yu, Senior Fellow and Director, China Center, Hudson Institute
10:30 a.m. | Panel 2: Disintegration—Ethnic Grievances, Constitutional Convention, and Democratization Process
- Piero Tozzi, Staff Director, Congressional-Executive Commission on China
- William Nee, Senior Manager, Asia Regional Program, National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
- Nina Shea, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
- Donald Clarke, Professor Emeritus, George Washington University Law School
Moderator
- Dr. Miles Yu, Senior Fellow and Director, China Center, Hudson Institute
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