A joint CSIS-Brookings project

As intense geostrategic rivalry becomes an enduring feature of the U.S.-China relationship, CSIS and the Brookings Institution have launched a joint project, Advancing Collaboration in an Era of Strategic Competition, to explore and expand the space for U.S.-China collaboration on matters of shared concern.

In this essay, social behavioral epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Bouey explores collaborative public health efforts between the United States and China in combating HIV/AIDS from 2002 to 2018, an effort that produced notable benefits both globally and synergistically for the partner states. Dr. Bouey concludes with several recommendations for preserving public health as a collaborative space amid heightened competition between the United States and China. These include promoting transparent information sharing on public health risks, taking steps to deepen collaboration at three distinct bilateral levels, strengthening multilateral public health frameworks at the global and regional levels, and building up U.S. soft power in the international global health space.

This report was made possible by generous support from the Gates Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation.

Author: Jennifer Bouey, Tang Chair for China Policy Studies, RAND Corporation, and Associate Professor and Chair for the Department of Global Health, Georgetown University.