CSIS Launches Asia Economic Strategy Commission

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2015 – The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) today launched a bipartisan commission to develop a comprehensive economic strategy for the United States to pursue vital U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia Economic Strategy Commission (AESC) will be chaired by Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, former U.S. trade representative; Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of ACE Group; and Governor Jon Huntsman, former ambassador to China and Singapore. Over the next year, the Commission will develop a framework for U.S. economic policymaking in the Asia Pacific to inform the next U.S. administration.

“American leadership in the Asia Pacific requires a comprehensive economic strategy built on a strong domestic political and economic foundation, tied to clearly defined American interests, and effectively deploying all the tools and strengths of the U.S. government, private sector, and American people,” said John J. Hamre, CSIS president, CEO, and Pritzker Chair. “In the decades that CSIS has worked on the U.S.-Asia relationship, it has never been more important that economics sit at the heart of a serious U.S. strategy in the region.”

The Commission’s work is intended to help U.S. policymakers carry out a dynamic, forward-looking economic strategy, which will promote growth, jobs, and security in the United States and across the Asia Pacific.

The Commission is made up of a bipartisan group of senior former officials, experts on Asia and economic policy, and business people with deep experience in the region. A full list of commissioners is below.

The project will be directed by CSIS scholars Ernest Bower, senior adviser and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies; Matthew Goodman, senior adviser for Asian economics and Simon Chair in Political Economy; and Scott Miller, senior adviser and Scholl Chair in International Business.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact H. Andrew Schwartz at aschwartz@csis.org.

Commissioners:

Charlene Barshefsky (cochair), Senior International Partner, WilmerHale, and former USTR

Evan G. Greenberg (cochair), Chairman and CEO, ACE Group

Jon M. Huntsman Jr. (cochair), Chairman, The Atlantic Council, and former U.S. Ambassador to China and Singapore

Timothy D. Adams , President and CEO, Institute of International Finance, and former Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs

Richard Armitage , President, Armitage International, and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State

Gary Baumgartner , Chairman, International Alliance Group

Karan Bhatia , Vice President, General Electric, and former Deputy USTR

Gary R. Edson , President, Conservation International

Anne Finucane , Vice Chairman, Global Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America

Reed Hundt , former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission

Rod Hunter , Senior Vice President, International Affairs, PhRMA

Lisa P. Jackson , Vice President, Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, Apple Inc.

Charles Lake , President, Aflac International

Melody Meyer , President, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company

J. Stapleton Roy , Founding Director Emeritus, Wilson Center Kissinger Institute, and former U.S. Ambassador to China, Indonesia, and Singapore

Kathleen Stephens , Distinguished Fellow, Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, and former U.S. Ambassador to Korea

Mona Sutphen , Partner, Macro Advisory Partners LLC, and former Deputy White House Chief of Staff

Christopher G. Townsend , President, Asia, MetLife, Inc.

Laura Tyson , former Chair, White House National Economic Council, and former Chair, President’s Council of Economic Advisers

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The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to advance global security and prosperity by providing strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decisionmakers.