Interview

With diesel prices up sharply and midterm elections approaching, the president says he is for restricting diesel exports, a move that has drawn both political support and industry opposition. CSIS experts Joseph Majkut and Kevin Book break down the proposal’s history, market implications, and the risks of intervention.

They note that while exports are near normal levels, inventories are low and refineries are running at high capacity. A ban could strain global markets and hurt the US reputation as a stable supplier, even as some lawmakers push for action to lower prices for consumers.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

In his new book Leaning Seaward, Geoffrey Gresh argues Japan ranks among the world’s most significant maritime great powers and serves as an important counterweight economically, technologically, diplomatically, and militarily to the United States and China, according to the CSIS event description. The discussion covers how China’s growing influence across the maritime domain has driven Japan’s expanding orientation over the past two decades, creating challenges not only for Japan’s maritime security in the form of gray zone conflict, but also for commercial activities such as shipbuilding, where the United States has also recently launched initiatives to attempt to reclaim its own maritime dominance from China.

The conversation, hosted by the CSIS Japan Chair program, features Kristi Govella, Geoffrey Gresh, and Brian Hart examining Japan’s evolution as a maritime power, the challenges it faces from China, and the potential for U.S.-Japan cooperation.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

The fourth installment of a CSIS webinar series examines how the Hormuz energy crisis is affecting energy security across Southeast Asia, a subregion with a varied energy landscape. The discussion covers how net hydrocarbon exporters like Indonesia and Malaysia, alongside import-dependent economies such as Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, are responding from different positions of resource endowment, refining capacity, and fiscal space.

The webinar features Dr. Christopher Len, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Dr. Alloysius Joko Purwanto, Senior Energy Economist at ERIA, in a discussion moderated by Jane Nakano, Senior Fellow in the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Western policymakers have weighed how much escalation risk is acceptable to improve Ukraine’s battlefield position. In this CSIS discussion, Samuel Charap and retired Major General Mick Ryan join Maria Snegovaya to examine whether fears of escalation delayed critical military aid, how to balance battlefield support with diplomatic engagement, and what victory for Ukraine might look like under different U.S. administrations.

Ryan argues that Western debates over escalation were sometimes “nonsensical,” noting that Putin has made all the escalatory moves in the war. Charap counters that escalation risk was one of many factors in aid decisions, and that Russian red lines likely exist somewhere.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

This week’s Freedom250 segment marks three milestones in U.S. military history: the launch of the first American Liberty ship, the opening of the Siege of Yorktown, and the close of the Berlin Airlift.

Sources: DoD News (YouTube)

Please join the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics for an in-person event featuring Logan Wright of the Rhodium Group to discuss the findings of his new book, Broken China: How the Economic Miracle Shattered and What It Means for the World, focusing on the financial roots of China’s slowdown and Beijing’s policy options. Following the presentation, CSIS Trustee Chair Scott Kennedy leads a conversation with panelists Dinny McMahon (Trivium), Tianlei Huang (PIIE), and Zoe Liu (CFR) on the political and economic implications for China and the rest of the world.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

CSIS’s Energy Shots series tells energy stories through data, personalities, and politics. Hosts Joseph Majkut and Kevin Book break down the trend with charts and visuals.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

CSIS experts discuss the recent reset in China–North Korea relations and what the upcoming Trump–Xi summit could mean for North Korea and the Korean Peninsula. Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Dr. Bonny Lin of the China Power Project and Mr. Sydney Seiler of the Korea Chair at CSIS to unpack these developments and their broader regional implications.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

Demetri Sevastopulo of the Financial Times and Xiangwei Wang, former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post, join the ChinaPower Podcast to assess U.S.-China relations ahead of the Trump-Xi summit in Washington, D.C.

Sevastopulo, one of very few people to interview Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after his meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng ahead of the summit, offers the inside scoop. Wang provides his expert take on Xi Jinping’s thinking.

The episode was recorded on September 22, 2026, prior to the summit.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

At a CSIS event, the ambassadors of Zambia and Tanzania discussed the future of critical minerals in Africa, focusing on what it takes to build a sustained pipeline of investment in mining, processing, and infrastructure. The Zambian ambassador highlighted a recent reclassification of the country’s credit profile by the US Exim Bank as a signal of confidence, while noting that an “artificially inflated risk premium” still deters private sector investment.

The Tanzanian ambassador stressed the need for value addition on the continent and regional cooperation, citing SADC’s efforts to align principles on critical minerals. Both ambassadors noted a shift toward commercial diplomacy in their roles, with the US showing more aggressive engagement in 2026 compared to the past.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)