Based on her recent, front-line role managing one of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationships, Sarah Beran offers an insider’s perspective on the evolution of U.S. China-related policies from the Biden administration into a second Trump term. Shaped by her tenure at the National Security Council and in Beijing during a period of heightened tensions, Beran will explain U.S. efforts to align allies, de-risk supply chains, and counter coercive behavior. As a recent leader of the U.S. diplomatic mission in China, Beran will detail the operational realities of U.S. diplomacy with China.  Please join us for a candid assessment of whether a stable equilibrium between competition and coexistence is achievable in today’s evolving strategic environment.

Speaker: Sarah Beran joined Macro Advisory Partners following a distinguished 23-year career in the US Foreign Service, most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Beijing and as Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the White House National Security Council. As the principal advisor to the President and National Security Advisor on China and Taiwan (2022-2024), her portfolio encompassed technology export controls, investment screening, trade policy, counternarcotics, Russia sanctions and Taiwan contingency planning. She led strategic preparations for multiple heads-of-state summits, negotiated the reopening of senior diplomatic channels with Beijing, and helped forge the first US-China understanding on AI safety in the context of nuclear command and control. At the National Security Council, Sarah also led interagency policy coordination on the expansion of technology export controls, investment screening, trade policy, counternarcotics, Russia sanctions and Taiwan contingency planning. Sarah also served as former US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s Deputy Executive Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, led the office responsible for US engagement in APEC and served as former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. She was posted overseas in Beijing, Islamabad, Jerusalem and Quito, and she speaks Mandarin and Spanish. Sarah is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and the Asia Society’s Task Force on US-China Policy.

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