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Daniel Russel

Vice President, International Security and Diplomacy

Daniel Russel ASPI Headshot

Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region.

Prior to joining the NSC in January of 2009, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and had assignments as U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan (2005-2008); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands (2002-2005); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus (1999-2002); Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (1997-99); Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1995-96); Political Section Unit Chief at U.S. Embassy Seoul, Republic of Korea (1992-95); Political Advisor to the Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Pickering (1989-92); Vice Consul in Osaka and Branch Office Manager in Nagoya, Japan (1987-89); and Assistant to the Ambassador to Japan, former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (1985-87).

In 1996, Mr. Russel was awarded the State Department's Una Chapman Cox Fellowship sabbatical and authored America’s Place in the World, a book published by Georgetown University. Before joining the Foreign Service, he was manager for an international firm in New York City.

Mr. Russel was educated at Sarah Lawrence College and University College, University of London, UK.

Reports

  • ASPI Notes
    report

    ASPI Notes for the Biden Administration

    Creative and practical ideas for how the United States might re-engage in the Asia Pacific in the critical first six months of the new administration.
  • WBRI
    report

    Weaponizing the Belt and Road Initiative

    Report on BRI projects' strategic and military implications for China, the region, and the United States.

Commentary

Kurt Campbell

Kurt Campbell: U.S. and China Can Co-Exist Peacefully

The White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific described the "enormously difficult" Sino-American relationship in a conversation with Kevin Rudd, Wendy Cutler, and Daniel Russel.
Russel Testimony
speech

Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Daniel Russel's testimony to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific
Biden Quad
article

Quad Leaders Have Put Forward a Plan, Not a Promise

Daniel Russel writes that the Quad that the U.S. is now cultivating is focused on what they seek to achieve, not merely what they want to counter.
DR_Xi
speech

The Future of U.S.-China Policy Under the Biden Administration

Daniel Russel delivers a keynote speech to the U.S.-China Business Council Forecast 2021 Conference.
ASPI Notes
report

ASPI Notes for the Biden Administration

Creative and practical ideas for how the United States might re-engage in the Asia Pacific in the critical first six months of the new administration.
China Flag
article

China Is Weaponizing the Belt and Road. What Can the U.S. Do About It?

Daniel Russel and Admiral Locklear write that the BRI-driven trend toward a Chinese sphere of influence is neither inevitable nor irreversible.
Zero_Taiwan COVID
interview

Long-Term Impacts of COVID-19 on Taiwan

Daniel Russel interviews Bi-khim Hsiao on the impact of the pandemic on Taiwan.
WBRI
report

Weaponizing the Belt and Road Initiative

Report on BRI projects' strategic and military implications for China, the region, and the United States.
U.S.-Japan Troops
article

Reflections on the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty at 60

ASPI Vice President Daniel Russel writes that the U.S.-Japan alliance, some 50 years after the "Nixon shocks," is battered by "Trump shocks" that gnaw away at its foundation of trust.
DPRK
article

Daniel Russel on North Korea, Kim Jong Un, and the Future of the Regime

ASPI Vice President Daniel Russel penned an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times on North Korea, Kim Jong Un, and the future of the Regime.
BJ
interview

Daniel Russel: China and Covid-19

Daniel Russel spoke with Foreign Policy Association’s Off-The-Record to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on China and its’ international standing.
Face masks at a factory in Handan, China
article

Could the Pandemic Ease U.S.-China Tensions?

In an op-ed for Foreign Policy, Wendy Cutler and Daniel Russel write that COVID-19 might be a rare chance for the United States and China to come together.
Sri Lanka BRI
article

The Coronavirus Will Not Be Fatal for China’s Belt and Road Initiative but It Will Strike a Heavy Blow

Daniel Russel writes that BRI projects face delays as the coronavirus prevents Beijing from supplying goods and people.
COVID19
article

As Its Coronavirus Outbreak Abates, China Is Trying out a New Look. Is It Working?

Daniel Russel says perhaps the biggest threat to China’s influence and international standing from COVID-19 is the likely toll on China’s economy from both the unprecedented shut-down at home and the precipitous drop in global demand.
DR Bloomberg COVID
interview

Assessing China's Response to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Daniel Russel joined Bloomberg Markets to discuss China's response to COVID-19.
Japan Center 3
speech

Wildcard: How Coronavirus is disrupting the China Dream

Daniel Russel speaks at the Asia Society Japan Center on how the Coronavirus outbreak will disrupt the Chinese Dream.
Daniel Russel Speech
speech

The Challenge in U.S.-China Relations

Daniel Russel speaks on the Challenge in U.S.-China Relations to Loyola Marymount University.
US China Flag
podcast

Is the U.S.-China Relationship in a Downward Spiral?

Daniel Russel joins Carnegie-Tsinghua's Paul Haenle for a podcast on U.S.-China relations, and diplomacy on the Korean peninsula in 2020.

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Related Video

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    Diplomacy in Action: The Xi-Biden Meeting Between Regional and Global Summits

    Kevin Rudd, Wendy Cutler, Daniel Russel, Takako Hikotani, and Rorry Daniels discuss what the meeting’s results mean not only for the bilateral relationship but also for the region and the world.
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  • Policy
     /  New York

    Retooling the Belt and Road Initiative: Digital Guidance for Better Outcomes

    Daniel Russel, Blake Berger, Jacinta Chen, Shawn Shieh, Jessica DiCarlo, and Rorry Daniels discuss the Asia Society Policy Institute's new digital toolkit for China’s flagship global infrastructure development program.
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    Shinzo Abe’s Vision and Legacy

    Kevin Rudd, Yoriko Kawaguchi, Wendy Cutler, Daniel Russel, and Takako Hikotani discuss the shocking death of Japan's longest-serving prime minister.
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  • Current Affairs
     /  Australia

    The Quad in 2022: Dialogue and Disruption

    Unpacking all the issues from the latest Quad summit with Asia Society Policy Institute experts from the US, Japan, India and Australia.
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  • Policy
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    Global Impact Assessment: The Digital Silk Road and China’s Technology Standards

    Dai Mochinaga, Tim Rühlig, Julia Voo, and Daniel Russel assess a key part of China's signature Belt and Road Initiative.
    Watch Now
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