ExclusiveKurt Campbell on US deterrence, the Quad, Aukus and Taiwan after Xi-Trump summit
Veteran US diplomat says containing China is impossible, but urges Washington to shore up its regional partnerships
Kurt Campbell is a veteran US diplomat and strategist who has played a leading role in shaping Washington’s approach to China and the Indo-Pacific for more than a decade.
He served as the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs from 2021 to 2024 and as US deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013 and was a key architect of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia”.
Often described as the Biden administration’s “Asia tsar”, Campbell also helped develop the Quad and the “small yard, high fence” approach to technology competition.
A former US Navy officer, Harvard professor and co-founder of the Centre for a New American Security, he is now chairman and co-founder of The Asia Group, a Washington-based strategic advisory firm.
