Henrietta Levin

Senior Fellow, Freeman Chair in China Studies
Henrietta Levin

Henrietta Levin is a senior fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. She previously held senior roles at the U.S. Department of State and the White House, spearheading U.S. strategy and diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific, with particular focus on China and its global impact, Southeast Asia, and the region’s multilateral architecture. Most recently, Henrietta served as deputy China coordinator for global affairs at the Department of State, director for China at the White House National Security Council, and director for Southeast Asia, also at the National Security Council. Earlier, she held several positions across the Department of State, including at U.S. Embassy Beijing, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. She began her government career at the Pentagon, where she served as a spokesperson and presidential management fellow in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Henrietta is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds several Department of State Superior Honor Awards. She received a bachelor's degree in international relations and a master of public diplomacy degree from the University of Southern California.

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Pekingology

How the Chinese Communist Party Stays in Power

Ben Hillman joins to explain how the Party has managed to stay in power, becoming the world's second-longest ruling party (barely losing out to North Korea's communist party) and maintaining an iron grip on power across vastly different phases in China's development. 

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — April 2, 2026

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Decoding China's Two Sessions: Politics, Purges, and a New Five Year Plan

Neil Thomas joins the show to discuss the significance of China's recent "Two Sessions," the state of China's elite politics and purges, highlights of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and who might rise to important roles during Xi's fourth term.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — March 19, 2026

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Understanding Chinese Power

Henrietta Levin is joined by Zoe Liu, Fellow in China Studies with the Council on Foreign Relations, who offers a new framework for understanding China’s national power, evaluating the country’s evolving capacity, capital, character, and credibility.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — March 5, 2026

CSIS Pekingology

State of Play: The Global Impact of the SCOTUS Decision on IEEPA Tariffs

On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court declared President Donald Trump’s use of IEEPA to impose global tariffs against U.S. trading partners illegal. CSIS experts assess how governments and key sectors around the world are likely to interpret and react to the decision.

Commentary by CSIS Scholars — February 20, 2026

Audio Briefs

State of Play: The Global Impact of the SCOTUS Decision on IEEPA Tariffs

An audio version of “⁠State of Play: The Global Impact of the SCOTUS Decision on IEEPA Tariffs⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Victor Cha, Nicholas Szechenyi, Oge Onubogu, Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Charles Edel, Scott Kennedy, Ilaria Mazzocco, Henrietta Levin, Bonny Lin, Federico Steinberg, Richard M. Rossow, Kristi Govella, Mona Yacoubian, and Gregory B. Poling. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by CSIS Scholars — February 20, 2026

Audio Briefs
Pekingology

Can China Sway Australia?

Henrietta Levin is joined by Charlie Edel, Senior Adviser and Australia Chair at CSIS. Charlie unpacks China’s strategy towards Australia, an influential, democratic middle power that maintains strong economic ties to China and a security alliance with the United States. 

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin and Charles Edel — February 19, 2026

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China’s Growing Influence in Latin America

Francisco Urdinez joins the show to unpack China’s strategy in Latin America, how regional countries have experienced China’s growing influence, how Chinese firms are replicating U.S. companies’ playbook from the early 20th century, and Chinese banks’ bad bet on Venezuela.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — February 5, 2026

CSIS Pekingology