The New Yorker April 23, 2026
Jonathan Czin was interviewed for a Q&A series in the New Yorker on how Beijing views the war in Iran.
Jonathan A. Czin is the Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and a fellow in the China Center, where he also co-host the podcast “The Beijing Brief.” He is frequently quoted in major international periodicals such as The New York Times, The Economist, The New Yorker, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal and has appeared on Morning Joe, The PBS NewsHour, NPR, CNN, the BBC, and Bloomberg. He writes regularly for periodicals such as Foreign Affairs, which named his essay with John Culver on Xi’s purge of the Chinese military’s high command as one of its best pieces of 2025.
Czin is a former member of the Senior Analytic Service at the CIA, where he was the intelligence community’s top expert on Xi Jinping. From 2021 to 2023, he served as director for China at the National Security Council, where he staffed all of President Biden’s interactions with President Xi and played a leading role in addressing a wide range of global China issues. He also served at the Department of Defense and overseas at a CIA field station in Southeast Asia. Czin holds a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University, graduated magna cum laude from Haverford College, and studied at Oxford University.
Affiliations
- Aardwolf Global Solutions, advisor
- Ergo, senior advisor
- National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member
- Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations, contributor
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Past Positions
- Senior China Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
- Director for China, National Security Council
- Advisor for Asia-Pacific Security Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense
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Education
- M.A., Yale University
- B.A., Haverford College
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Languages
- Chinese (proficient)
Media and Appearances
CNN February 17, 2026
This is potentially a seismic shift in Chinese politics under Xi, and how he governs – this really demonstrates nobody in that system is safe, truly… [The purge has] reached a crescendo..."
Wall Street Journal January 28, 2026
As far as the corruption problem goes, I think that Xi has concluded that he had no other option but to cull virtually the entire generational cohort at the top [of the People’s..."
Reuters January 26, 2026
Zhang [Youxia]’s removal means that truly nobody in the leadership is safe now… I think corruption concerns are probably real, though those are typically more a pretext to remove..."
The Economist October 23, 2025
Instead of coming running for negotiations, Xi is the one that is making moves and the United States is struggling to keep up.
The Associated Press October 23, 2025
[Beijing is going on offense with its expanded rules on rare earth products, an attempt to] start setting the terms of the bilateral dynamic… I think (Xi) sees it as a sign that he has..."
Reuters October 23, 2025
By purging these officers before the plenum altogether and all at once, Xi is sending a clear shot across the bow to the military high command ahead and asserting his dominance.
The Straits Times October 22, 2025
[Xi] can either elevate one of the other CMC members, Liu Zhenli or Zhang Shengmin, in accordance with party tradition. Doing this would of course create another vacancy on the CMC that..."
The World October 10, 2025
Jonathan Czin was interviewed by NPR “The World’s” Carolyn Beeler about the significance of China’s new rare earths export controls.
BBC October 10, 2025
[President Xi is] looking for ways to seize the initiative. The Trump administration is having to play a game of whack-a-mole and deal with these issues as they come up.
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