Michael Sobolik Email & Phone Number

Washington, Dc, Us

The United States is in the midst of a new cold war with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and America is losing. That claim, at the core of Michael Sobolik’s new book Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance, challenges the Washington, D.C. conventional wisdom about U.S.-China relations. Officials in Washington are reacting to the CCP and playing defense. Like America’s efforts to contain the Soviet Union in the twentieth-century Cold War, the United States needs a strategic vision to overcome the CCP. Sobolik offers a plan for American victory over the CCP and presents a roadmap to sabotage the crux of the CCP’s foreign policy: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).At its core, the BRI is not an economic venture. It is a geopolitical gambit. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “project of the century” has entered its second phase: leveraging yesterday’s investments for today’s political and military ends. Xi will never do away with the BRI because it is strengthening Beijing’s strategic position from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands to Africa and Latin America. The BRI is the apotheosis of the CCP’s grand strategy. America needs a blueprint to take it down.Sobolik provides this blueprint by identifying the BRI’s core weakness: imperial overstretch. After identifying China’s penchant for empire-building, he identifies the BRI’s key weaknesses globally and traces them back to the CCP’s vulnerabilities at home. Sobolik’s work offers policymakers a plan to go on the offense and win America’s new cold war.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Michael Sobolik is a Senior Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies at AFPC. His work covers American and Chinese grand strategy, regional economic and security trends, America’s alliance architecture in Asia, and human rights. Michael also serves as editor of AFPC’s Indo-Pacific Monitor e-bulletin, AFPC’s review of developments in the region. His analysis has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, The Hill, Jane's Defence Weekly, The National Interest, National Review, Newsweek, Providence, and RealClearDefense.Prior to joining AFPC, Michael served as a Legislative Assistant in the United States Senate from 2014 to 2019. While in the Senate, Michael drafted legislation on China, Russia, India, Taiwan, North Korea, and Cambodia, as well as strategic systems and missile defense. Michael is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he studied political philosophy as an undergraduate. He also earned his Master of International Affairs degree in American grand strategy and U.S.-China relations at the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Washington, District Of Columbia

Michael served on Sen. Cruz's national security team from 2014 to 2019 and managed his Indo-Pacific policy portfolio. While in the Senate, Michael drafted legislation on China, Russia, India, Taiwan, North Korea, and Cambodia, as well as strategic systems and missile defense.

Washington, District Of Columbia

Washington, District Of Columbia

Arlington, Va

Arlington, Va

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Washington D.C. Metro Area

214 Massachusetts Ave. Ne Washington, Dc 20002

Master'S Degree, International Relations And Affairs, 3.875

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Political Science And Government, 3.68

Activities and Societies: Phi Beta Kappa