Nicholas Burns
Co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group and Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard Kennedy School. He served as U.S. ambassador to China from 2021 to 2025 and contributes to public discussions of U.S.-China competition and cooperation on AI.
Free Societies Must Adapt Without Abandoning Their Ideals
Anja Manuel, executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum, argued that rapid shifts in artificial intelligence, conflict and economic power require leaders to test “too hard, audacious” ideas rather than merely react to events. Opening the forum, she said adaptation must remain anchored in the ideals of free societies, as technology, wars and new growth centres reshape the international order.
The Security Forum Culminates Year-Round Work on U.S. Strategy
Nicholas Burns, co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group and former U.S. ambassador to China, framed the Aspen Security Forum as the annual culmination of work conducted throughout the year on foreign policy, defense, military affairs and homeland security. He said the group’s model links off-the-record discussions with U.S. military services, sustained homeland-security work and focused deliberation on U.S.-China relations and America’s wider position in East Asia.