Ivan Kanapathy is a senior associate (non-resident), Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From March 2018 to July 2021, Mr. Kanapathy served on the White House’s National Security Council staff as director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia and deputy senior director for Asian affairs. Prior to this position, he worked at the American Institute in Taiwan, representing U.S. interests and advising on military and security issues in Taipei. Mr. Kanapathy holds an MA (with distinction) in East Asia security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, a BS in physics and economics from Carnegie Mellon University, and an AA and diploma (with highest honors) in Chinese – Mandarin from the Defense Language Institute.