Kurt Campbell: U.S. May Face Increasing Difficulty with Asia in Future

The United States must work closely with China on critical world issues such as North Korea, according to Kurt M. Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. But this relationship faces increasing difficulty in the future, he said on Thursday (March 3) during a visit to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS).

“One of the key features of diplomacy towards North Korea, when we were successful, has been the ability of Beijing and Washington to find a common cause,” said Campbell. “I must say that has been more challenging in the current environment.”

It is very important, Campbell added, for the United States to convince China that it is not in their best interests to give North Korea “a blank check for their provocative actions,” because doing so could destabilize the region.

In the interview with Nicholas Burns for the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Campbell also discussed the importance of diplomacy in global affairs.

“I’m hopeful that there will be a recognition that for us to be successful on the global stage means that we need to have good diplomats and that foreign policy is the best defense overall,” he said.

Prior to his appointment at the State Department, Campbell was the CEO and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security and director of the Aspen Strategy Group. Following the completion of his doctorate at Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship, he spent seven years at the Harvard Kennedy School as a fellow, lecturer and associate professor.

Before concluding the interview, Burns, professor of the practice of diplomacy and international politics at Harvard Kennedy School, faculty chair of the Future of Diplomacy Project and former undersecretary of state for political affairs, asked Deputy Secretary Campbell about his experiences at HKS and the influence the School has had on him in his current role in Washington, D.C.

“Overall, what the Kennedy School helped me to understand is that if you’re going to be successful in anything you do, you have to be strategic,” he said.