U.S. National Security & China's Threat to Freedom - Consilium Forum 2026

About the Forum

Examining the issues affecting U.S. national security and the structural nature of CCP influence — and the policy options for Western democracies.

The U.S. National Security and China's Threat to Freedom brings together policymakers, security experts, think tank analysts, academic scholars, and human rights advocates to examine the growing challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party's transnational repression, digital authoritarianism, and global influence operations.

As strategic competition between the United States and the CCP intensifies across technological, informational, economic, and security domains, the forum explores how authoritarian systems increasingly operate beyond national borders — shaping public discourse, influencing democratic institutions, targeting dissident communities, and expanding mechanisms of surveillance and control into the global sphere.

Five specific sessions focus on critical issues such as cybersecurity collaboration with Taiwan, the CCP's infiltration of educational institutions, and grave human rights concerns including forced organ harvesting, as well as the Chinese people's pursuit of freedom and the ongoing massive quitting CCP movement. By examining these strategic vulnerabilities, the forum aims to strengthen democratic resilience and protect U.S. national security through informed policy dialogue, and to safeguard fundamental human rights and freedom.

Through keynote presentations, expert panels, strategic scenario analysis, and policy discussions, the forum seeks to provide Members of Congress, congressional staff, researchers, and civil society leaders with a deeper understanding of the CCP threats and the strategic choices facing the United States and the international community.