Ryan Hass has served as China Director at the National Security Council and in the US embassy in Beijing. Currently, he is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. Hass holds a joint appointment to the John L. Thornton China Center and the Center for East Asia Policy Studies. He is also a nonresident affiliated fellow in the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School. Hass’ research and analysis are focused on enhancing policy development on the pressing political, economic, and security challenges facing the United States in East Asia. Hass is also a senior advisor to The Scowcroft Group and McLarty Associates.
From 2013 to 2017, Hass served as the director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia at the National Security Council (NSC) staff. In that role, he advised President Obama and senior White House officials on all aspects of US policy toward China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and coordinated the implementation of US policy toward this region among US government departments and agencies. Hass joined President Obama’s state visit delegations in Beijing and Washington respectively in 2014 and 2015, and the president’s delegation to Hangzhou, China, for the G-20 in 2016, and to Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meetings in 2016.
Prior to joining NSC, Hass served as a Foreign Service Officer in US Embassy Beijing. He earned the State Department Director General’s award for impact and originality in reporting, an award given annually to the officer whose reporting had the greatest impact on the formulation of US foreign policy. Hass also served in Embassy Seoul and Embassy Ulaanbaatar, and domestically in the State Department Offices of Taiwan Coordination and Korean Affairs. He received multiple Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor commendations during his 15-year tenure in the Foreign Service.
