join me in welcoming deputy secretary of defense kathleen hicks. sec. hicks: good morning.ood evening to those in bologna and nanchang joining via livestream. thank you for professor mankin for hosting and dean steinberg for the invitation. it's always great to be here. when the school of advanced international studies was cofounded some 25 years ago, he sought to create what he later described as a center in washington of independent thought. suffice was a vital intellectual engine throughout the cold war. i know that history imbues these institutions. there is even a piece of the berlin wall display downstairs. over the decades, shaping generations of national security scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. military, civilian, democrats and republicans alike. today as i prepare to depart the same pentagon office this seems to be the perfect place to share how over the last four years we have been strengthening america's national defense for a modern era of strategic competition with the people's republic of china. today's prc is not the soviet bloc of the cold war. ou

deputy defense secretary kathleen hicks spoke on military policy and strategic competition with china during a discussion at johns hopkins university. she also urged the u.s. to remain focused while transitioning to a new administration and warned against underestimating the competitiveness of china and russia. ms. hicks was joined by former deputy defense secretary tom makin, who served in the george w. bush administration. >> good morning. it is my pleasure to welcome you and both an honor and pleasure to introduce our distinguished guests. the honorable kathleen hicks serves as the nation's 35th epi secretary of defense, a position she has held for nearly four years. scholar practitioner, she holds a phd in political science from the massachusetts institute of technology, and ma from the school of public affairs and phi beta kappa from mount holyoke college. debbie secretary hicks and i have been following each other around professionally for many years. she launched her career as a civil servant in the office of the secretary of defense, serving from 1993 through 2006 in a variety

. >> the honorable kathleen hicks serves as the nations at 36 deputy secretary of defense, a

deputy defense secretary kathleen hicks spoke on military policy and strategic competition with chinag a discussion at johns hopkins university. she also urged the u.s. to remain focused while transitioning to a new administration and warned against underestimating the competitiveness of china and russia. ms. hicks was joined by former deputy defense secretary tom makin, who served in the george w. bush administration.