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Evan Feigenbaum
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Evan Feigenbaum

Carnegie Endowment Vice President for Studies; China-US relations and economic-statecraft expert.

Last refreshed: 9 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Why is Beijing publicly protesting the tanker strikes while quietly complying with US sanctions?

Timeline for Evan Feigenbaum

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Background

Evan Feigenbaum is Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, where he leads the think-tank's research on Asia, economics, and Foreign Policy. A former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of state for South and Central Asia under both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, he specialises in China-US economic relations, Indo-Pacific strategy, and the use of economic statecraft as a foreign-policy tool.

Feigenbaum's commentary on the May 2026 Iran conflict focused on the China angle: specifically, how Beijing's response to the JV Innovation tanker strike and the NFRA's simultaneous halt on yuan loans to OFAC-sanctioned refineries revealed a two-track Chinese strategy — public defiance at the Foreign Ministry level while quietly accommodating US financial pressure.

His work on economic statecraft and China's calibrated responses to US sanctions pressure makes him a key voice for understanding Beijing's Iran strategy as a function of broader US-China financial interdependence, rather than purely an Iran-specific diplomatic stance.

Common Questions
Who is Evan Feigenbaum at Carnegie?
Evan Feigenbaum is Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A former US diplomat, he specialises in China-US economic relations and economic statecraft.Source: Carnegie Endowment
What does Feigenbaum say about China's response to the Iran sanctions?
Feigenbaum analysed Beijing's two-track Iran response: public Foreign Ministry protests alongside the NFRA's quiet loan halt to sanctioned refineries, revealing compliance beneath the defiant rhetoric.Source: Carnegie Endowment
What is economic statecraft?
Economic statecraft is the use of economic tools — sanctions, trade restrictions, investment controls — as instruments of Foreign Policy to achieve diplomatic or security objectives.