Elsa B. Kania has quickly become one of the most prominent voices analyzing U.S.-China relations, especially on Chinese military strategy and the dynamics of technological innovation. A Harvard graduate, she has studied in Beijing, worked as an analyst and testified before the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Now, she splits her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she’s a doctoral student at Harvard, and Washington, D.C., where she’s an adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Her current objective, she says, is to finish her book, Fighting to Innovate, which is forthcoming in 2021. What follows is a lightly edited Q. and A. Elsa KaniaIllustration by Kate Copeland Q. Your work often looks at the role the state plays in fostering innovation. How do China and the U.S. treat that role? And how do these roles contribute or not to the intensifying competition we’ve seen in recent years between the two countries?  A. Chinaâ€