A Lifelong Passion for China Feeds Strategic Insight

Influence & integration project leader Asha Clark was recently invited to join the National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR). It’s a prestigious and highly selective recognition of her expertise and leadership in U.S.-China national security and intelligence matters.

Here, Clark shares what spurred her interest in and love for Chinese language and culture, and how she puts her knowledge to work at MITRE.

Asha Clark set her future in motion in middle school. Given three options for foreign-language study, she landed on Chinese—and never left.

The choice quickly transformed into a lifelong passion. Clark’s love of Chinese language and culture led to a distinguished career as a trusted and globally engaged China analyst. As a MITRE principal project leader, she draws on that expertise and experience to help address domestic and foreign policy in a strategically critical realm.

“I like being able to marry analysis and my rich understanding of the country,” she says. “National security, policy, strategic competition—deep subject-matter expertise provides perspective needed to inform analysis.”

Early Immersion in Chinese Culture

From the start, Clark found the more she studied Chinese, the more she appreciated the language and history—and relished the complexities.

Early on, Clark learned from Taiwanese teachers who introduced the traditional, ancient characters—with their numerous and elaborate strokes—used on that island. Clark’s professors at Washington University in St. Louis, however, focused on Mainland Mandarin, which uses simplified characters. 

“I’d spent years learning Chinese one way, and was told, `Forget all that—do it this way instead,’” Clark says with a laugh. She adapted—and appreciates the firm foundation of having begun with the more typically challenging version. 

With fluency in Mandarin, study abroad in Shanghai and Beijing, and immersion in Chinese history, culture, and literature, Clark’s next challenge was formulating a career path with a focus on China. She earned a master’s in security policy with a regional concentration in East Asia from George Washington University just as administration policy at the time was increasing focus on the Pacific.

Sensitive Arrangements, Topics

Clark honed her analysis policy-making skills as a China-Taiwan analyst in both the public and private sectors, including at a think tank, NATO, the U.S. Department of State, and a global threat intelligence and risk-management firm. 

She joined MITRE in 2024 as a lead China-Taiwan analyst and now directly supports the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ONDI) via policy and intelligence work involving not only ONDI but officials from multiple other intelligence agencies. 

“I came to MITRE looking to dive into a new national security realm,” Clark says. “MITRE gave me an exciting opportunity to delve into the Intelligence Community and learn how they approach the region.”

During her time as a project leader, Clark quickly adapted to the constant logistical hurdles of managing expectations and needs of high-level intelligence personnel, arranging exercises, and becoming accustomed to “expecting the unexpected.” She calls the experience “probably one of my biggest challenges, but also one of my biggest successes” at MITRE.

“As a project leader, it’s always an exercise in diplomacy and interpersonal dynamics,” she says. “We’re dealing with very high-level personnel who sometimes have to switch schedules on a dime.”

She's navigating it all very successfully. 

“Asha is elevating the quality and relevance of MITRE’s work related to China by strengthening both our analytic rigor and our sponsor engagement,” says Will Scannell, managing director of MITRE’s National Intelligence division. “Her insights inform not only specific deliverables, but also how we shape work programs and anticipate emerging sponsor needs.”

Promoting Understanding

Even—or especially—in adversarial intelligence, Clark notes, protecting the United States’s interests requires a measure of understanding all angles and perspectives. 

“As a person who’s culturally, linguistically, and historically focused, I believe it’s always a good course of action to understand views that are different from your own—even when you don’t agree,” she says.

Looking back at her path from 12-year-old language learner to China subject-matter expert and project leader, Clark says she’s grateful her passion preceded her career plans. 

“I think how I came to Chinese has become one of my strengths,” she says. “I was never told to study Chinese for a career—I was soaking it in from a young age. That’s served me well.”