US-China relations. The BTC was directed by Qi Ye until 2019. 21st Century Defense Initiative The 21st Century Defense Initiative (21CDI) is aimed at producing research, analysis, and outreach that address three core issues: the future of war, the future of U.S. defense needs and priorities, and the future of the US defense system. The Initiative draws on the knowledge from regional centers, including the Center on the United States and Europe, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, the Thornton China Center, and the Center for Middle East Policy, allowing the integration of regional knowledge. P. W. Singer, author of Wired for War, serves as Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative, and Michael O'Hanlon serves as Director of Research. Senior Fellow Stephen P. Cohen and Vanda Felbab-Brown are also affiliated with 21CDI. WashU at Brookings Under MacLaury's leadership in the 1980s, the Center for Public Policy Education (CPPE) was formed to develop workshop conferences and public forums to broaden the audience for research programs. In 2005, the center was renamed the Brookings Center for Executive Education (BCEE), which was shortened to Brookings Executive Education (BEE) with the launch of a partnership with the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. The academic partnership is now known as "WashU at Brookings". Centers Anne T. And Robert M. Bass Center For Transformative Placemaking Brown Center on Education Policy Centennial Scholar Initiative Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence Center for East Asia Policy Studies Center for Effective Public Management Center for Health Policy Center for Middle East Policy Center for Technology Innovation Center for Universal Education Center on Children and Families Center on Social Dynamics and Policy Center on the United States and Europe John L. Thornton China Center The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Funders Funding details As of 2017 the Brookings Institution had assets of $524.2 million. Its largest contributors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Hutchins Family Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, the LEGO Foundation, David Rubenstein, State of Qatar, and John L. Thornton. Funding details as of 2017: Funding controversies A 2014 investigation by The New York Times found Brookings to be among more than a dozen Washington research groups and think tanks to have received payments from foreign governments while encouraging American government officials to support policies aligned with those foreign