The Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center develops analysis and policy recommendations. Director Jeffrey Bader worked for the U.S. government for 27 years.

Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., opened in 2008, focuses on religions in Chinese societies, including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Chinese communities. Fenggang Yang is the director.

The University of Southern California’s U.S.-China Institute supports research, teaching and outreach to improve understanding of U.S.-China relations.

The University of Pennsylvania Center for East Asian Studies coordinates teaching and research about East Asian subjects at Penn. Center director is Jacques deLisle.

The University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies coordinates the work of more than 30 faculty members. San Duanmu is director of the center.

The Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder is a national resource center for Asian studies.

The Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, focuses on research and teaching; research projects there include Rethinking Confucianism.

The Stanford China Program, begun in 2007 and part of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford, includes conferences, exchanges and fieldwork in China. Program director is Jean C. Oi.

Stanford University’s Center for East Asian Studies is a multidisciplinary teaching and research effort. Religious studies is among the disciplines, and faculty there have expertise in Buddhism, Taoism and classical Chinese thought.