Sunny Cheung
Sunny Cheung is a Fellow for China Studies at The Jamestown Foundation. He is also an International Strategic Forum (ISF) Fellow at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), and a Global Fellow at the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET). He specializes in Chinese politics, cross-strait relations, emerging technologies, and security issues. Before joining Jamestown, Mr. Cheung completed research projects for Janes Information Services, Project 2049, Academia Sinica, and the US Department of State. He was a visiting fellow at Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University and National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan. Mr. Cheung has testified before the US Congress, UK Parliament, and Taiwanese Legislative Yuan. He was named a Global Leader by the McCain Institute in 2023.
His analysis and commentary have been widely published and featured in media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Washington Post, DW News, Nikkei Asia, BBC, U.S. News, NBC News, NPR, Guardian, Fox News, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, South China Morning Post, The Strategist, and C-SPAN.
Mr. Cheung earned an M.A. in Strategic Studies from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) as a Dean’s Scholar and holds a B.A. in China Studies and Politics from the University of Hong Kong.
Contact Sunny Cheung
Articles by Sunny Cheung
Embodied Intelligence: The PRC’s Whole-of-Nation Push into Robotics
Executive Summary: Since 2015, Beijing has pursued a whole-of-nation strategy to dominate intelligent robotics, combining vertical integration, policy coordination, rapid deployment, and local experimentation. This approach has already achieved several
Terminal Authority: Assessing the CCP’s Emerging Crisis of Political Succession
Executive Summary: Xi Jinping continues to dominate the Chinese Party-state system, based on an assessment of evidence from spring and summer 2025. Despite high-level purges, unusual military reshuffles, and persistent
Beijing Learning Lessons From Russian Response to Financial War
Executive Summary: Beijing has tracked Russia’s response to what it perceives as financial warfare from the United States and its allies and has begun mitigating its vulnerabilities and building an
Encircling the West: The PRC Gains Ground in Legacy Chips
Executive Summary: Beijing is on course to dominate innovation in and production of legacy semiconductor chips, which strategists see as a way to push back against U.S.-led containment in critical
Autonomous Battlefield: PLA Lessons from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Executive Summary: Chinese military experts are incorporating lessons from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the use and importance of drones and autonomous systems, which is reshaping the People’s Liberation
DeepSeek, Unitree, and the Six Dragons: Hangzhou’s Plan to Shape Technology’s Future
Executive Summary: Decades of policy support from provincial, city, and district governments underpin the successes of AI firm DeepSeek and five other tech companies domestic observers are referring to as
The PRC’s Robotics Industry—Sunny Cheung’s Testimony Before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
The following is a lightly edited version of testimony delivered by Jamestown Fellow for China Studies Sunny Cheung. The testimony was delivered before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Roiling in the Deep: PRC Pushes New Deep Sea Order
Executive Summary: New deep-sea technologies, growing influence in the International Seabed Authority, and domestic legislation are part of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) ambitions to become a strong maritime
Creative Destruction: PRC Undersea Cable Technology
Executive Summary: Taiwan has suffered an annual average of 7–8 undersea cable disruptions over the past three years, most of which it attributes to vessels from the People’s Republic of
AI Leadership Depends on What is Measured
Executive Summary: Chinese open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) perform better than Western ones, according to a recent report from an artificial intelligence evaluation organization SuperCLUE. Chinese LLMs also excel in
PRC Adapts Meta’s Llama for Military and Security AI Applications
Executive Summary: Researchers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have optimized Meta’s Llama model for specialized military and security purposes. ChatBIT, an adapted Llama model, appears to be successful
MIIT Overhypes Lithography Breakthrough
Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has announced breakthroughs in semiconductor manufacturing, specifically in Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, as part of its effort to achieve technological self-sufficiency amid
Ahead in the Cloud: Revolution at the RISC-V Summit China
Executive Summary: A state-private partnership involving China Telecom, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Alibaba has unveiled the industry’s first cloud computing platform dedicated to RISC-V architecture, to accelerate the
Kubernetes: A Dilemma in the Geopolitical Tech Race
Executive Summary: US-sanctioned Huawei has significant influence in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and its open-source platform Kubernetes, which underpins US military platforms, including F-16 fighter jets and nuclear infrastructure.
Hong Kong’s New Strategic Role After the Third Plenum
Executive Summary: Key officials visited the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in late August to explain the city’s political, economic, cultural, and security responsibilities. They signaled deeper integration with
Scientist at Forefront of US Army Research Selected to Lead PRC’s Strategic Chip Production Line
Executive Summary: Beijing continues to exploit US policies to circumvent technology controls and to lower the scrutiny applied to its technology transfer activities. Hong Kong as part of the Greater
Illuminating the Future: Developments in PRC Photonic Chip Production
Executive Summary: In June, the first pilot production line for photonics microchips in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was launched at Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Chip Hub for Integrated
Open-Source Technology and PRC National Strategy: Part II
Executive Summary: OpenHarmony, an open-source version of Huawei’s HarmonyOS, is widely used in critical infrastructure (such as the energy grid and ports), public security, and the military in the People’s
Open-Source Technology and PRC National Strategy: Part I
Executive Summary: The OpenAtom Foundation supports open-source technology in areas such as RISC-V architecture and Electronic Design Automation. These efforts are part of a strategy by the People’s Republic of
Red Genes: Assessing WuXi AppTec’s Ties to the Party-Army-State in China
Executive Summary: WuXi AppTec, a major Chinese biotechnology and pharmaceutical firm, claimed that the company has not, does not, and will not pose a national security risk to any country
A Greater Bay Area: China’s Initiative To Build A New Silicon Valley
Executive Summary The GBA, covering 56,000 square kilometers with 70 million people, aims to become a globally renowned economic and technological hub, comparable to bay areas like San Francisco, Tokyo,
Examining China’s Grand Strategy For RISC-V
On November 24, 2023, DAMO Academy (達摩院; literally “Dharma”), Alibaba’s research division, unveiled three ground-breaking processors rooted in the open-source RISC-V architecture. The Xuantie (玄铁) C920, Xuantie C907, and Xuantie
Decoding China’s Dilemma: The Difficulties Of Economic Reform
On November 27, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) unveiled a new policy, titled “Notice on Strengthening Financial Support Measures for the Private Economy (关于强化金融支持举措 助力民营经济发展壮大的通知)”
Hong Kong: The Keystone in China’s Economic Statecraft
The recent decision by Hong Kong to join China in banning Japanese seafood took many observers by surprise (Reuters, August 23). At first glance, the ban seemed an overblown reaction
AI Strategies in the PLA’s Coastal and Air Defense
China has made significant strides in its ongoing contest with the United States to dominate the technological vanguard, especially in the military realm. One primary indicator of these efforts is
CCP Stealth War 140; Feature: Fentanyl Warfare – How China Uses Narcotics Enforcement as Political Leverage
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