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Latest China Brief Articles
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Beijing Prepares for APEC Summit Amid Possible Sino-Japanese Thaw
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings with Chinese Minster of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi in Boston on October 17–18 marked the end of preparations by senior-level officials for the 22nd Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and turned the attention to the leaders’ meetings... MORE
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China’s ‘Eternal Prosperity’: Is Island Expansion a Precursor to South China Sea ADIZ?
The expansion of a military airstrip and high-level visit from China’s naval chief this month have put a small island in the middle of the South China Sea back in the international media limelight (Xinhua, October 7; Global Times, October 16). Woody Island, known in... MORE
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Hong Kong After the Revolution
The ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong—known as the “Occupy Central Movement” or the “Umbrella Revolution”—have fundamentally changed the relationship between the central government in Beijing and the Special Administrative Region (SAR). For the first time since Hong Kong’s sovereignty reverted to China in 1997,... MORE
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China’s Railway Diplomacy in the Balkans
In November 2013, China, Serbia and Hungary signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of the Hungaro-Serbian High-Speed Railway (HSR), connecting Belgrade and Budapest by rail to facilitate transporting Chinese exports from Greek ports to European markets. First proposed by Beijing in February... MORE
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The End of the Road for Xi’s Mass Line Campaign: An Assessment
The end of the mass line campaign’s second phase this month provides an opportunity to understand more clearly what has been happening politically at the grassroots level in China over the last year. The Chinese press has reported at length on the crackdown against Chinese... MORE
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Political Factions and Spicy Ginger: Elder Networks in PRC Politics (Part 2)
Part 2: The Patronage Network of Hu Jintao Jiang shì lao de là: “Aged ginger is spicier” Chinese proverb meaning that older people possess more experience and wisdom. The triumph of Jiang Zemin in elevating prominent protégés into the ranks of the Politburo Standing Committee... MORE
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A Spoiled Anniversary: China Reacts to Confucius Institute Controversy
On September 27, Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated “Confucius Institute Day,” commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the first Institute’s founding in November 2004, in South Korea. Yet this self-congratulatory atmosphere was clouded by increasing criticism of the Confucius Institute program in the United States, which... MORE
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Political Factions and Spicy Ginger: Elder Networks in PRC Politics (Part 1)
Part 1: The Patronage Network of Jiang Zemin Jiang shì lao de la: “Aged ginger is spicier” Chinese proverb meaning that older people possess more experience and wisdom. When the new senior leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was revealed to the world following... MORE
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Testing the Limits: China’s Expanding Role in the South Sudanese Civil War
South Sudan relapsed into war on December 15, 2013, primarily due to the power struggle between South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar. China once again found one of its sizable foreign investments—particularly in the oil sector—embroiled in local political turbulence.... MORE
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An Overview of Chinese Fighters and Anti-Chinese Militant Groups in Syria and Iraq
In July, Western media reported that China’s Middle East envoy, Ambassador Wu Sike, estimated that as many as 100 Chinese citizens are believed to be members of the Islamic State organization (previously known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq (Xinhua, July 29). [1] While... MORE