![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CB_Logo.jpg)
Latest China Brief Articles
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Xi_met_Propaganda_Department_Deputy_Director_Huang_Kunming_while_serving_as_the_leader_of_Zhejiang_province.jpg)
Members of the Xi Jinping Clique Revealed
Fourteen months after the watershed 18th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, President Xi Jinping has emerged as a strongman whose power is deemed to be more extensive and entrenched than that of ex-presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. In January, Xi became Chairman of the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/All_the_hardware.jpg)
China Examines Military Strategy
During the start of 2014, China’s official media have, by their own account, been undertaking a reexamination of Chinese military strategy, in response to a call issued by Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve “national defense and army-building” (Qiushi, January 16). Two major articles, published... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Abe_does_India.jpg)
The China Factor in India-Japan Relations
New Delhi has invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to be the chief guest at its annual Republic Day parade, which celebrates both Indian democracy, but also showcases its military. One country in particular that will be keenly watching the visit, which will commence on... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Lien_and_Xi.jpg)
Beijing Copes with a Weakened Ma Administration: Increased Demands, and a Search for Alternatives
Introduction For almost a decade, Beijing has pursued a “soft” approach to Taiwan, cultivating economic ties and political exchanges. While the effort has produced significant benefits for Taiwan in terms of increased immediate security and trade, Beijing has not abandoned its pursuit of re-unification. Following... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Yutu.jpg)
UPDATED: Lunar Rover Marks Another Advance in China’s Space Programs
UPDATE (1/31/14): According to state media, the Yutu lunar rover suffered a “mechanical control abnormality" and failed to complete preparations for its second lunar night, which began January 25th (Xinhua, January 25). This means that it will likely lose all functionality during the -292 degree Fahrenheit... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Xisha_exercise.jpg)
Mixed Messaging Surrounds Latest South China Sea Moves
On January 1, new fishing regulations for the South China Sea, issued by the province of Hainan, went into effect, prompting objections from China’s territorial rivals in Southeast Asia, as well as the United States and Japan (Xinhua, January 10). Chinese spokespeople have sought to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Hainan_fishing_map.jpg)
Hainan Revises Fishing Regulations in South China Sea: New Language, Old Ambiguities
On November 29 of last year, Hainan’s legislature approved revised measures (banfa) for implementing the PRC Fisheries Law. Unlike earlier provincial fisheries regulations, the new measures single out “foreigners and foreign fishing vessels” as requiring special permission to operate within Hainan’s jurisdiction, effective January 1... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Thomas_the_Chemical_Weapons_Disposal_Vessel.jpg)
China-US WMD Cooperation: Progress within Limits
The Sino-American security tensions of recent years, including over WMD issues, has tended to overshadow the substantial if quiet cooperation between China and the United States in countering horizontal WMD proliferation to aspiring nuclear weapons states, preventing terrorists from gaining access to WMD material, and... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Tiananmen_bomb_03.jpg)
The Language of Terrorism in China: Balancing Foreign and Domestic Policy Imperatives
In late October, central Beijing tasted terror when a flaming SUV rammed a crowd of tourists at the city’s iconic Tiananmen gate, killing the three alleged perpetrators and two bystanders. Authorities were quick to label the attack an act of jihadist terror. The ensuing media... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Tiananmen_bomb_02.jpg)
Tiananmen Attack: Islamist Terror or Chinese Protest?
2013 was a violent year for China and Xinjiang. On December 30, at 6:30 in the morning, a group of individuals believed to be Uighur attacked a police station in Shache County (or Yarkand) near Kashgar with “explosive devices” (Xinhua, December 30). According to official... MORE