Latest China Brief Articles

Multipolar Mirage: The PRC’s Pivot to Europe

Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) is looking to promote an “equal and orderly multipolar world.” Part of this entails encouraging strategic autonomy for European nations and the creation of a “non-American West” which is more amenable to PRC interests. High-level diplomatic engagements... MORE

Shifting Discourse Between Xi and Putin On Ukraine

Executive Summary: Across 12 communiques, meeting readouts, and official phone calls between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin since February 2022, the salience of language on Ukraine has reduced, but the substance has hardened. The latest communique includes a statement that “the root causes must be... MORE

Peng Liyuan Rises Up the Ranks: Implications for Xi’s Despotic Rule

Executive Summary: Recent behavior by General Secretary Xi Jinping suggests a contradiction in his approach to leadership. While he has sacked protégés, suggesting a reckoning with past personnel decisions, he continues to prioritize personal connections and loyalty over competence. This centralization of power is exemplified... MORE

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 China (PRC) to navigate and overcome technological containment by the United States, showcasing the foundation’s... MORE

Comac’s Homegrown Aircraft Goes Global

Executive Summary: The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) will likely take many years developing into a veritable world-class aircraft enterprise. Over 1,200 orders have been placed for the new C919, primarily from domestic state-owned airlines. Comac has delivered 5 single-aisle planes to domestic airlines... MORE

Foreign Fixations at the Heart of Chinese-style Modernization

Executive Summary: A new report from two high-end PRC think-tanks details the country’s path to modernization in anticipation of July’s Third Plenum but suggests that any shifts in policy direction will be muted. The report emphasizes the triumph of Chinese-style modernization over the Western model... MORE

A Disturbance in the Force: The Reorganization of People’s Liberation Army Command and Elimination of China’s Strategic Support Force

Executive Summary: Consolidation and refinement of military information power capabilities within the new Information Support Force (ISF) continues to reflect the PLA’s outsized emphasis on battlespace information control in multi-domain integrated joint operations. The April 2024 reorganization eliminated the Strategic Support Force and subordinated the... MORE