In late June 2011, Henry Kissinger made a trip to Chongqing and allegedly told his flamboyant host Bo Xilai, the 63 year-old Party Secretary of the city, “As an intellectual visiting Chongqing, I saw the vision for the future by the Chinese leaders. I am... MORE

For the EU, and in particular the Eurozone, the last three months have been a never-ending trial by fire. Emergency summits have taken place almost weekly across the usual key parts of the EU power terrain—Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Rome. This turmoil managed to cause... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s recent peaceful presidential elections did not feature China as a campaign issue. For the most part, they focused on domestic issues and where foreign policy seeped in, it was mostly in the positive light that most Kyrgyz see Russia and separately its regional customs... MORE

On November 1, Chinese security officials and their counterparts from Burma, Laos and Thailand announced a new security initiative to make the Mekong River safe for commerce as it passes through the volatile "Golden Triangle." The four parties issued a joint statement indicating they will... MORE

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current prime minister, chose to make his first foreign trip to China after his announcement in late September that he would run again for president. This led some to expect Russia would align closer toward Beijing in coming years. Perhaps for this... MORE

At this juncture in the development of China’s aircraft carrier force, the operational employment and integration of an aircraft carrier in a naval or joint task force remains very much in the realm of theory and speculation, yet with careful parsing of the People's Liberation... MORE

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is in the process of reforming the Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) corps and the compulsory service system to attract personnel with higher education and skill levels to better support PLA modernization ("Noncommissioned Officers and the Creation of a Volunteer Force," China... MORE

The just-ended plenary session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Committee passed a resolution on “the reform of the cultural system” that is aimed at boosting China’s soft power and buttressing the country’s “cultural security.” Given that the Central Committee usually meets only once... MORE

Plenum Document Highlights Broad Role for Social Management From October 15 to 18, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convened the 6th Plenum of the 17th Central Committee to address China's evolving cultural milieu. On October 25, the CCP released the resolution entitled "CCP Central Committee... MORE

Amid Taiwan’s torrid summer heat, the island’s political temperature has been further raised by the controversy surrounding visits to China by senior-ranking retired national security officials. In early June, retired Taiwanese Air Force General Hsia Ying-chou was quoted as stating at a Beijing forum that... MORE