Latest China Brief Articles

Another Lei Feng Revival: Making Maoism Safe for China

Chinese political culture contains a lot of dangerous ideas for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This may go a long ways toward explaining Beijing’s fickle relationship with Confucius as a symbol of Chinese culture and, now, with the trappings of Maoism. While criticism of Chongqing’s... MORE

Mekong River Patrols in Full Swing but Challenges Remain

Following the brutal murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in October 2011, China prevailed upon Thailand, Burma and Laos to improve transboundary law enforcement cooperation by participating in coordinated riverine patrols launched in December. While China’s participation in coordinated patrols in Southeast... MORE

A Model Company: CETC Celebrates 10 Years of Civil-Military Integration

This year marks the tenth anniversary of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (zhongguo dianzi keji jituan gongsi)—known better by its acronym CETC—one of China’s ten official defense industry conglomerate-bureaucracies [1]. CETC’s operations are central to China’s push toward dual-use electronics and civil-military integration for information... MORE

Civilian UAV Production as a Window to the PLA’s Unmanned Fleet

Representing a wider trend, one of China’s largest aerospace manufacturers, AVIC, recently announced, after a record 18.8 percent growth in 2011, it is increasing investment in an unmanned helicopter that will function in a range of both mundane civil applications as well as more critical... MORE

China’s Persian Gulf Diplomacy Reflects Delicate Balancing Act

The diplomatic acrobatics and brinkmanship on display over Iran’s nuclear program are escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf to new heights, raising the stakes for all of the protagonists involved—including China. In this context, it is worth examining China’s position on the rapidly evolving events... MORE

On Sale Now! 2012 China Defense and Security Conference DVD

On February 16, 2012, The Jamestown Foundation held its second annual conference on China Defense and Security, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.This full-length DVD covers four panels featuring:An introduction by Admiral Timothy Keating, Former Commander - US Pacific Command; remarks... MORE

PLA Puts Political Work Online

Much attention has been given to the controls and restrictions placed on Internet users within China, which have increased, especially in the wake of efforts by online activists to rally citizens to the streets (“China’s Adaptive Approach to the Information Counter-Revolution,” China Brief, June 3,... MORE