When Chinese officials consider their international economic interests, Afghanistan and Central Asia (sometimes referred to as “Greater Central Asia”) naturally come to mind. These countries possess an abundant supply of untapped natural resources, and they offer potential export markets as well as investment opportunities for... MORE

China appears to be zealously guarding its maritime footprint in the Bay of Bengal through politico-economic and strategic initiatives. Two high level visits in June by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh and Premier Wen Jiabao to Burma (Myanmar) signal the urgency with which... MORE

In China’s first white paper on the country's relationship with Latin America released in November 2008, the only reference to cooperation on space issues accounts for a portion of one sentence within the long document: “The Chinese side will also strengthen cooperation with Latin America... MORE

While the world is still angst-ridden with the fragile recovery from the global financial crisis, there seems no end to auspicious tidings coming out of China. Riding on the back of robust exports–which grew by 33.2 percent the first half of the year–China’s economy is... MORE

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on June 24 that all vessels would be prohibited from entering areas located east of Zhoushan to Taizhou city in Zhejiang in the East China Sea from June 30 to July 5. During that time period, the People’s... MORE

Strained relations between the United States and China took center stage during the June 4-6 Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore, the annual meeting of Asia Pacific defense ministers, military officers, diplomats and academics organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and attended... MORE

Recent discourse concerning the Chinese People’s Liberation Army's (PLA) modernization has principally focused on technological advances and less on the human dimension of PLA force transformation. In particular, a review of these discussions revealed the absence of a publicly available database of Chinese military leaders... MORE

In mid-April, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched its second annual large-scale military pre-recruitment campaign, designed to attract the best and brightest in Chinese universities into the nation’s armed forces. By the end of May, Xinhua announced that the campaign had already resulted in 100,000... MORE

The scandal of Li Qihong, the female mayor of the Guangdong Province boom town of Zhongshan, highlights a backsliding of corruption in Chinese politics. Particularly, the increasing collusion between party cadres and businessmen has made the issue more acute. Even as the Chinese Communist Party... MORE

As Western economies struggle to stave off contagion, Chinese leaders have been quietly working to chart the Middle Kingdom's triumphant return to the world's center stage. According to the most recent issue of Outlook Magazine (Liaowang), a weekly published by the official Xinhua News Agency,... MORE