Latest China Brief Articles
Missile Developments in China, India and Pakistan: A Burgeoning Missile Race
The rapid development and deployment of cruise and ballistic missile capabilities in recent years has raised the security stakes on the South Asian subcontinent. The three major nuclear states—India, China and Pakistan—have been sharpening their respective missile capabilities and stockpiling a growing arsenal, while simultaneously... MORE
China’s “Charm Offensive” Loses Momentum in Southeast Asia [Part II]
The change in Southeast Asian attitudes toward China’s growing economic profile in the region and its military build-up in the South China Sea is significant (See "China's "Charm Offensive" Losing Momentum in Southeast Asia [Part I]," China Brief, April 29). In mainland Southeast Asia, governments... MORE
Shifting Sands in the Gulf: The Iran Calculus in China-Saudi Arabia Relations
The fourth joint meeting on economy and trade convened by China and Saudi Arabia in January 2010 in the Saudi capital of Riyadh came and went without much fanfare. Yet the meeting between China, the world’s second largest and fastest growing oil consumer, and Saudi... MORE
Kim Jong-Il’s Secret Visit to Beijing
North Korean President Kim Jong-Il’s recently completed visit to Beijing, which came on the heels of South Korean President Lee Myun-bak’s trip to attend the 2010 Shanghai Expo, has testified to China’s unprecedented clout over strategic developments in the Korean Peninsula. Yet despite Dear Leader... MORE
Hu Calls on Russia to Shape New International Political Order
At the invitation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Moscow from May 8 to May 9. The occasion marked the 65th anniversary of Russia’s Great Patriotic War, which celebrates the Soviet Union's victory over the Nazis in World War II. Hu... MORE
The U.S.-China Strategic Security Relationship and the Nuclear Posture Review Report
At first glance, the Obama Administration’s long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) Report appears to have relatively little to say about China, at least in comparison to its emphasis on the threats of nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation, reducing the role of U.S. nuclear weapons, and... MORE
China’s “Charm Offensive” Loses Momentum in Southeast Asia [Part I]
Although the fundamentals of the Southeast Asia-China partnership remain largely unchanged, over the past year or so there has been a discernable change in tone as both sides confront longstanding as well as new problem areas in their relationship. As the nations of Southeast Asia... MORE
Is China Leading the Rebirth of Asia’s Commercial Aircraft Industry?
China may, by the end of the year, start deliveries of the ARJ-21 Xiangfeng (Soaring Phoneix), its first indigenously designed and developed commercial regional jet. According to the Chinese media, the fourth domestically-produced ARJ21-700 plane completed its maiden flight successfully in Shanghai on April 13... MORE
Chinese Leaders Revive Marxist Orthodoxy
Two unusual developments in elite Chinese politics have observers wondering if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is moving toward political reform and changes in its policy toward ethnic minorities. On April 15, Premier Wen Jiabao published an article in the People’s Daily—the Party's mouthpiece—that heaped... MORE
PLAN East Sea Fleet Moves Beyond First Island Chain
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) recently carried out its annual exercises far from China's coastal waters. The flotillas of naval warships were reportedly deployed on an unprecedented scale, seemingly to demonstrate China's emergence as a full-fledged blue water navy that is willing and capable... MORE