Latest China Brief Articles
Aims and Motives of China’s Recent Missile Defense Test
The U.S. government announced on January 6 that it awarded the defense manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, a contract to build the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles for Taiwan. The agreement is part of an arms package that the United States agreed to sell to Taiwan in... MORE
Managing the Chiang-Chen Talks in Cross-Strait Relations
In June 2008, negotiations between the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan—which manages ongoing cross-Strait negotiations—and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), resumed after 15 years of suspension. The resumption of negotiations was spearheaded by the first visit... MORE
Chinese Infrastructure Projects Trouble India
In an apparent attempt to overcome deeply embedded suspicion and concern, the Chinese telecommunication giant, Huawei, has pledged to expand its operations in Bangalore, the ‘Silicon valley’ of India. In the next five years, Huawei plans to invest $500 million in its research and development... MORE
The PLA’s Multiple Military Tasks: Prioritizing Combat Operations and Developing MOOTW Capabilities
China’s growing role as a regional and global leader has brought with it increasingly complex and far-reaching political, economic and security interests, as well as new traditional and non-traditional security challenges for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). As a result, in 2004 President and... MORE
Hu’s “New Deal” with Tibet: Chinese Characteristics and Tibetan Traits?
The Hu Jintao administration has significantly tightened policy over Tibet in an apparent attempt to ensure the proverbial Chinese Communist Party’s “long reign and perennial stability” in the restive region. More hard-line cadres are being appointed to run the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). While unprecedented... MORE
China’s Inroads into North Africa: An Assessment of Sino-Algerian Relations
The geopolitics of African countries such as Algeria, a country in North Africa that has traditionally enjoyed strong relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and whose strategic importance and regional profile have increased markedly of late, is key to grasping the dynamics that... MORE
Canada Resumes Summit Diplomacy with China
Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper concluded a much-anticipated visit to China in December 2009. The visit was significant because China was not on Harper’s foreign policy priority list when he came to office in early 2006, and he had in fact put off his China... MORE
China’s Conventional Cruise and Ballistic Missile Force Modernization and Deployment
The People's Republic of China (PRC) 60th National Day, which took place on October 1, 2009, was lauded by the Chinese-media for its display of the military's ‘precision striking capabilities.’ According to Yu Jixun, deputy commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Second Artillery Corps—China's... MORE
Major Reshuffles in China’s Military and Security Leadership
President and Commander-in-Chief Hu Jintao has reshuffled the leadership of China’s military and security forces to speed up rejuvenation and raise the efficiency and combat-readiness of the generals. The supremo also wants to ensure the officers’ loyalty to the Hu Jintao or Communist Youth League... MORE
China Builds Closer Ties to Afghanistan through Wakhan Corridor
As NATO forces push forward toward stabilizing Afghanistan, backed by the commitment of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops, there has been a growing call by the United States for other countries to shoulder a greater share of the security burden. While China is clearly increasing... MORE