The Chinese icebreaker and research vessel Xue Long (Snow Dragon) has left the port of Shanghai on October 20 for its 25th annual expedition to Antarctica for a six-month mission that will see the construction of China's first inland scientific research station in Antarctica, the... MORE

Solidifying the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) burgeoning relationships with the countries of the Middle East remains a top priority for Beijing. The impetus behind China’s resurgent efforts to extend its influence within the Middle East stemmed from Beijing’s pursuit of energy resources to sustain... MORE

The Dear Leader's absence at the 60th anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) founding on September 9 added currency to the speculation that Kim Jong-Il's health may be deteriorating after having suffered a stroke sometime between August 14 - 22. Yet leading... MORE

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has made considerable progress since the end of the Cold War in constructing a modern integrated air defense system (IADS), using a diverse range of primarily Russian but also domestic technologies. As this system matures over the next decade, it... MORE

The massive bailout of Western financial institutions is remaking the international financial order, spurring debate in China about what adjustments and financial instruments need to be on the table for Beijing to address domestic challenges and the international financial crisis. These calls come amid the... MORE

For the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao leadership, the party is pretty much over. After the coming-out extravaganza of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hoped to extend the festive mood through to late September for the launch of the country’s third manned space flight,... MORE

In recent weeks, a scandal of international proportions involving the consumption of tainted Chinese milk has emerged beginning with the Sanlu Group extending out to include 22 producers of baby formula—among them China’s major dairy companies Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group and Mengniu Dairy Company—impacted... MORE

China’s formidable state machinery was able to stage the largest Olympics in history and to have a “Taikonaut” perform a 20-minute “spacewalk” last week. Yet the world-scale scandal emanating from contaminated milk products has exposed the worsening malaise in the country’s political and administrative structure.... MORE

On September 26, 2008, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met with Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan, in Beijing. The meeting, which called for the enhancement of bilateral strategic partnership, was held against the backdrop of deteriorating U.S.-Pakistan relations as a... MORE