The good news is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has finally recognized the need to rein in the exploitative practices of the “new classes” in Chinese society. The theme of the recently concluded plenary session of the CCP Central Committee, “Constructing a Harmonious Socialist... MORE

China is now deploying the fruits of a dedicated effort to build a new navy, one capable of confronting modern maritime opponents, especially Taiwan, Japan and the United States. While the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is modernizing in almost all areas, it has placed... MORE

The five-year hiatus in Sino-Japanese summit-level relations ended earlier this month as Beijing rolled out its red carpet to receive Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Eager to renew relations between the two countries, Beijing welcomed Abe with a 21-gun salute and unfettered access to... MORE

China’s astonishing annual GDP growth of 18% between 1979 and 1996 was surpassed only by its even more impressive consumption of energy relative to its economic growth [1]. Since China’s annual energy consumption growth rate was only 5% during the same period, its average energy-to-GDP... MORE

The Jamestown Foundation is proud to present a special issue of China Brief that is focused on the foreign, economic and security policies of Taiwan. Denny Roy leads off by analyzing the growing interest among Taiwan’s strategic thinkers in the development of offensive land-attack missiles... MORE

PLEDGES OF CLOSER SINO-RUSSIAN RELATIONS COINCIDES WITH DELIVERY OF DESTROYER At the very first meeting of the “China-Russia Friendly Strategic Dialogue” on September 28, Russian and Chinese officials praised the mutual relationship between their two countries. In the presence of fifty Chinese and Russian experts... MORE

The most alarming manifestation of China’s threat to use force to prevent or overturn de jure independence by Taiwan is the arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles the Chinese are building. China reportedly has some 800 missiles aimed at Taiwan. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)... MORE

A maxim of globalization holds that all economics are global, all politics local. From the vantage point of early autumn 2006, this formula captures both the persistence of ongoing cross-Strait economic activity as well as the current stasis of political relations between Beijing and Taipei.... MORE

Taiwan’s diplomatic plight in recent years has been troubling for many concerned with the island’s political survival. Unable to compete with China’s growing political and economic influence, in the last three years alone Taiwan has lost six of its thirty diplomatic allies—Chad, Grenada, Dominica, Senegal,... MORE

From July 10-13, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou visited Yokohama and Tokyo on a trip that his advisors billed as an opportunity to “completely and clearly explain his positions toward his Japanese friends” [1]. This opportunity marked Ma’s first visit to Japan since being elected as... MORE