Large-scale personnel changes are taking place in provinces, cities, counties and townships all over China. Top cadres of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as well as its Organization Department, have in the past month issued repeated warnings against factionalism, corruption and "the wanton buying and... MORE

On the surface, Chinese President Hu Jintao's invitation to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for his historic six-day long visit to China in April represents a natural extension of Beijing's efforts to increase its energy security amidst tightening global energy supplies. Beijing's goal of expanding... MORE

An article in the April edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, written by two senior Chinese academics, reveals that China would go to war to secure its energy needs [1]. For the past few years, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has reorganized the army... MORE

On the surface, Sino-Cuba relations may be difficult to take seriously. Hu Jintao heads the world’s largest and most explosively developing county while Fidel Castro stands astride a faraway, skinny island with one of the most stagnant economies in the world. In 1960 Cuba was... MORE

While the world is focused on China’s relations with the United States following Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington, China’s relations with the “other” West—the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—have been of increasing importance in recent years, especially in achieving China’s foreign... MORE

During the first week in April, China and Turkmenistan signed a deal by which Turkmenistan will annually sell China 30 BCM of gas from 2009 to 2039 at a price to be determined with reference to the global market price. During Turkmenistan President Sapirmurad Niyazov's... MORE

President Hu Jintao’s U.S. trip last week (April 18 – 21) marked subtle but important changes in both the substance and style of China’s American diplomacy. This is despite the fact that given the lack of accomplishments at the much-touted Hu-Bush “summit,” the visit would... MORE

Between April 5-19, Chinese Defense Minister General Cao Gangchun (the second ranking professional soldier in the PLA supreme command) made an unprecedented five-state visit to North Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea. The trip was significant in several ways. First, it took place against... MORE

Premier Wen Jiabao’s official visit to Cambodia from April 7-8 symbolized the tightening relationship between Cambodia and the PRC. Beijing stepped up aid to Cambodia through 11 bilateral agreements covering a range of issues, including combating transnational crime, health cooperation, internet services, protecting the Angkor... MORE

Energy security, and particularly oil supply security, has become a major concern for the Chinese government over the past several years. The focus of this anxiety is the vulnerability of seaborne energy imports. At present, China lacks the naval power necessary to protect its sea... MORE