Latest China Brief Articles

The Limits of Chinese Economic Reform

The conventional view on China is that the PRC has entered the realm of global politics and is currently vying with the United States for superpower status. China has enjoyed dramatic economic growth in recent decades, ever since Deng Xiaoping initiated his reform program more... MORE

The Unocal Bid: China’s Treasure Hunt of the Century

The operation is code-named “Treasure Hunting Ship;” the target is a major piece of U.S. energy real estate. The $18.5 billion cash offer is the largest corporate expansion ever in Chinese history. The strategy is to play the free market game with a lobbying effort... MORE

Sino-Singaporean Relations Back on Track

Sino-Singaporean relations have entered a more complex and complicated phase of development, thanks to a new strategic dimension that has arisen in the Asia-Pacific. After the tumultuous feud of August 2004 and the common will of both sides to make up, relations appeared to have... MORE

The Dragon Breathes Fire: Chinese Power Projection

Despite the sheer size of China’s military forces, the country’s power projection capability is currently quite small for operations outside its land borders. It is quite capable of launching land based attacks on its periphery, but its naval and sea assets, despite their size, do... MORE

INTERPRETING CHINA’S GRAND STRATEGY

Deng Xiaoping encapsulated China’s new international strategy in the early 1980s with the slogan “peace and development.” This phrase embodied a decisive break with Mao Zedong’s “international line” of “war and revolution,” and shifted Chinese efforts towards developing a peaceful, stable international environment. While Mao... MORE

REFORMS IN THE PLA AIR FORCE

“The People’s Liberation Army is stepping up preparations for military struggle. While continuing to attach importance to building the Army, the PLA gives priority to building the Navy, Air Force, and Second Artillery Force to seek balanced development of the combat force structure, to strengthen... MORE

HU’S CENTRAL ASIAN GAMBLE TO COUNTER THE U.S. “CONTAINMENT STRATEGY”

Hu Jintao has great expectations for his so-called “summer diplomacy” as the Chinese President and commander-in-chief is looking for a foreign-policy achievement to bolster his status in China and overseas. In the first week of July, Hu was in Russia and Kazakhstan – to attend... MORE

ZIMBABWE: CHINA’S AFRICAN ALLY

Articles about China’s foreign policy towards Africa are more commonplace of late, mainly focusing on Beijing’s search for petroleum and other resources to power its growing economy. Sino-Sudanese relations, in particular, have taken center stage, which is understandable given the scale of suffering in Sudan... MORE