Latest China Brief Articles
BEIJING’S TWO-PRONGED IRAQ POLICY
Since 2003, China has pursued a two-pronged Iraq policy of promoting Chinese interests while avoiding antagonizing the Untied States. On the one hand, this policy addresses concerns about oil and construction contracts and the desire to use the Iraq crisis to increase Chinese political influence... MORE
THE U.S. FACTOR IN ISRAEL’S MILITARY RELATIONS WITH CHINA
The Jerusalem-Beijing-Washington imbroglio over Israel's sale of Harpy UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to China that surfaced in December 2004 is by no means over. Yet, while it is too soon to mourn the untimely death of Israeli arms sales to China, it is nonetheless becoming... MORE
WARMING SINO-IRANIAN RELATIONS: WILL CHINA TRADE NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY FOR OIL?
Today, China accounts for 12 percent of the world's energy consumption. That is second only to the U.S., at 24 percent, and up from 9 percent a decade ago. China's entire modernization strategy is based on access to abundant supplies of energy, and this also... MORE
THE DRAGON’S THIRST FOR CANADIAN OIL
April marked a small leap forward in China's energy relations with Canada. China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) put down $150 million for a one-sixth stake in MEG Energy Corp., an upstart oil sands company. This is China's first major investment in Canada's vast oil... MORE
ANALYZING LIEN’S VISIT: WHAT NEXT FOR CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS?
Beijing has regained some initiative on the Taiwan issue by having two major Taiwan opposition leaders pay homage to the Middle Kingdom. Yet the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership under President Hu Jintao needs to offer Taiwan's people a lot more than pandas to persuade... MORE
CHINA’S GEOPOLITICAL MANEUVERING IN THE HIMALAYAS
A new geopolitical dimension appears to be developing with regard to the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. At a time when the country is experiencing a severe crisis and many Western nations are distancing themselves from Kathmandu over human rights concerns, China seems to be maneuvering... MORE
BEIJING’S PARTICIPATION IN UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
On March 25, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1590 authorizing the UN to deploy peacekeeping forces in Sudan. Five days later, China announced that they would contribute personnel to the peacekeeping operation, signaling the latest development in China's evolving approach to protecting its national... MORE
EDITOR’S NOTE FOR SPECIAL ISSUE ON CHINA-MONGOLIA RELATIONS
Dear Readers, Jamestown is proud to present this special issue of China Brief analyzing the current state of Sino-Mongolian relations. Although no longer a buffer state for the Sino-Soviet dispute, Mongolia nevertheless remains a key geopolitical component of Beijing's strategy in Eurasia. This special issue... MORE
BEIJING’S GROWING POLITICO-ECONOMIC LEVERAGE OVER ULAANBAATAR
Just before the 2005 Tsagaan Sar (or New Year's) celebrations, a Mongolian government official urged his fellow citizens not to buy Chinese gifts for relatives and friends because if they did he estimated that $30 million would enter China's coffers. It is impossible to tell... MORE
FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR THE PRC AND MONGOLIA: A MONGOLIAN PERSPECTIVE
Despite having long-lasting historical ties, the modern state-to-state relationship between Mongolia and China has emerged only after the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Since then Mongolia-China relations underwent three different stages of development. In the 1950s the two countries developed... MORE