Latest China Brief Articles

BEIJING PUSHES FOR GAINS AFTER BUSH RE-ELECTION

Beijing has acted swiftly to put pressure on a newly re-elected President Bush on the key fronts of Taiwan and the Middle East, particularly Iran. President Hu Jintao, who heads China's foreign policy, wants Washington to make more concessions on Taiwan during their upcoming "mini-summit"... MORE

IN TAIWAN, THE U.S. ELECTION BECOMES A DOMESTIC BATTLEGROUND

In the days leading up to the U.S. presidential election, Taiwan, like the rest of the world, was focused on the contest between George W. Bush and John Kerry. But Taiwan's media gave relatively little attention to the candidates' merits, unilateralism versus internationalism, the war... MORE

CHINA’S HOPES AND FEARS FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

On November 3, Chinese President Hu Jintao promptly congratulated George W. Bush on his re-election, indicating Beijing's willingness to continue to work with the current administration on issues of mutual concern. The U.S. presidential election was closely watched not only by Chinese foreign policy experts... MORE

CHINA POLICY UNDER THE NEXT BUSH ADMINISTRATION

The re-election of George W. Bush has driven speculation within the international community on whether the second Bush administration's foreign policy will be more aggressive, continuing a unilateral approach, or make some adjustments and return to a multilateral, cooperative track. In the case of China,... MORE

Beijing’s North Korean Gambit

Beijing is flashing the North Korean (DPRK) card at a time when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership feels increasingly threatened by an anti-China "containment policy" that Washington is supposedly spearheading with the help of Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries and regions. Despite Beijing's... MORE

Mistrust and Cooperation: Analyzing Sino-Indian Relations

A considerable degree of mistrust normally characterizes Sino-Indian relations. China sees India as a potential rival to its dreams of major power status in Asia and systematically tries to depreciate India's standing and capacities in all ways possible. Thus Indian observers, along with many foreign... MORE

History’s Implications for Taiwan’s Constitution

Last April, former U.S. Ambassador Charles W. Freeman, Jr. told an audience at Stanford University that he was truly anxious about the prospect of a complete re-draft of Taiwan's constitution. [1] In his view, if war erupts in the Taiwan Strait, a new Taiwan (ROC)... MORE

CHINA’S QUEST FOR ENERGY SECURITY

The year is 2008. The setting is the vast West Pacific region. To break the US-Japan-Taiwan military containment of China, the combined air, navy and armed forces of the Chinese Liberation Army (PLA), equipped with newly established carrier battle groups, have destroyed all U.S. military... MORE

CHINESE MILITARY LOGISTICS: THE GAD SYSTEM PART II

The General Armament Department (GAD) was created in 1998 from parts of several existing national-level headquarters that dealt with various aspects of equipment development, acquisition, repair, and maintenance. With its formation, an additional senior PLA officer was added to the Central Military Commission (CMC) to... MORE