Latest China Brief Articles

THE PRC’S DEFENSE INDUSTRY: REFORM WITHOUT IMPROVEMENT

China possesses one of the oldest, largest, and most diversified military-industrial complexes in the developing world: an agglomeration of around 1,000 enterprises employing some three million workers, including 300,000-plus engineers and technicians. Moreover, China is one of the few countries in the developing world to... MORE

CHINA’S LONG MARCH INTO SPACE

While China's space activities are largely supervised by its military, the civilian aspects are administered by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Charles Vick, chief of the space policy division at the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said that "In general, we should not... MORE

U.S.-JAPAN SECURITY DECLARATION CAUSES CHINA TO RECONSIDER STANCE ON NORTH KOREA

The likelihood of Beijing putting more pressure on Pyongyang regarding the nuclear issue has decreased given Hu Jintao’s perception that a plethora of “anti-China” actions have been emanating from the Bush administration. This has increased the possibility of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flaunting the... MORE

BANGLADESH’S AMBIVALENT RELATIONS WITH THE PRC

Robina Ahktar, in her 20s, says she earns the equivalent of 13 cents an hour, about one dollar a day, sewing flaps at the rate of one per 30 seconds on the rear pockets of Wal-Mart Faded Glory jeans in a Dhaka-area garment factory in... MORE

SOCIO-ECONOMIC UNREST AND CHINA’S HUI MINORITY

The last quarter of 2004 witnessed major riots in Anhui, Guangdong, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces. In dealing with these incidents of social and economic unrest, the Chinese declared martial law and deployed thousands of regular and paramilitary People’s Liberation Army (PLA)... MORE

EDITOR’S NOTE ON CHINESE SEA POWER SPECIAL ISSUE

Dear Readers: As a maritime power, China's naval developments remain an issue of intense interest for Western policymakers as its meteoric economic development paves the way for China's transformation as a major global power. In light of Beijing's quest to secure energy resources, its extensive... MORE

WATERWAYS AND STRATEGY: CHINA’S PRIORITIES

At a national maritime awards meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 20 December 2004, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan emphasized the importance of marine development, regulation of China's maritime territory, protection of marine ecology, and rapid development of the marine economy.... MORE

CHINESE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL REFORM AND THE NAVY

After suffering technological and industrial stagnation and contraction over the past several decades, China's defense industry has undergone an extensive restructuring since the late 1990s to make it leaner, more efficient and better able to meet the high-technology needs of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).... MORE

GWADAR: CHINA’S NAVAL OUTPOST ON THE INDIAN OCEAN

Four months after the U.S. ordered its troops into Afghanistan to remove the Taliban regime, China and Pakistan joined hands to break ground in building a Deep Sea Port on the Arabian Sea. The project was sited in an obscure fishing village of Gwadar in... MORE