
Latest China Brief Articles

“Land Apart, Shared Sky”: Sino-Japanese Relations Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Introduction Over the last several years, Sino-Japanese relations have registered steady progress. Despite the intensified international criticism directed toward the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administrations in both Beijing and Tokyo seem keen to... MORE

Chinese Private Security Contractors: New Trends and Future Prospects
Introduction In addition to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Support Base in Djibouti, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has indicated ambitious plans for future “strategic strong point” naval bases in the Indian Ocean and Africa (China Brief, March 22, 2019), and has... MORE

AI-Powered Propaganda and the CCP’s Plans for Next-Generation “Thought Management”
Introduction The propaganda apparatus of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is in full swing: to ward off the negative international repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PRC’s diplomatic corps and state media are actively asserting Beijing’s perspectives online. For example, in April the Chinese... MORE

Beijing Promotes “National Security” Measures to Seek Tighter Control Over Hong Kong
Introduction: Beijing’s Personnel Appointments and Advocacy of “Patriotic Education” Luo Huining (骆惠宁) was appointed in January 2020 as Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (中央人民政府驻香港特别行政区联络办公室, Zhongyang Renmin Zhengfu Zhu Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu Lianluo Bangongshi)... MORE

“State Companies Advance and Private Firms Retreat” in China’s Bid to Resuscitate the Economy
Introduction: Beijing’s Plans for Stimulus Spending and “Six Stabilizations” After the bombshell announcement that the Chinese economy contracted by an unprecedented 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, the Xi Jinping administration has vowed to do whatever it takes to resuscitate growth and... MORE

Global Supply Chains, Economic Decoupling, and U.S.-China Relations, Part 2: The View from the People’s Republic of China
Editor’s Note: Our April 1 issue contained the first part of this article series (Global Supply Chains, Economic Decoupling, and U.S.-China Relations, Part 1: The View from the United States), which focused on the issues and policy debates in America surrounding the prospects for U.S.-China... MORE

Chinese Survey Vessel Incident Puts Malaysia’s South China Sea Approach Under Scrutiny
Introduction: Challenges to Malaysia’s South China Sea Approach Malaysia has traditionally pursued what might be termed a “playing it safe” approach with respect to the South China Sea, where it pursues a combination of diplomatic, economic, legal, and security initiatives to secure its interests as... MORE

Examining China’s Organ Transplantation System: The Nexus of Security, Medicine, and Predation / Part 1: The Growth of China’s Transplantation System Since 2000
Editor’s Note: For many years, stories have circulated about alleged instances of involuntary organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China—to include alleged instances of prisoners of conscience being first medically screened and then executed for their organs, with senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials... MORE

Epidemic-Related Unrest and the CCP’s Reinforced Political Loyalty Indoctrination for China’s Police
Introduction: A Riot on the Border of Epidemic-Wracked Hubei Province The central Chinese city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province, was the original epicenter from which the COVID-19 viral outbreak first emerged in November-December 2019. Hubei Province was placed under a strict lockdown in mid-January that... MORE

Responding to the Epidemic in Wuhan: Insights into Chinese Military Logistics
Introduction The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has portrayed its response to the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in heroic terms: battling against an insidious enemy, PLA personnel courageously and tirelessly helped to mitigate the disaster in the epidemic-ravaged city. The PLA has even made the... MORE