Latest China Brief Articles
Disruption Under the Radar: Chinese Advances in Quantum Sensing
This piece builds upon prior research and analysis on Chinese advances in quantum information science and quantum technologies, previously featured in China Brief in the series “China’s Quantum Leap,” parts one and two. Today, technologies that harness the “spooky” properties of quantum phenomena, once purely... MORE
Managing the State: Social Credit, Surveillance and the CCP’s Plan for China
On July 20, the Chinese government released its Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. [1] The plan has gained significant media attention in part because it links AI with another topic that has drawn a considerable amount of attention, China’s “social credit system” (社会信用体系). Social... MORE
The PLA at 90: On the Road to Becoming a World-Class Military?
China recently celebrated the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with a parade and military exercises at the Zhurihe Training Base in Inner Mongolia (CCTV, July 30). Although the display was characterized as a demonstration of China’s growing military might—particularly... MORE
Counterintelligence Remains Weakness in Taiwan’s Defense
On July 6, Taiwanese authorities charged recently-graduated Chinese student Zhou Hongxu with espionage, roughly four months after he was first detained on suspicion of spying for Beijing (Central News Agency [Taiwan], July 6). The young man, who attended National Cheng-chi University, allegedly attempted to pay... MORE
Pushing Boundaries – Chinese Diplomatic and Military Behavior Intensifies in the Run-up to the 19th Party Congress
Amid rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, Gen. Fang Fenghui (房峰辉) greeted his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford in Beijing on August 14. Recognizing the necessity of clear communication as the U.S. assesses possible military... MORE
The PLA Air Force’s “Silver-Bullet” Bomber Force
Although China is widely seen in the West as a major future opponent and rival in terms of global economics and political influence, its current force structure and its evolving joint operational doctrine is still largely consistent with a defensive orientation (Defense White Paper, May... MORE
20,000 Li Over the Sea: China Sends Troops to First Permanent Base in Djibouti
In Chinese, the term wan li (万里; 10,000 li) is frequently used to indicate “a long way away”. On July 11, China’s first unit to be stationed abroad at a Chinese-owned base departed Southern China for Djibouti, a journey of roughly 20,000 li (10,000 kilometers)... MORE
Making Sense of China’s Caribbean Policy
While the world's attention focuses on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) connecting China with Eurasia and Africa, China is also making major investments in the Caribbean. In September 2016 the China Harbor Engineering Company (中国港湾工程有限责任公司) agreed to build a mega-port in Jamaica that would... MORE
China’s Nuclear Submarine Force
Over the past three years, China’s sea-based nuclear deterrent capability has noticeably improved, beginning with the first service deployment of a nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine in 2014. Most recently, geospatial analysis conducted by AllSource Analysis has recently revealed four Jin-class (Type 094) ballistic missile submarines... MORE
Beijing Harnesses Big Data & AI to Perfect the Police State
Even by the standards of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the brutal treatment of China’s first Nobel Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, has breached the norms of civilized behavior. The third day after Liu‘s death from liver cancer—which deteriorated into the terminal stage last June largely... MORE