Executive Summary: Hong Kong launched a new stablecoin regime on August 1, continuing its cautious embrace of emerging financial products nearly three years after declaring its intention to become a digital assets hub. In anticipation of the new regime, July saw a flurry of fundraising... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing is operationalizing its cross-Strait unification strategy through bureaucratic embedding and military-civil fusion, with Fujian Province as the central staging ground. The 17th Straits Forum in June served as a propaganda instrument to showcase apparent Taiwanese grassroots support, while parallel PLA developments contradict... MORE

Executive Summary: The concurrent deployment of the Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers beyond the First Island Chain represents a significant strategic milestone, highlighting the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) improved capability to coordinate complex naval operations and signaling a shift towards more sophisticated Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) operations... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing’s maritime strategy hinges on expanding what it calls the “blue economy,” which is increasingly integrated with broader strategic ambitions under the rubric of becoming a “strong sea power.” Central government policies and five-years plans call for deeper cross-regional integration to support the... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing is looking to increase its security presence in Asia and further afield, according to two recent high-level statements of intent—a white paper on “national security in the new era” and a new “model of security for Asia.” Beijing senses opportunities amid policy... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing is promoting cross-border power transmission projects, deploying its leading producers of submarine electric cables to deepen integration with other countries’ critical infrastructure. Orient Cables, a national champion firm that has received generous government subsidies and has achieved several technical breakthroughs, is now... MORE

Executive Summary: The Xi Jinping–Lee Jae Myung phone call on June 10 signals a tactical thaw after years of strain under Yoon Suk Yeol, reviving “good-neighborly friendship” language and soft power channels Beijing had suspended when Yoon restarted work on deploying the U.S. missile defense... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing interprets recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as a demonstration of deterrence aimed at supporters of Iran’s Islamic regime. In response, state media showcased the Yunjian-1000 bunker-busting missile, implying that the People’s Liberation Army has superior capabilities than those of the... MORE

Executive Summary: New evidence suggests that a faction within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aligned with former president Hu Jintao and former premier Wen Jiabao could be exerting influence on the direction of the Party. Three party elders—all of whom were Hu Jintao allies—reportedly criticized... MORE

Executive Summary: The annual Central Asia Digital Security Expo in Xinjiang is supported by the U.S.-sanctioned Xinjiang Public Security Bureau and brings technology firms together to network and market their products under the context of the CCP’s ongoing campaign of repression. Federal sanctions, due diligence,... MORE