Introduction Since 1988, the journal Qiushi (求是), produced bimonthly by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, has served as the CCP’s leading official theoretical journal. Commenced under the tenures of then-CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang and then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, the journal was intended... MORE

Introduction Throughout June and July, much of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has experienced heavy rainfall from the annual late spring – early summer East Asian rainy season, a phenomenon sometimes called the “plum rain” (梅雨, meiyu). This year, the rainfall has brought severe... MORE

Author’s note: This article was informed by research and analysis on the PRC’s Beidou satellite program conducted by Pointe Bello, a strategic intelligence and advisory firm. Introduction On June 23, a Long March-3B carrier rocket was successfully launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in... MORE

Introduction On May 29, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo held its first “collective study” (集体学习, jiti xuexi) session for the year 2020. It is unusual that the first of these events took place only near the mid-point of the year: in recent years, these... MORE

Introduction The annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), known collectively as the “Two Sessions” (两会, Liang Hui), are the biggest official events on the annual political calendar of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Usually... MORE

Introduction The early months of 2020 have seen a number of significant launches for the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s Long March series of rockets (长征系列运载火箭, Chang Zheng xilie yunzai huojian). The venerable—but steadily evolving—Long March series dates its active history back to China’s first... MORE

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

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

Introduction On March 16, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force aircraft conducted a set of unusual nighttime sorties over the sea to the southwest of Taiwan. At least one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEWC) aircraft and an undisclosed number of J-11 FLANKER-L jet... MORE

Introduction Since January, much of the international news coverage surrounding the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been dominated by the story of the COVID-19 outbreak—a previously unknown coronavirus that first manifested in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in early December, and which has... MORE