In a Fortnight
U.S. Suggestion For Japanese Patrols in South China Sea Prompts ADIZ Threat
A recent U.S. suggestion for Japanese patrols in the South China Sea has elicited a sharp rebuttal by the Chinese government and reignited Chinese media discussion of a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). In a strongly worded editorial the next day, the... MORE
Obama’s State of the Union “A Mix of Love and Hate” Toward China
On January 20, U.S. President Barack Obama gave his second to last State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress, striking out a bold vision for his last two years in office. While the speech mainly focused on domestic issues, especially the economy and... MORE
Chinese Public Opinion and North Korea: Will Anger Lead to Policy Change?
North Korea’s suspected role in the November 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures, a Japanese-owned film studio in Hollywood, has once again dragged China into a discussion of its role in and responsibility for preventing or limiting North Korea’s provocations. Recent revelations of desperate North... MORE
China’s Foreign Policy in 2014: A Year to Harvest Partnerships and the Silk Road
On December 11, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave his annual speech encapsulating China’s foreign policy successes over the last year (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, December 11). He highlighted China’s growing role in the global economy, its economic outreach through new multilateral institutions, peripheral diplomacy... MORE
Taiwan’s “Vote of No Confidence” For KMT (and China Too)
Taiwan’s largest election ever, on November 29, led to a rousing, if not expected, defeat of Taiwan’s governing and pro-status quo party, the Kuomintang (KMT), by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), dealing a crushing blow to Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration. Moreover, the election... MORE
Special Issue on China’s Fourth Plenum
As Editor, I have the distinct pleasure of introducing a special issue of China Brief, focused on the Chinese Communist Party’s Fourth Plenum and its theme of yifazhiguo, often translated as the “rule of law,” though, as one contributor notes, the term is better translated... MORE
China Cynical over U.S. Midterm Elections, But Expects Policy Continuity
On Tuesday, November 4, the United States held its 2014 midterm elections and voted the Republican Party into the majority in the U.S. Senate, giving them control of both houses in Congress and, as Chinese analysts noted, a major political victory. The overall Chinese response... MORE
Beijing Prepares for APEC Summit Amid Possible Sino-Japanese Thaw
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings with Chinese Minster of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi in Boston on October 17–18 marked the end of preparations by senior-level officials for the 22nd Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and turned the attention to the leaders’ meetings... MORE
A Spoiled Anniversary: China Reacts to Confucius Institute Controversy
On September 27, Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated “Confucius Institute Day,” commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the first Institute’s founding in November 2004, in South Korea. Yet this self-congratulatory atmosphere was clouded by increasing criticism of the Confucius Institute program in the United States, which... MORE
Xi’s Op-Ed Diplomacy: Selling the “China Dream” Abroad
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s six-day trip to South Asia during September 14–19, on state visits to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India, redoubled China’s efforts to increase its presence in the Indian Ocean while also trying to improve its relations with neighboring India. Xi signed... MORE