
In a Fortnight

Foreign Fixations at the Heart of Chinese-style Modernization
Executive Summary: A new report from two high-end PRC think-tanks details the country’s path to modernization in anticipation of July’s Third Plenum but suggests that any shifts in policy direction will be muted. The report emphasizes the triumph of Chinese-style modernization over the Western model... MORE

Learning From National Security Education Day
Executive Summary: The Comprehensive National Security Concept has expanded over the last decade to cover areas the People’s Republic of China (PRC) perceives to be its territory, which now includes the deep sea, space, and digital networks. Xi Jinping has pushed the totalizing conception of... MORE

PRC Support Underpins Russia’s War Against Ukraine
Executive Summary: PRC aid to Russia is multidomain and underpins much of Moscow’s ability to continue to wage war in Ukraine. Attempts have been made to institutionalize the Sino-Russian relationship, deepening the military aspect in particular. The relationship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin nevertheless... MORE

When The Chips Are Down: Taiwan’s Water and Energy Conundrum
Executive Summary: Taiwan’s heavy reliance on energy imports, coupled with high energy demands, poses significant challenges, with semiconductor manufacturing being a major consumer. Environmental concerns such as droughts, exacerbated by climate change, and Taiwan’s fossil fuel-heavy energy mix raise serious alarm bells for the island’s... MORE

New Quality Combat Forces: More Than Meets The Eye
Executive Summary: Conceptual framings from the military may be influencing how the CCP approaches its management of the economy. The phrase “New Quality Combat Forces” predates the phrase “New Quality Productive Forces” by several years. Now they are being linked as mutually self-reinforcing constructs. Both... MORE

Jing-Jin-Ji At Ten: Urban Planning Under Xi
Executive Summary: The Jing-Jin-Ji region's integrated development embodies Xi Jinping's vision for the PRC and is one of his strategic priorities. Planning documents from the past decade detail ambitions to leverage the potential of this region’s 110 million people by designing a global center for... MORE

Special Issue: Taiwanese Voices On The 2024 Elections
This year sees the Jamestown Foundation celebrate its 40th anniversary. The intention of Jamestown’s analysis since its inception has always been to foreground indigenous voices and local sources from the regions of focus. The organization’s founder, William Geimer, published memoirs of Arkady Shevchenko, the highest-ranking... MORE

PRC Law And The Demise of Hong Kong In 2024
Executive Summary: New National Security legislation, which emulates recent PRC laws, and the potential torture of a witness in the ongoing trial of Jimmy Lai, is characteristic of the erosion of legal norms in Hong Kong as it moves towards full unification with the CCP... MORE

‘Self-Revolution’ Suggests Stronger CCDI Mandate
Executive Summary Xi Jinping addressed the perennial dilemma of corruption within the CCP, pronouncing “victory” in a decade of anti-corruption efforts but simultaneously warning that the situation remains “grim and complex.” In the short term, anti-corruption crackdowns are expected to continue, with Xi targeting sectors... MORE

Xi’s New Year’s Speech Dismisses Difficulties
On New Year’s Eve, a prerecorded address from Chinese President Xi Jinping was broadcast across the Party’s global network of official media outlets (Youtube, December 31, 2023). The speech is an annual tradition, delivered from behind a wooden desk in rhetoric that is at once... MORE