Central Asia is suffering a significant economic downturn precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic that will deepen during the coming months (The Astana Times, May 5; Imf.org, July 2020). The health crisis could also have a profound geopolitical effect in the region. As the United States... MORE

A major scandal has broken out between China, on the one hand, and Tajikistan and Russia, on the other, regarding alleged Chinese claims on the Pamir region. This past month, official outlets of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) repeatedly republished an article by Chinese... MORE

Introduction Almost five years after the establishment of the PLA Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) in December 2015 (China Brief, December 21, 2016; China Brief, May 29, 2019), many questions remain regarding the scope and strength of the force. However, publicly-available recruitment information and admission data... MORE

Introduction Since its advent in 2015, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—an ambitious program of infrastructure development projects primarily financed by Chinese capital and built by Chinese state-owned companies—has been a key component of China’s larger Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (China Brief, July 31, 2015;... MORE

Introduction As the European Union seeks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic that paralyzed much of its normal political agenda, some member states have also been seeking a way out of major Sino-European initiatives. For example, People’s Republic of China (PRC) diplomats have invested considerable... MORE

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published as a Jamestown Early Warning Brief on July 3; it has since been updated and expanded for re-publication in this issue of China Brief. Introduction The central government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has imposed sweeping... 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

In mid-July, China dispatched its Snow Dragon-2 icebreaker to the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This action marks yet another step toward realizing Beijing’s longstanding plans to displace Moscow as the dominant power in the Arctic as well as to establish Chinese preeminence on that east-west... 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

ARTICLE UPDATED October 2, 2021 Editor’s Note: This article is an abridged version of a longer and more detailed report by Dr. Zenz, which was published by the Jamestown Foundation on June 28. The full-length report, to include a large volume of supporting data, is... MORE