Executive Summary: Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a strategic hub for critical minerals, leveraging its vast reserves of copper, zinc, lead, and nickel to attract foreign investment and diversify economic partnerships amid growing global demand and geopolitical competition. Deepening cooperation with the People’s Republic of... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgian Dream has shifted from an initially anti-People’s Republic of China (PRC) stance to embracing the PRC’s development model, formalizing ties through a strategic partnership signed in 2023. Bilateral trade and PRC investment have surged in Georgia, including a free trade agreement, infrastructure... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing views brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) as “key and core” technologies, leading to substantial state investment for both civilian and military purposes. Qiyuan Lab, an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory in Beijing led by a People’s Liberation Army Major General and machine learning expert, has... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing has moved to codify its development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in domestic and international settings, including at the Two Sessions and the United Nations. At least 72 local governments across the People’s Republic of China have already deployed homegrown AI... MORE

Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China (PRC) frames people-to-people exchange programs as benign cultural and educational efforts, but in reality, they serve to advance the Chinese Communist Party’s agendas—such as the “community of common destiny for mankind”—and bolster the PRC’s geopolitical aims. While the... MORE

Executive Summary: Chinese military experts are incorporating lessons from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the use and importance of drones and autonomous systems, which is reshaping the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) strategic planning and operational doctrine. In simulated Taiwan Strait scenarios, the PLA has... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia is experiencing energy shortages and electricity generation problems exacerbated by its war against Ukraine, sanctions, and cryptocurrency mining. Russia’s electricity exports to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) significantly dropped in 2024 due to energy deficits in the Far East, and these... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing’s diplomatic rhetoric advocates upholding international rules and norms, but this diverges sharply from both its words to party officials at home and its actions abroad that undermine and violate international laws and institutions. Beijing benefits from an international order in which other... MORE

Executive Summary: The Caspian Sea’s declining water levels are reducing the amount of cargo that ships can carry, undermining Russia and the People’s Republic of China’s capability to use the sea for their north-south and east-west trade networks. Both Russia and the People’s Republic of... MORE

Executive Summary: Two waves of recent purges in the People’s Liberation Army have focused on Xi Jinping’s two major bases of support, the Shaanxi Gang and the Fujian Clique, likely eroding his power over the military. A series of articles in the PLA Daily in... MORE