When the Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Zhong Shan and Georgia’s Minister of Economy Giorgi Gakharia signed a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Shanghai, on May 13, it all looked good on paper. Following a seven-month-long process of final-stage... MORE

At the end of May, China held its annual Chinese Poverty Alleviation International Forum (中国扶贫国际论坛), which serves to draw attention to Chinese achievements in this area (Xinhua, May 26). Poverty alleviation is likely to remain a key theme in state media as China prepares for... MORE

Much attention has been paid to how, in the wake of the seemingly isolationist tendencies of President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping is highlighting Beijing’s readiness to provide global leadership in areas ranging from boosting international trade to fighting climate change. Yet, for China’s supreme... MORE

Update: Since the publication of this article, Chinese reporting on the Army Aviation brigades in the new 74th and 75th Group Armies indicates that the 74th GA has been formed around units primarily from the former 42nd GA, not the 41st as previously reported, and... MORE

In January 2017, a long-anticipated reshuffle of the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) took place. The PLAN and its three fleets each received new commanders. Less noticed, but more significant, was the replacement of General Wang Jiaocheng with Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai... MORE

Central Military Commission (CMC) Member and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) Commander, General Ma Xiaotian (马晓天), will reach his mandatory retirement age later this year and will likely retire in conjunction with the 19th Party Congress. While much of the PLA’s promotion process... MORE

On May 30, troops from Russia and Tajikistan launched Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017—the final stage of a six-part exercise held in six different countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus, which began on May 23 (Avesta, May 24). Involving 2,000 personnel, the exercises concluded on June 1. Military... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin made another trip to China last month (May 14–15) to address the Belt and Road Forum. But his speech at the summit’s opening highlighted that Russia and Chi­na ascribe completely different meaning to Beijing’s ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.... MORE

Indonesia: Eyes on the Islamists The Indonesian military has said it is beefing up defenses in parts of the country in anticipation of an expansion of Islamic State (IS) activities. That has included stepping up security in Ambon, Maluku and North Sulawesi, which lie south... MORE

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyaev’s five-day trip to China earlier this month (May 11–15) has signaled that he is now moving on from the first phase of his foreign policy activities (Ng.ru, May 11). Since President Mirziyaev took office last December, priority was first accorded... MORE