With the announcement that the Permanent Court of Arbitration will rule on July 12 on its case between the Philippine and Chinese governments regarding China’s territorial claims in the South China Seas, tensions in the area are coming to a head (Court of Arbitration, June... MORE

In early June, the Eighth Round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) “welcomed” apparent progress on cyber security, an issue that has been among the most contentious aspects of this bilateral relationship in recent years (U.S. Department of State, June 7). As the... MORE

China’s interests and exposure in Africa have grown exponentially over the past two decades. China became Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009 and continues to hold the lead by a wide margin. China is the largest bilateral funding source for infrastructure projects, nearly all of... MORE

As China emerges during the 21st Century as a strong regional power with a growing global footprint, the role of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as a means of employing “military soft power” (军事软实力) has garnered close scrutiny both internally and externally from multiple perspectives,... MORE

Powered by the world’s second largest economy and defense budget, China has implemented a consistent, incremental strategy of upholding its outstanding territorial and maritime claims in the Near Seas (Yellow, East, and South China Seas), while more gradually developing an outer layer of less-intensive capabilities... MORE

Russian views of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were prominently on display at the grouping’s most recent summit, in Tashkent, which took place on June 23–24. Specifically, President Vladimir Putin had extravagant words of praise for the SCO—a regional institution bringing together Russia, China, Kazakhstan,... MORE

The fifteenth meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place on June 23–24, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Participation in these annual meetings has been growing over the past several years and was even bigger this time as negotiations for admitting... MORE

Expectations regarding President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing on Saturday (June 25) had been rather subdued, and the modest results were mostly immaterial. Last year, the two leaders grandiosely celebrated their countries’ World War II victory over the Axis powers; and in 2014, they announced... MORE

Beijing and Bishkek have started negotiations on relocating 40 Chinese factories and plants to Kyrgyzstan. While Kyrgyzstan’s government says that this will help reindustrialize the country, there are concerns in Kyrgyz society that such plans will exacerbate Chinese expansion domestically. The government in Bishkek has... MORE

At this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue on Asian security, held in Singapore, China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea were in sharp focus. Admiral Sun Jianguo (孙建国) again represented China at the conference, a position he is uniquely suited for due to his role as... MORE