The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is in the midst of the biggest reorganization and reform effort since the 1980s. Among the major changes announced, the country’s primary nuclear deterrent, the Second Artillery Corps, was upgraded to a separate service branch called the PLA Rocket... MORE

China’s recent deployment of HQ-9 missiles to the Paracel Islands represent part of a larger effort to consolidate the country’s position in the South China Sea. While the deployment in itself only adds an incremental improvement to China’s ability to control the Paracel Islands, its... MORE

On March 19, Chinese and Indonesian media reported that a confrontation had taken place between Chinese fishing boats and an Indonesian Fisheries Ministry ship near the Natuna Islands, in the South China Sea (Guancha, March 21; Konpas [Indonesia], March 21). Indonesian media reported that the... MORE

When China is at peace, foreigners will submit willingly. Therefore, if one wants to repel external threats, he must first bring internal peace. —Zhao Pu (922–992), Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty China’s People’s Armed Police, or PAP, is the world’s largest internal security... MORE

Cai Dongjia, party secretary for Boshe village in Lufeng, Guangdong province, and a man otherwise known as “the Godfather of Meth,” was sentenced to death last week (Guangdong Courts, March 7). Cai was arrested in 2014 when 3,000 police raided his village, confiscating three metric... MORE

The Russo-Chinese partnership, if not alliance, has frequently encountered challenges and obstacles in the past. Two years ago, Russian Defense Minister Segei Shoigu and his deputy, Anatoly Antonov, openly called for a military alliance against terrorism and color revolutions, although for now, China has remained... MORE

Many observers both inside and outside Central Asia have noticed China’s rising economic influence there, supplanting the region’s traditional hegemon, Russia. In yet another sign of China’s growing economic clout in Eurasia, Astana International Financial Center governor and former National Bank chairman Kairat Kelimbetov announced,... MORE

North Korea’s test of a hydrogen bomb and subsequent launch of a satellite have again placed the onus on China to exert greater pressure on its erstwhile ally. A key element missing from most analyses of these developments is an examination of how China has... MORE

China’s Quest For Food Security by 2020 Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting Hunan province has emphasized food production and achieving food security in a speech this week (Xinhua, March 9). Among the many economic challenges facing China’s leaders, food security, though often overlooked, is an... MORE

Recent calls for loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, and particularly its top leadership, have brought renewed attention to this important internal messaging phenomenon. However, insistence on loyalty is not a new phenomenon in the People’s Republic of China, and historical context and examination of... MORE