After apparently engineering the contretemps that have hit Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai, President Hu Jintao is putting additional pressure on other members of the Gang of Princelings—the political faction composed of senior cadres’ offspring. The political fortunes of Bo, the high-profile son of Chinese... MORE

Chinese political culture contains a lot of dangerous ideas for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This may go a long ways toward explaining Beijing’s fickle relationship with Confucius as a symbol of Chinese culture and, now, with the trappings of Maoism. While criticism of Chongqing’s... MORE

Moscow’s Reappraisal of Prospects for Europe and the ResetTwo recent articles by Sergei Karaganov of the Council on Defense and Foreign Policy offer another perspective on the Russian veto of the UN Security Council resolution on Syria and on Sino-Russian cooperation. In December, he wrote... MORE

China’s Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to Turkey, where he held several meetings with Turkish leaders, has underlined the growing economic ties and diplomatic exchanges between the two countries, despite their failure to develop joint positions on political issues. Xi met Turkey’s president and prime... MORE

A Sino-Russian Alliance to What End?The emergence of a close alliance between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China would mean a fundamental shift in the strategic balance of power, not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union or the American opening... MORE

Signs are multiplying that Moscow has launched a new initiative toward Tokyo to improve Russo-Japanese relations. In addition, this initiative is part of Moscow’s never-ending quest to be considered a major Asian player. The evidence of these twin initiatives became visible on Foreign Minister Sergei... MORE

Following the brutal murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in October 2011, China prevailed upon Thailand, Burma and Laos to improve transboundary law enforcement cooperation by participating in coordinated riverine patrols launched in December. While China’s participation in coordinated patrols in Southeast... MORE

Representing a wider trend, one of China’s largest aerospace manufacturers, AVIC, recently announced, after a record 18.8 percent growth in 2011, it is increasing investment in an unmanned helicopter that will function in a range of both mundane civil applications as well as more critical... MORE

The diplomatic acrobatics and brinkmanship on display over Iran’s nuclear program are escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf to new heights, raising the stakes for all of the protagonists involved—including China. In this context, it is worth examining China’s position on the rapidly evolving events... MORE