
Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific

Beijing Confronts Long-Standing Weakness in Anti-Submarine Warfare
Observers of China’s naval development generally accept that Chinese anti-submarine warfare (ASW) remains an Achilles’ Heel of the otherwise highly methodical and quite remarkable evolution of Chinese maritime power. While Beijing will soon be able to boast about its first aircraft carrier and continues to... MORE

Revising the Border: China’s Inroads into Tajikistan
The foundation of China’s policies toward Russia and Central Asia since 1991 lies in the border treaties it signed with these states over this period. Those treaties demarcated the borders between China and all the post-Soviet successor states: Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. These treaties... MORE

China Reacts to Admiral Mullen Visit; Growth Imperative Challenges Even Chinese Security Regulations
China Reacts to Admiral Mullen Visit Beijing heralded US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, visit to China as an important step forward, signifying the normalization US-China military relations. Chinese magazine Liaowang described military-to-military relations as an important barometer of US-China... MORE

Assessing the Grade Structure for China’s Aircraft Carriers: Part 2
This is the second of a two-part series about the grade (zhiwu dengji) system of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and how China’s forthcoming carrier might fit into the fleet structure of the PLA Navy (PLAN). Part 1 provided an overview of the PLA’s Table... MORE

Wenzhou Crash Shows the Dangers of China’s Nuclear Power Ambitions
A high-speed train crash near Wenzhou in the coastal Chinese province of Zhejiang took the lives of at least 39 people on July 23 and has raised equal measures of fear, anger and astonishment across the country. Preliminary reports indicate that a bullet train running... MORE

Moscow Sets Out Ambitious Asian Policy Goals
The Russian government has reiterated its pledges to spend billions of rubles in government funding to speed up the development of the country’s Far East in a bid to create a gateway to the booming Asia-Pacific Region. Russia hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit... MORE

Cloud Computing Zone Tests “Chongqing Model”
In March 2011, the municipal government of Chongqing announced its intention to construct a special economic “cloud computing zone” (yun tequ), the largest such zone in Asia (Nanfang Zhoumo, June 16). Not only will this initiative offer participating foreign companies with the unique IT services... MORE

Implications of China’s Economic Penetration of North Korea
Three days after leaving China—where he pledged to work for peace—Kim Jong Il threatened to wage war against South Korea (Yonhap News Agency, May 30). The highly provocative comments from the North Korean regime at the end of May were interpreted as a sign of... MORE

Assessing the Grade Structure for China’s Aircraft Carriers: Part 1
IntroductionAs China’s maiden aircraft carrier nears its sea trials, speculation about its capabilities, missions, level of technology and the rank of its commanding officer (CO) has increased [1]. This two-part article adds to this discussion by applying the “grade” (zhiwu dengji) system of the People’s... MORE

Local Debt Problems Highlight Weak Links in China’s Economic Model
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership’s apparent failure to rein in reckless borrowing by local administrations has raised serious questions about the efficacy of the country’s stimulus package—and the viability of its vaunted economic model. Last month, the National Audit Administration (NAA) disclosed that regional... MORE