Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific
Taiwan’s Navy: Able to Deny Command of the Sea?
The first installment of this series on the Republic of China Navy (ROCN), or Taiwan Navy, presented a skeptical assessment of the ROCN’s ability to fulfill the expansive requirements set forth in its “ROC Navy Vision” (Xin shiji haijun), which in essence directs the navy... MORE
Karzai’s State Visit Highlights Beijing’s Afghan Priorities
From March 23 to March 25, Afghan President Hamid Karzai conducted a state visit to China. The trip underscored the People's Republic of China's (PRC) support for the Karzai-led government, with the Afghan president telling his hosts that Sino-Afghanistan relations were better than at any... MORE
Syria in China’s New Silk Road Strategy
While the international community is fixated on Iran’s nuclear program, China has been steadily expanding its political, economic and strategic ties with Syria. Since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited China in 2004 on the heels of the 2003 U.S. intervention in Iraq, there have been... MORE
Implications of Kyrgyzstan Revolt on China’s Xinjiang Policy
As the political crisis in Kyrgyzstan reaches a turning point, after opposition forces seized the capital Bishkek in a bloody clash and ousted the president and his allies, Chinese leaders from regions across China have reportedly descended upon Xinjiang en masse in a rare spectacle... MORE
Russia is Open for Nuclear Business in Asia
Although other issues have taken center stage recently, it is possible to discern in Moscow’s policies across Asia a renewed emphasis on the sale of nuclear reactors to interested Asian partners. This emphasis, of course, is not new. During 2007-2008 Moscow offered nuclear reactors to... MORE
The Implications of China’s High-Speed Eurasian Railway Strategy for Central Asia
Beijing’s plan to build a high-speed railway network across Asia and Europe through Central Asia? is its key project for the continent. A reflection of the rise of China on the global stage, the proposed network will connect 17 countries and comprises three major routes... MORE
Will China’s Dream turn into America’s Nightmare?
China’s Dream: Major Power Thinking and Strategic Posture in a Post-American Era has attracted considerable attention from both Chinese and Western media [1]. The author, Senior Colonel Liu Mingfu, calls for China to replace the United States as the dominant military power. Liu is a... MORE
Google and China’s Changing Economic Paradigm
Following two months of tussling with the Chinese government—much of it under the glare of intense media coverage—Google Inc. (GOOG) abandoned its core business in the world's most populous nation. Specifically, on March 22, the Mountain View-based company announced it had stopped censoring search results... MORE
Rajin-Sonbong: A Strategic Choice for China in Its Relations with Pyongyang
The Rajin-Sonbong region in North Korea (also known as Rason following a 2004 administrative reorganization by central authorities) is an underdeveloped backwater near the far northeastern tip of the Korean peninsula bordering Jilin province of China and Primorsky Krai of Russia. Although the area is... MORE
China’s Ecological Woes: Drought and Water Wars?
Are there policy and administrative failures behind the unprecedentedly severe drought that is devastating China’s southwestern provinces? The same question is being asked about the unusually ferocious sandstorm that blanketed northern and eastern China last week. The country’s ecological degradation has had dire global consequences.... MORE