Executive Summary: Xi Jinping’s April 30 remarks preview a fundamental shift in the Party’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), signaling that national security—not growth—is now the central organizing principle of economic planning. A new “security pattern” will be directly integrated with the “development pattern,” embedding... MORE

Executive Summary: Hong Kong’s IPO market is on track for its strongest year since 2021, raising $2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025—driven entirely by PRC-based companies. Consumer brands like Mixue and Guming led the listings, benefiting from Beijing’s stimulus measures and public enthusiasm... MORE

One of the weakest points in the survivability of President Vladimir Putin’s regime is the Russian economy. On April 24, Putin assured Russian business leaders that the country’s economic challenges are part of a planned “soft-landing” to curb inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan is responding to increased trade through the Middle Corridor with international partnerships and ambitious reforms of its railway and port systems, highlighting Baku’s desire to become a critical node in global trade. Reforms such as standardized cargo procedures, digital customs systems, and... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is developing and spreading sanction evasion tactics to create an alternative international economic system populated by rogue states. Russia’s burgeoning international economic order is characterized by ignoring Western intellectual property rights, circumventing sanctions, and the unconstrained trading of military goods. Türkiye,... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan has launched the second phase of the Port of Baku’s expansion, aiming to support its growing role in transcontinental trade as the region seeks alternative routes to Europe. Regional instability and Western sanctions on Russia due to its war against Ukraine have... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan launched a new container rail service linking the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Poland, reinforcing its position as a vital transit hub through Eurasia. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway, a part of the PRC’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, has emerged as... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a strategic hub for critical minerals, leveraging its vast reserves of copper, zinc, lead, and nickel to attract foreign investment and diversify economic partnerships amid growing global demand and geopolitical competition. Deepening cooperation with the People’s Republic of... MORE

Executive Summary: Ingushetia, a republic in Russia’s North Caucasus, is being pacified and kept dependent on Moscow as intentional Kremlin policies, rather than policy failures or Ingush shortcomings, are causing high unemployment.   Moscow has often used Ingushetia to test out policies and if it concludes... MORE

The following is a lightly edited version of testimony delivered by Jamestown Fellow for China Studies Sunny Cheung. The testimony was delivered before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission at a hearing held on February 6, 2025 on the topic “Made in China 2025—Who... MORE