The People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) foreign relations program is an increasingly important component of the PLA’s overall foreign relations program. As part of China’s overall program, it gradually has expanded from merely exchanging delegations to conducting combined exercises with individual countries and the... MORE

The rounds of ritualistic protestation of loyalty to the “Chinese Communist Party (CCP) central authorities with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary” show President Hu Jintao has become the biggest beneficiary of the Bo Xilai scandal. Apart from pulling out all the stops to ensure... MORE

A series of editorials this week in leading official newspapers suggested pressure for reform within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to build. One of the unsigned commentaries—like Premier Wen Jiabao’s speech about political reform as Bo Xilai was ousted from Chongqing—stated “reform has reached... MORE

The modernization of China’s nuclear missile force capabilities has led a number of analysts to ponder the question of “how much is enough” for China. Some have speculated that China may take advantage of the declining numbers of nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Russian... MORE

President Hu Jintao joined 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers and foreign ministers at the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. The main objective of the summit was to secure, reduce and eliminate global stockpiles of nuclear and radiological materials to keep them... MORE

Although relations between Hong Kong and mainland China have never been trouble-free, the past few months have been marked by unusual antagonism. The souring of the relationship portended trouble for Beijing in the recent chief executive race, which ended on March 25. Beijing’s preferred candidate,... MORE

From March 22 to March 24, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid a state visit to China. The visit, which saw the inking of several agreements in a wide range of areas, is only the latest boost to bilateral cooperation which has increased significantly since... MORE

On April 11, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Beijing during the latter’s lavish if brief state visit. Both sides naturally promised cooperation and to expand ties (Xinhua, April 11; China Daily, April 11). The visit marked the... MORE

The deputy commander of the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN), Xu Hongmeng, stated on March 13 that after four sea trials he “has a plan” to enter the Chinese aircraft carrier, formerly the Soviet-made Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier Varyag, into active service by the end of this... MORE

The Republic of China (ROC) Navy appears to be moving forward with a long awaited program to build diesel submarines in Taiwan. A domestic submarine program—which was aborted under former President Chen Shui-bian’s administration—reportedly has been resuscitated in President Ma Ying-jeou’s second term. While talk... MORE