Latest China Brief Articles
Transformations in China’s Soft Power toward ASEAN
Among U.S.-led like-minded alliances, a nascent China policy position has been formulated based on the idea of “international socialization” [1]. The idea is to enmesh states in a compound network structured by international organizations, conventions and norms. Accordingly, the process of socialization will push China... MORE
PLAs Mechanization and Informationization Come of Age: Sharpening and Vanguard-2008
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is developing a force that resembles the efforts of the Soviet Army in East Germany in 1986, which was creating an Operational ‘Shock Division’ of three regiments with each regiment containing two tank and two mechanized infantry battalions. Armored divisions... MORE
Arms Sales and the Future of U.S.-Taiwan-China Relations
The outgoing Bush Administration made an 11th hour decision to notify the U.S. Congress on October 3—a day before Congress went into recess ahead of the groundbreaking November presidential election in the United States—that a raft of arms and weapons systems, which have been effectively... MORE
Beijing’s Stimulus Plan: Preemptive Crisis Management
China’s $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) stimulus package, which was announced before last weekend’s G20 Summit in Washington, has been hailed as indicative of Beijing’s commitment to stave off further bleeding from the global recession. World Bank Vice-President Justin Lin noted that the resuscitation effort... MORE
China’s Strategic Engagement with Latin America
Ten days before Chinese President Hu Jintao left Beijing to attend the G20 Summit hosted by President George W. Bush in Washington on November 15 (China Brief, November 7), Zhongnanhai released its first policy white paper on Latin America and the Caribbean. The release of... MORE
China’s Policy Toward Iran: Arms for Oil?
Major powers deliberated on September 19 in Washington over a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran to curb its nuclear program, but deliberations ended with no firm commitments amid Chinese and Russian opposition to stronger punitive measures. State Department spokesman Robert Wood told the... MORE
Beijing’s Glorification of the “China Model” Could Blunt Its Enthusiasm for Reforms
While Beijing has reiterated its willingness to help combat the international financial crisis, the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration has stopped short of making substantial commitments to the global rescue effort. This is despite the fact that the ongoing crisis has afforded China a golden opportunity... MORE
China Cautious Toward G-20 Summit
According to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang, Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the G20 Economic Summit to be held in Washington DC on November 15. At a press conference on November 4, Spokesperson Qin announced that President Hu has accepted President George W.... MORE
Sino-Kazakh Relations: A Nascent Strategic Partnership
While the Chinese authorities make a point of honoring the establishment of cordial relations with all five Central Asian states, Kazakhstan enjoys a unique status. Since 2005 the China-Kazakhstan partnership has been termed a “strategic” one, the highest of diplomatic epithets, confirming that Astana is... MORE
A Southward Thrust for China’s Energy Diplomacy in the South China Sea
China and Vietnam have outlined new steps to resolve their long-running territorial disputes in the South China Sea in an effort to avert further conflict and put their relations on a steadier footing for the future. Although both countries are ruled by Communist parties and... MORE