China is currently engaged in a determined effort to transform its military from an army based on Mao Zedong’s principles of mass-oriented, infantry-heavy “People’s War,” to what many foreign observers perceive to be an agile, high-technology force capable of projecting power throughout the Asia-Pacific. A... MORE

In recent years, senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders and high-ranking military officers have repeatedly emphasized the importance of naval modernization. Most prominently, CCP General Secretary, President and Central Military Commission (CMC) Chairman Hu Jintao in a December 2006 speech to People’s Liberation Army Navy... MORE

World leaders, including PRC President Hu Jintao, offered congratulations to Lee Myung-bak following his election as South Korea’s next president on December 19, 2007. Hu’s message stressed his desire to expand “good neighborly and friendly relations” with South Korea and his hope that “strengthen[ed] coordination... MORE

On January 21, the Taiwan-based newspaper United Daily News reported that a C-130 transport aircraft in the Taiwan (ROC) Air Force conducted a one-day mission to the Spratly Islets, whose sovereignty is contested by Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia and the Philippines (United Daily News... MORE

Since dumping former Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu in late 2006, President Hu Jintao has tightened his control over the East China metropolis—as well as the so-called Shanghai Faction in the tangled politics within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At stake is more than the... MORE

In an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Taiwan’s Vice-Minister for Defense Ko Chen-heng reportedly stated that Chinese warships have stepped up naval activities along the “first island chain” (diyidaolian) with five to six recorded incursions in the past two years (China Times, January 24;... MORE

Southeast Asia is represented by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a bloc of 10 countries in the region, which covers the most strategically important area for China’s energy security. The region encompasses all of China's energy-shipping routes from the Middle East, Africa and... MORE

The opening line was short but dramatic: “With Rule of Law Day fast approaching, we renew our call: abolish the reeducation through labor system.” So wrote a group of nearly seventy prominent scholars, lawyers, activists and public intellectuals in a constitutional review proposal issued in... MORE

A convergence of events in 2007 has prompted some policymakers to suggest that a warming of relations between China and India is only a matter of time [1]. In December 2007, the first-ever joint military exercise euphoniously code-named “Hand-in-Hand 2007” was held in Kunming, in... MORE

The conventional wisdom is that China presents Africa with major threats and opportunities, and that there is growing tension between the United States and China over the latter’s evolving African interests. On paper, at least, the nascent interest of China in Africa looks to the... MORE