When it comes to their friends and allies, the nuclear weapons states have long turned a blind eye or actively supported proliferation, in violation of their Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty commitments. Geopolitical and national security interests, balance-of-power considerations and alliance commitments always override non-proliferation concerns, norms... MORE

Sino-American relations present a paradox. Secretary of State Colin Powell has declared that relations between China and the United States are now the best they have been since the rapprochement of 1972. Yet, even as they view this relationship as pragmatically serving their interests, Beijing... MORE

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, China has reemerged as a major player in Central Asia. Given China's geographical proximity, security and economic interests, and the needs of the Central Asian states, China's presence in the region will only increase in the future. Underscored... MORE

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has been at pains not to appear to be gloating over the American quagmire in Iraq. Yet in terms of geopolitical calculus, there is little doubt Beijing sees America's worsening problems in Iraq as beneficial to China's global standing,... MORE

The electoral campaigning for the presidential polls in Taiwan has clearly brought three pertinent issues on Taiwan to the forefront and provoked an unprecedented surge in Chinese nationalism on the Mainland. First, the Taiwanese society appears to be more politically polarized than ever, due to... MORE

'Chinese Chechnya' is how - only half-jokingly - Central Asians refer to the Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China (historically known as Eastern Turkistan). Such a comparison is not without reason. Like Chechnya, the area's population is mixed: In the XUAR, approximately half the population... MORE

The September 11 terrorist attack on the US inevitably had a strong impact on China, both in terms of its domestic politics and its foreign policy initiatives. In a way, Beijing's smooth policy adjustments have allowed China to achieve many unexpected gains. The Roots of... MORE

Beijing's unusually cautious response to Taiwan's disputed presidential polls shows that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has yet to come to a consensus on how to deal with four more years of administration under 'splittis' President Chen Shui-bian. This, despite the fact that with... MORE

China's behavior toward Hong Kong warrants the attention of those who wish to understand Chinese efforts toward reunification across the Taiwan Strait. Witness, for example, the limited input afforded Hong Kong during the protracted Sino-British negotiations on its retrocession, which concluded in 1984. Given that... MORE

The issue of Taiwan's future--independence or absorption by China--remains one of principle for all three of the major actors in this drama. Beijing insists that Taiwan is a Chinese province; Taiwan insists that it has the right to determine its own future; Washington adheres to... MORE