In his last address before retiring as China’s security chief in October, Meng Jianzhu (孟建柱) briefed members of the Politburo Standing Committee on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict threats to social order (Sina, September 21). AI-enabled policing is the latest evolution of... MORE

In the wake of a fire on November 18 in a poor Beijing suburb that killed 19 people, police equipped with bulldozers and heavy-duty demolition equipment evicted several tens of thousands of migrant workers who had settled in Beijing over the past ten years (Ming... MORE

On November 24, Li Keqiang, China’s premier and top economic official, arrived in Budapest to great fanfare (China Economic Daily, November 29). Although Hungary is not typically on lists of major economic partners for China—even maps of the trans-Eurasian Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) skip... MORE

China’s paramount leader, Xi Jinping, has emerged from the recent 19th Party Congress stronger than at least his past two predecessors. Xi solidified his grip on power by enshrining “Xi Jinping Thought” into the Party constitution and unveiling a new Politburo Standing Committee that does... MORE

During President Trump’s trip to Beijing and the ASEAN Summit in November 2017, President Trump and President Xi confirmed that the future of U.S.-Chinese relations will focus largely on opportunities for U.S. and Chinese businesses, potential security cooperation, and ongoing points of friction. The ASEAN... MORE

Though superpower diplomacy dominated coverage of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) leaders summit in November, China’s upgrading of a free-trade agreement with Chile served to highlight the strength of an economic and political relationship that it has built with the country, and the... MORE

During his visits to Dhaka, Bangladesh and Naypyitaw, Myanmar on November 18 and 19, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward a three-phase plan to resolve the Rohingya crisis. First, Wang called for a ceasefire in Myanmar’s devastated Rakhine state, which is at the center... MORE

On October 31, after a long standoff over South Korea’s deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, China and South Korea agreed to return to the “normal development track” (正常发展轨道) (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, October 31). The leaders of the two... MORE

North Korea’s steady drumbeat of missile launches and provocations kept relations with China and the United States tense for most of the year. Harvest time and preparations for the Korean People’s Armies’ winter training cycle have paused the missile launches, but heading into winter, there... MORE

China’s international rivers are becoming a focal point for contests over control of natural resources. China, in its powerful position as headwater nation, continues to actively promote hydropower development domestically and internationally. When downstream nations rely on un-dammed rivers for fisheries and irrigation, this puts... MORE