Latest China Brief Articles

China and Russia Multiply Efforts in Global Agenda-Setting

At the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly in late September, the leaders of China and Russia condemned western unilateralism (Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 28; UN.org, September 28). Chinese President Xi Jinping launched his week-long U.S. visit in Seattle, calling for “an... MORE

The End of China’s Play in the Canadian Oil Sandbox?

Only three years ago, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China’s third-largest national oil company (NOC), launched the largest-ever Chinese overseas takeover bid, offering $15.1 billion to buy Nexen Inc., Canada’s ninth-largest oil company. Together with China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec Group, China’s two... MORE

The ‘Triple Win’: Beijing’s Blueprint for International Industrial Capacity Cooperation

In his opening remarks at the World Economic Summit in Dalian on September 10, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang suggested the integration of a “new” diplomatic concept—international industrial capacity cooperation (产能合作)—into existing bilateral and multilateral frameworks (Phoenix News, September 10). This concept accompanies important reforms of... MORE

PLA Transformation: Difficult Military Reforms Begin

President Xi announced a 300,000-personnel reduction at the 70th anniversary military parade (China Military Online, September 3). The reduction represents the most significant element of the current military reforms so far made public. Less contentious elements of the reform plan regarding training, rules and regulations,... MORE

Rural China’s Public Security Vacuum

The month of August began for Chinese netizens with terrible news. Two siblings, aged 15 and 12, were murdered in a gruesome double homicide (QQ News Online, August 8). The story of the children’s murder struck a chord with the Chinese public, particularly because the... MORE