Flying Tigers: U.S. and China

MATT KIRSCHNER reflects on Chinese-American relations from a historical and personal perspective. Liu Zhengde was seven years old when Japanese soldiers invaded his home in Wuhan, China in 1938. Leaving their belongings behind, Zhengde and his family fled Wuhan for Chongqing—the provisional wartime capital of China. Zhengde’s father worked to support his three children, wife, sister, brother, sister-in-law, mother, and aunt. Together they lived in … Continue reading Flying Tigers: U.S. and China

Shifting Sands: A Re-examination of Israeli Policy Regarding America and China

HERMAN PENG analyzes Israel’s strategic partnerships with the US and China and offers advice for Israeli and American policy. Even to most well-versed readers of Chinese or Israeli history, Kaifeng and Shanghai probably bear little relation to Jewish history. These two Chinese cities — the former an old imperial capital tucked in Henan’s outer rim, the latter a megalopolis seated at the helm of China’s … Continue reading Shifting Sands: A Re-examination of Israeli Policy Regarding America and China

Southeast Asia’s Pivot to China

ADINA-LAURA ACHIM evaluates the warming relations between China and Southeast Asian nations. Southeast Asian nations like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the Philippines have found a reliable partner in China, the second largest economy in the world. Yet, Western media has often portrayed these partnerships as examples of China’s manipulation and debt-trap diplomacy. Analyzing relations between China and Southeast Asian nations only through a geopolitical lens … Continue reading Southeast Asia’s Pivot to China

Destroyers and Islands: The South China Sea and China’s New Strategy Abroad

JEFFREY FU revisits the South China Sea dispute to explore how the interplay of international law, economic power, and territorial ambition may be transforming China’s strategy. On September 30, 2018, a Chinese Luyang-class destroyer cut across the bow of an American destroyer, the USS Decatur, coming within 45 yards of collision before the Decatur maneuvered to avoid catastrophe. Such brazen disregard for maritime safety and American … Continue reading Destroyers and Islands: The South China Sea and China’s New Strategy Abroad

Enlightened Despot? Hybrid Legacy of Mao and Deng

ZHEYAN NI delves into Xi Jinping’s past to explain the present. In 1994, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s closest political aide and political strategist Wang Huning wrote in his diary, “Deng Xiaoping is practical and flexible while Mao Zedong is ambitious and idealistic.” Xi Jinping is trying to become both: a practical idealist leader of China. The highest figure of power in China always has a dual … Continue reading Enlightened Despot? Hybrid Legacy of Mao and Deng

The Future of Hong Kong: Adapting to Political Challenges

Hong Kong has long been a particularly important meeting point of different cultures. It has been a bridge between East and West, between communism and capitalism, and in some cases between autocracy and democracy. This dualistic interpretation of the territory obscures its actual complexity, but at the same time highlights some of its most striking features and successes. Born out of the height of the … Continue reading The Future of Hong Kong: Adapting to Political Challenges

Xi’s Green Thumb: China’s Modern Environmental Leadership

At the 19th Party Congress, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unveiled its latest plans for China. Central to the CCP’s vision of modernization and harmonious coexistence is the role which China will play in climate change and pollution mitigation, both domestically and globally, perhaps in response to the controversial withdrawal of the United States from The Paris Agreement in June 2017. President Xi Jinping’s stance … Continue reading Xi’s Green Thumb: China’s Modern Environmental Leadership

How the US Lost: China’s Growing Foothold in Africa

Over the past two decades, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has undergone extraordinary economic growth, transitioning from a low-income economy to an upper middle-income economy and maintaining its status as the largest contributor to global growth. Now the second largest economy in the world, China is playing an increasingly important role in the world’s economic affairs and development, not the least in Africa. While … Continue reading How the US Lost: China’s Growing Foothold in Africa

The Road to a Bilateral Investment Treaty

The Chinese foreign investment regulatory regime is notoriously restrictive. Multinational corporate giants in “vital industries and key fields” (Guiding Opinion Concerning the Advancements of State Capital and the Restructuring of State Owned Enterprises, PRC State Council, 2006; cited by 2010 Investment Climate Report, US State Department, 2010) such as telecommunications, aviation, and media find attempts to partner with and invest in Chinese companies repeatedly frustrated … Continue reading The Road to a Bilateral Investment Treaty

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Energy Club: A Collaborative Future for Nuclear Energy

As climate change wreaks increasing havoc on the world, alternative energy sources such as nuclear power become ever more attractive. However, since nuclear energy programs can be weaponized or used to transfer nuclear material to terrorist organizations and rogue states, their implementation can heighten regional tensions and undermine international relations. The recently established Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Energy Club provides an effective model for collaborative … Continue reading The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Energy Club: A Collaborative Future for Nuclear Energy