China's rapid development is reshaping the world in all dimensions. Chinese language open sources offer insights into these critical trends. While such materials are increasing constantly in number, diversity, and sophistication, only a fraction is available in English. The analyses available here, many based on sources not previously considered outside China, are designed to help bridge that gap--and thereby increase understanding of the most dynamic great power in the international system today.
Wendell Minnick, “Sea Trials Expected for China’s 1st Carrier,” Defense News, 18 April 2011.
TAIPEI — China is expected to begin harbor trials of its first aircraft carrier this summer, with near-sea and open-sea trials starting next year, a Taiwan defense official said.
But aircraft for the Soviet-built Varyag are not expected to be ready […]
China’s Strategy for the Near Seas
U.S. Naval War College
McCarty Little Hall Auditorium
Newport, Rhode Island
May 10-11, 2011
This Event is Open to U.S. Citizens Only
By Invitation
The annual conference of the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) is a key function of the institute and has the aim of […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Southeast Trade Winds: East Coast and South Experienced Fastest Value-Adjusted Growth of All U.S. Regions in Exports to China over Past Decade,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 33 (14 April 2011).
China SignPost analyzed the data for U.S. exports to China by state from the 2010 U.S. Exports to China by State […]
Cdr. Paul Giarra, USN (Ret.), “The Naval War College Review: Why Tom’s Harsh Assessment is Off Target,” The Best Defense: Tom Ricks’s Daily Take on National Security, 7 April 2011.
The short answer as to why you are wrong about the Naval War College Review is that, just as one example, even if the Review did […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China Defense White Paper 2010: Better Transparency, But What Key Developments Were Left Out of the Discussion?” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 32 (5 April 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Reprinted as: Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Grading China’s Military Plans,” The Diplomat, 9 April 2011.
China’s National Defense in 2010 […]
Wendell Minnick, “China’s New White Paper Hints at Joint Ops,” Defense News, 4 April 2011.
TAIPEI — China’s air force and navy may be emerging from the shadow of the People’s Liberation Army, according to the latest version of China’s biennial defense white paper.
Released March 31 by China’s Information Office of the State Council, the paper […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China Aims to More Than Triple Its Oil & Gas Production in the South China Sea over the Next 10 Years,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 31 (3 April 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
New deepwater oil & gas exploration and production will likely complicate the South China Sea maritime security […]
Adam Segal, “China’s National Defense: ‘Intricate and Volatile’,” Asia Unbound Blog, Council on Foreign Relations, 1 April 2011.
China, in an ongoing bid to be more transparent about its military modernization, released the 2010 defense white paper, China’s National Defense in 2010, this week. …
After a quick reading, two things stand out. First, as Andrew Erickson […]
Edward Wong and Jonathan Ansfield, “China Lays Out Vision for Its Military,” New York Times, 31 March 2011.
BEIJING — The Chinese military said Thursday that while the security situation in Asia and the Pacific was generally stable it was becoming “more intricate and volatile,” with no clear solutions for tension points like the divided Korean […]
Full Text (English): Defense White Paper “China’s National Defense in 2010”
Full Text (Chinese):《2010年中国的国防》白皮书
China’s 2010 Defense White Paper follows a pattern by now well-established in these biannual reports on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). It offers some new details not present in the previous report, but stops well short of offering the degree of detail that […]
Andrew Erickson, Lyle Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, “When Land Powers Look Seaward,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 137.4 (April 2011): 18-23.
Japanese translation now available: 大陸国家が海洋を目指す時.
How does a traditional land power like China make the transformation to major maritime player? Andrew Erickson, Lyle Goldstein, and Carnes Lord of the Naval War College suggest that China can draw […]
Michael McDevitt and Frederic Vellucci, “Two Vectors, One Navy,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 137.4 (April 2011).
Aside from a strong national defense, world peace is now part of China’s official military mission. Serving both, its fleet could eventually resemble the U.S. Navy.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) development is best understood as proceeding on two separate […]
Lieutenant Colonel Daniel J. Kostecka, U.S. Air Force Reserve, “A Bogus Asian Pearl,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 137.4 (April 2011).
If closely assayed, the port at Gwadar, Pakistan—touted as part of China’s string of maritime gems—loses its luster, looking more like a counterfeit than the real thing.
China’s investment in the construction of the Port of Gwadar […]
James R. Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara, “Mao’s ‘Active Defense’ Is Turning Offensive,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 137.4 (April 2011).
When Alexander Gardner made this carte de visite at his studio in Washington on 5 February 1865, President Abraham Lincoln had the look of a war-worn leader. It was the last photograph taken of the President before […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “The Saudi Arabia of Corn: Reduce U.S. Ethanol Production and Boost Corn Exports to China to Trim the Trade Deficit and Ensure China’s Food Security,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 30 (28 March 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
In 2010, the U.S. used roughly 138 million tonnes of corn to produce […]
Michael S. Chase, “Defense and Deterrence in China’s Military Space Strategy,” Jamestown China Brief, 11.5 (25 March 2011).
China’s theory of space deterrence may be a work in progress, but Beijing is already developing an impressive array of counter-space systems. Indeed, the capabilities that China is working on go beyond the direct ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon, […]
Having participated in the second round of this exceptional program, I could not recommend it more highly! Here is complete application information:
NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON UNITED STATES–CHINA RELATIONS
71 West 23rd Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10010-4102 (212) 645-9677 Fax: (212) 645-1695 info@ncuscr.org
Celebrating 45 | Promoting Constructive Engagement Since 1966
Public Intellectuals Program, 2011-2013
Call for […]
“NWC Professors Publish Book on U.S.-China Maritime Relations,” Naval War College Public Affairs, 24 March 2011.
NEWPORT, R.I. – Three members of the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) collaborated on a recently released book titled, “China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power,” which explores areas of mutual maritime interest between the […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Sources Discuss the ASBM Threat to the U.S. Navy,” presented at China Maritime Studies Institute Lecture of Opportunity, Naval War College, 21 March 2011.
Click here for an adaptive version of the video on Vimeo, as well as the latest sources and analysis.
Click here for a link to videos of this and other CMSI […]
Chinese Undersea Warfare: Development, Capabilities, Trends
Maritime Gray Zone Operations: Challenges and Countermeasures in the Indo-Pacific
Oxford Bibliography: “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)”
China’s Climate Cooperation Smokescreen: A Roadmap for Seeing Through the Trap and Countering with Competition
Large-Scale Amphibious Warfare in Chinese Military Strategy
Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific
China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities
Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Development: Drivers, Trajectories and Strategic Implications
Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism: Implications for the United States, China, and the Asia-Pacific Region
Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles
China’s S-Curve Trajectory: Structural Factors Will Likely Slow the Growth of China’s Economy and Comprehensive National Power
China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership
China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective
China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Bejing’s Maritime Policies
China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force
Chinese Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy 'Assassin’s Mace' Capability
China’s Nuclear Force Modernization
