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.
Since Xi assumed power in 2012, an extraordinary array of flag and general officers, as well as defense industry leaders, has been removed. By my running tally, this includes:
15+ senior military officials & defense industry executives.
8 CMC members, including Vice Chairman General He Weidong.
15+ military deputies to National People’s Congress (since March 2023 alone).
79+ senior […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “L’humain, nouveau moteur de la puissance navale chinoise” [People, The New Engine of Chinese Naval Power], Marine & Océans Magazine 287 (Juin [June] 2025): 16–19.
Former pour dominer: Pékin investit dans l’humain pour renforcer sa puissance navale. En mai dernier, le China Maritime Studies Institute – un institut américain spécialisé dans l’analyse des […]
Hollie McKay, “Beijing’s Rare Disclosure on DF-5B Missile Signals Shift in Nuclear Messaging,” The Cipher Brief, 30 June 2025.
“While the original DF-5 missile, developed during the Cold War, was outfitted with a single warhead, the DF-5B’s multi-warhead capacity—alongside its purported accuracy within 500 meters—represents a significant leap in China’s second-strike capability and nuclear survivability.”
“Andrew Erickson, […]
As we wind through the Year of the Snake, China under Xi is steaming full speed ahead, particularly at sea. Navigate troubled Indo-Pacific waters by consulting the latest version of Modern Chinese Maritime Forces, released today! This most recent iteration of the Second Edition includes sections for PLA Army (pp. 63–75) and PLA Air Force […]
Andrew S. Erickson and Christopher H. Sharman, “PLAN Chief of Staff VADM Li Hanjun: Fast-Rising Star of Training and Education Extinguished,” CMSI Note 15 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 30 June 2025).
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A CACHED PDF COPY.
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Navy Watchers: Another senior People’s Liberation Army Navy […]
Ryan D. Martinson, “Exposed Undersea: PLA Navy Officer Reflections on China’s Not-So-Silent Service,” Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), 24 June 2025.
From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
What do PLAN officers tell themselves about the capabilities of U.S. undersea surveillance systems? What are the acoustic vulnerabilities of PLAN submarines? Moreover, how should the PLAN […]
Thanks to Brian Kerg and CIMSEC for a great opportunity!
Honored that “Chinese Amphibious Warfare” has been named the Samuel B. Griffith Foundation’s 2025 Publication of the Year and selected for the Commandant of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program’s 2025 Reading List.
Download a free copy here!
I’ve summarized our book’s key findings in The Diplomat. Click […]
Zhao Jiaxu and Huang Chunyu, “Lessons and Thoughts from the Struggle for Command of the Sea in the Red Sea,” CMSI Translation 19 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 3 June 2025).
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A CACHED COPY.
From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China Navy Watchers: China’s Navy is learning […]
Andrew S. Erickson, The People of China’s Navy and Other Maritime Forces: Extended Summary of Conference Findings, China Maritime Report 47 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 28 May 2025).
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A CACHED PDF.
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Maritime Watchers: Want to read the findings from the China Maritime Studies […]
The Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) has just released the Quick Look summary of its 14–15 May 2025 Conference on “The People of China’s Navy and Other Maritime Forces.”
Excerpts selected by CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
Xi Jinping is China’s first great “navalist” statesman. He considers willingness to embrace the […]
Li Muqiang, Yang Fulong, Qu Bin, and Zhai Dengqian, “Combine Wisdom and Join Efforts, Training in a Sea of Mines, ‘Pioneers of Breaking Obstacles’,” CMSI Translation 18 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 21 May 2025).
A Minesweeper Unit from the Northern Theater Command Navy Establishes a Joint Teaching and Training Mechanism with an Educational […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “Imposing the Fate of Sisyphus? The PLA as An Instrument of National Power and Force Preparation toward Taiwan,” in Benjamin Frohman and Jeremy Rausch, eds., The PLA in a Complex Security Environment: Preparing for High Winds and Choppy Waters (Seattle, WA: National Bureau of Asian Research, 15 May 2025), 149–74.
CLICK HERE TO […]
NEWPORT, R.I. – Panelists discuss senior leadership of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) at the U.S. Naval War College’s (NWC) 14th biennial China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) Conference, held onboard Naval Station Newport, May 14-15. Biennial CMSI conferences serve to stimulate focused research and foster dialogue among topic experts resulting in enhanced understanding and […]
China’s State Council Information Office (SCIO) just posted a white paper titled “China’s National Security in the New Era.” The English notification and abstract are below; followed by a very rough English-language translation and the full text in the original Chinese.
Perhaps the most interesting section, Chapter VI elaborates on China’s National Security System (国家安全体系和能力) and […]
John Chen and Joel Wuthnow, Sea Dragons: Special Operations and Chinese Military Strategy, Naval War College China Maritime Study 18 (9 May 2025).
Click here to download a cached PDF copy.
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
This Red Book dives into a topic that is rarely discussed and almost never researched, the PLA’s naval special operations forces’ most […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s New Liaowang-1 Space Support Ship: Defensive and Offensive Capabilities from Sea to Satellites,” 19FortyFive, 8 May 2025.
Big splash! The People’s Republic of China (PRC) just fielded the world’s largest space support ship by far. Designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation at Jiangnan Shipyard on Shanghai’s Changxing Island, Liaowang-1 (IMO 1063607) […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “Tracking China’s ‘Little Blue Men’—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 7 May 2025.
American and Allied knowledge of the PRC’s Third Sea Force has come a long way since my outstanding former Naval War College colleague Professor Conor Kennedy and I began our focused research following his arrival in […]
Read the latest and greatest from my brilliant my Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) colleague Prof. Ryan Martinson! Review his unique insights on PLA maritime strategy and PLA Navy personnel issues as we analyze the fall of Admiral Miao Hua (苗华) and Vice Admiral Li Pengcheng (李鹏程) and watch for more shoes to […]
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 24 April 2025).
Having trouble accessing the website above? Please download a cached copy here!
You can also click here to access the report via the public CRS website.
SUMMARY
China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is the top focus […]
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
