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.
Over 29,600 views on YouTube as of 31 March 2025!
Captain Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.), Director, China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), “China’s World-Class Navy ‘in the New Era’: Ends, Ways, Means,” Issues in National Security Lecture, Naval War College, 11 February 2025.
From the presenter himself—CMSI Director Chris Sharman:
China Navy Watchers: China seeks to build a World-Class […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Naval Leadership: Corruption and Capabilities,” Visiting Scholar Presentation, Fairbank Center, Harvard University, 14 April 2025.
14 April 2025 @ 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm, CGIS South, Room S050, 730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA 02138
Speaker: Andrew S. Erickson, Professor of Strategy, China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S. Naval War College
Regarding China’s ability to seize […]
J. Michael Dahm and Thomas Shugart, “Bridges Over Troubled Waters: Shuiqiao-Class Landing Barges in PLA Navy Amphibious Operations,” CMSI Note 14 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 20 March 2025).
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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
If you read one report about China’s military developments today, read CMSI […]
K. Tristan Tang, “PLA Navy Enhances Realistic Combat Training: Observations of PLA Navy Operations Around Taiwan,” CMSI Note 13 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 13 March 2025).
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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Navy Watchers: What might an increase in Chinese Navy operations around Taiwan suggest […]
Brilliant analysis by my China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) colleague. Illuminates critical topic: Taiwan-relevant China Maritime Militia developments right across the Strait in Fujian Province!
Ryan D. Martinson, “Fujian Unveils Incentives for Militia Training for a Cross-Strait Campaign,” Jamestown China Brief 25.5 (15 March 2025).
Executive Summary:
Fujian Province’s new “Measures for Guaranteeing Militia Rights and Interests” aim […]
Qian Xiaohu, Mo Xiaoliang, Wang Guanbiao, and Liu Bin, “Inscribing Loyalty While Endeavoring to Advance into the Deep Blue,” CMSI Translation 15 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 12 March 2025).
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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
The Party Committee aboard PLAN warships plays an […]
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, 14 March 2025.
American and Allied knowledge of the PRC’s Third Sea Force has come a long way since my outstanding Naval War College colleague Professor Conor Kennedy and I began our focused research following his arrival in Newport […]
In a new echo of U.S. construction of Mulberry Harbors to support the 1944 D-Day Invasion, China recently began construction of 3-5+ (perhaps 7 and counting) Shuiqiao bridge barges at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) Longxue Island shipyard in Guangdong Province, and has now been observed exercising with them—at a nearby beach close to the Southern […]
The Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI)’s publications are always free of charge, copyright-free, publicly released-distribution unlimited—and also available here!
CMSI publishes penetrating insights related to China’s military maritime developments through academic research using Chinese-language sources.
CMSI research informs U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps civilian and military leaders, and educates the joint force’s next […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “Adversaries and Planning Assumptions: China’s Navy and the Post-Cold War World,” in Evan Wilson and Paul Kennedy, eds., Planning for War at Sea: 400 Years of Great Power Competition (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2025), 317–39.
This chapter explains how and why the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) […]
Click here to watch on YouTube!
While the China-Russia relationship has deepened significantly since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to support Russia in Ukraine, marking a new level of military cooperation between the three countries. This has helped cement a “triangular” relationship reminiscent of the Cold War era. […]
Honored to publish lead book review in new double issue of Naval War College Review (combined Summer and Autumn 2024 edition) marking the 140th anniversary of the Naval War College’s founding!
Here are concise assessments of Xiaobing Li’s tour de force, “China’s New Navy,” as well as Toshi Yoshihara’s magnum opus, “Mao’s Army Goes to Sea.” […]
Honored to see our new coedited volume “Chinese Amphibious Warfare” added to the Commandant of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program’s 2025 Reading List!
Chinese Amphibious Warfare: Prospects for a Cross-Strait Invasion by Andrew S. Erickson, et al.
This study explores key questions concerning Beijing’s determined pursuit of the Chinese Communist Party’s ultimate political and strategic prize: […]
Ryan D. Martinson, “War without Surprises—Education for Command in the People’s Liberation Army Navy,” Naval War College Review 77.3 (Summer/Autumn 2024): 14–27.
In the lead article for a special double issue of Naval War College Review, published in commemoration of the Naval War College’s 140th anniversary, CMSI Professor Ryan Martinson analyzes the professional development of China’s […]
Ian Easton, “Finally, A PLA Navy Missile Gap?” CMSI Note 12 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 20 February 2025).
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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
CMSI is pleased to provide you with our latest CMSI Note.
This short CMSI Note is written about a special report published this month 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 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 drop…
For analysis of Chinese […]
Jonathan Robinson, The PLA Navy’s Hospital Ship Fleet: Concerns, Developments, and Future Prospects, China Maritime Report 45 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 10 February 2025).
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
What do you know about the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) hospital ship fleet? What ships are a part of the PRC’s hospital ship […]
Liu Xue and Li Mingyu, “Manual for Developing Ship Captains,” CMSI Translation 14 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 6 February 2025).
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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
How much do you know about the training, career path, and development of People’s Liberation Army Navy […]
Christopher H. Sharman and Andrew S. Erickson, Dirty But Preparing to Fight: VADM Li Pengcheng’s Downfall Amid Increasing PLAN Readiness, China Maritime Report 44 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 24 January 2025).
Naval War College’s second-most-popular publication with over 1,700 downloads and counting.
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
The drumbeat of China’s Navy leaders purged for […]
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
