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.
Lt. Cdr. Matthew Harper, “Chinese Missiles and the Walmart Factor,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 137.7 (July 2011): 16-21.
Scenarios of a military conflict with a rising China are pointless if they leave out a glaring detail—the global economy.
Multiple news outlets recently carried stories about a Chinese antiship ballistic missile (ASBM) that could target U.S. aircraft carriers […]
Abraham M. Denmark, Andrew S. Erickson, and Gabriel Collins; Jean-Clément Nau, translator, “Faut-il avoir peur du nouveau porte-avions chinois?” [Should We Be Afraid of China’s New Aircraft Carrier? Not yet.], Foreign Policy, 5 July 2011.
For original English-language article, see Abraham M. Denmark, Andrew S. Erickson, and Gabriel Collins, “Should We Be Afraid of China’s New […]
Michael D. Swaine, America’s Challenge: Engaging a Rising China in the Twenty-First Century (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2011).
Michael D. Swaine is a senior associate in the Carnegie Endowment’s Asia Program. The author of more than ten monographs on security policy in the region, Swaine is one of the most prominent U.S. analysts […]
Dave Majumdar, “China Nears Jet Engine Breakthrough: Report,” Defense News, 30 June 2011.
In a paper released earlier this week, analysts at China Signpost argue that the Chinese are on the verge of making a breakthrough in jet engine technology, traditionally one of that nation’s weak points in developing modern fighters.
“We estimate that based on […]
Michael Richardson, “China Flexes Maritime Muscle to ‘Win war Without Fighting’,” Canberra Times, 29 June 2011.
More ships – including aircraft carriers – are entering the Chinese fleet.
As China prepares to start sea trials of its first aircraft carrier, possibly as early as this Friday to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the ruling Communist […]
Amando Doronila, “China’s Worst-Kept Secret Naval Weapon,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 28 June 2011.
SINGAPORE—ON June 8, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily News reported that Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), had confirmed that China was building an aircraft carrier, marking the first acknowledgement of the ship’s existence by the country’s secretive […]
Our Overall Thoughts: China’s ‘Starter Carrier’
A newly-wed couple wants a ‘starter home,’ a new great power wants a ‘starter carrier.’ Before foreign strategists start hyperventilating about the “beginning of the end,” a deep breath is needed. China’s ‘starter carrier’ is of very limited military utility, and will primarily serve to confer prestige on a rising […]
James Holmes, “Blue Water Dreams: Why China Wants an Aircraft Carrier,” Foreign Policy, 27 June 2011.
On a visit to Washington this month, Chinese Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff, confirmed what Asahi Shimbun and the Financial Times reported last December: China, he said, has officially committed itself to deploying aircraft-carrier […]
Josh Chin, “China Watch: Sina’s Big Weibo Dream, High Speed Ride,” China Real Time Report, Wall Street Journal, 27 June 2011.
A daily list of the best of The Wall Street Journal’s China coverage and what the Journal’s reporters in China are reading and watching online. …
Nearing take-off? As much as you ever wanted to know […]
Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “Jet Engine Development in China: Indigenous high-performance turbofans are a final step toward fully independent fighter production,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 39 (26 June 2011)
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Deep Dive—Special In-Depth Report #2
Executive Summary:
–Engines commonly used in Chinese and other modern aircraft may be divided into several major categories: […]
Feng, “Is J-15 a Game Changer?” Information Dissemination, 25 June 2011.
I often see articles on the web warning of the impending Chinese naval power and the impact on American’s naval dominance. I find most of them to be badly written and low on facts. However, there are some authors how have followed PLAN for a […]
Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011).
Kindle edition now available!
Japanese summary translation now available: 中国の航空宇宙パワー海洋任務への発展.
Highlighted in GlobalSecurity.org’s Special Selections.
Andrew S. Erickson, “Beijing’s Aerospace Revolution: Short-Range Opportunities, Long-Range Challenges,” 3–18.
Andrew S. Erickson and Jingdong Yuan, “Antiaccess and China’s Air-Launched Cruise Missiles,” 275–86.
Andrew S. Erickson and David Yang, “Chinese […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s J-15 No Game Changer,” The Diplomat, 23 June 2011.
Following is a guest entry from Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, co-founders of China Sign Post.
Gen. Chen Bingde, Chief of Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has reportedly said that, for the first time, a Chinese ‘aircraft carrier is […]
Under the leadership of Profs. Joe Maiolo and Thomas Mahnken, as well as Prof. Timothy Hoyt, Journal of Strategic Studies boasts a rare combination of intellectual rigor, empirical richness, and policy relevance that other political science- and history-related publications would do well to emulate. Led by noted China technology scholar Dr. Tai Ming Cheung, whose […]
Dennis J. Blasko, “‘Technology Determines Tactics’: The Relationship between Technology and Doctrine in Chinese Military Thinking,” Journal of Strategic Studies, 34.3 (June 2011): 355-81.
Does ‘doctrine drive technology’ or does ‘technology drive doctrine’? For the United States with its advanced industrial and technological base, many examples of ‘doctrine driving technology’ can be found. For the […]
Tai Ming Cheung, “The Chinese Defense Economy’s Long March from Imitation to Innovation,” Journal of Strategic Studies, 34.3 (June 2011): 325-54.
China’s defense economy has been vigorously developing a comprehensive set of innovation capabilities that will eventually allow it to join the world’s top tier of military technological powers. China’s target is to catch up by […]
Leo Lewis, “Diabetes May Thwart China’s Grand Plan,” The Australian, 21 June 2011.
MORE than 92 million Chinese live under the cloud of diabetes. It is also why Beijing’s grand visions for flotillas of aircraft carriers and fleets of stealth fighters could ultimately be crushed by a simple can of fizzy drink.
What this statistic shows […]
Thomas G. Mahnken, “China’s Anti-Access Strategy in Historical and Theoretical Perspective,” Journal of Strategic Studies, 34.3 (June 2011): 299 – 323.
This article views China’s development of anti-access capabilities against the backdrop of the theory and history of military innovation. It begins with a discussion of the process of military innovation, as well as the indicators […]
Michael C. Horowitz, The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
The Diffusion of Military Power examines how the financial and organizational challenges of adopting new methods of fighting wars can influence the international balance of power. Michael Horowitz argues that a state or actor wishing to […]
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
