What Did China Bring to the Iran Talks?

Shannon Tiezzi
Diplomat
While China stood with the Western powers in insisting Iran give up its ambitions for nuclear weapons, Beijing took Iran’s side in calling for more rapid sanctions relief.

China Calls Japan Foreign Policy 'Two-faced'

Thomas Peter
Reuters
China's Defense Ministry says it reserves the right to a "necessary reaction" after Japan called on Beijing to stop building oil and gas exploration platforms close to disputed waters.

China Probes Senior Xinjiang Security Official For Graft

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
A deputy regional security chief and former head of the prison system, Xie Hui, in Xinjiang has been put under investigation for suspected corruption.

Japan Sharpens Censure of China Disputed Sea Activity

BBC
Japan is nearing approval of changes to a national security law that would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War II.

Two Way Street

07.20.15

How China and the U.S. Will Manage Competition for Influence

Ian Bremmer from Two Way Street
Washington refuses to accept that though the United States is not in decline, its international influence is not what it was. It is unlikely to regain the leverage it once wielded, because China and so many others now have more than enough economic...

Xi Warns China Military Amid Anti-Corruption Purge

Charles Clover
Financial Times
Xi delivered the stern message to the home unit of Xu Caihou, formerly one of China’s highest ranking generals, arrested last year for bribery scandal.

China Warns Japan Over Laws to Allow Troops to Fight Abroad

Julian Borger
Guardian
China warns Japan against “crippling regional peace and security” after Tokyo passes bills to allow Japanese troops to fight abroad.

Google Alters Name of Disputed South China Sea Reef

Katie Hunt
CNN
Google says it has altered its map of a disputed reef in the South China Sea, removing its Chinese name in favor of what it says is its internationally recognized moniker.

Two Way Street

07.09.15

The ‘Two Orders’ and the Future of China-U.S. Relations

Wang Jisi from Two Way Street
The China-U.S. relationship may be the most complex relationship that has ever existed between two major powers. Ties between China and the United States are deepening, and at every level the interaction between the two countries is marked by both...

China, Africa, and the Indian Ocean: A New Balance of Power

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
For centuries the Indian Ocean was a vital conduit in the British empire, connecting colonies in South Asia with Africa as part of a vast imperial network. Today, the Indian Ocean once again plays as a vital role in an emerging global trading empire...

The Philippines Takes China to Court

Al Jazeera
The Philippines argued at a closed that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over rights to exploit natural resources and fish in the South China Sea.

Both China and Taiwan Have South China Sea Obligations

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China and Taiwan share claims to the South China Sea, a legacy of the civil war when the Communists beat the Nationalists and took control of the mainland in 1949.

Books

07.07.15

Meeting China Halfway

Lyle J. Goldstein
Though a U.S.–China conflict is far from inevitable, major tensions are building in the Asia-Pacific region. These strains are the result of historical enmity, cultural divergence, and deep ideological estrangement, not to mention apprehensions fueled by geopolitical competition and the closely related "security dilemma." Despite worrying signs of intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing, few observers have provided concrete paradigms to lead this troubled relationship away from disaster. Meeting China Halfway: How to Defuse the Emerging US-China Rivalry is dramatically different from any other book about U.S.-China relations. Lyle J. Goldstein's explicit focus in almost every chapter is on laying bare both U.S. and Chinese perceptions of where their interests clash and proposing new paths to ease bilateral tensions through compromise. Each chapter contains a “cooperation spiral”―the opposite of an escalation spiral―to illustrate the policy proposals. Goldstein not only parses findings from the latest American scholarship but also breaks new ground by analyzing hundreds of Chinese-language sources, including military publications, never before evaluated by Western experts. Goldstein makes one hundred policy proposals over the course of this book, not because these are the only solutions to arresting the alarming course toward conflict, but rather to inaugurate a genuine debate regarding cooperative policy solutions to the most vexing problems in U.S.-China relations. ―Georgetown University Press {chop}

Philippines Ramps Up Military Spending in Face of China Threat

MANUEL MOGATO
Reuters
The Philippines plans to ramp up military spending over the next 13 years, earmaking more than $20 billion in face of Beijing's maritime ambitions in the disputed South China Sea. 

South China Sea Dispute Between China, Philippines Heads To Court

TOBY STERLING
Reuters
The Philippines argued at a closed hearing on Tuesday that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over the right in the South China Sea. 

China’s Expanding Military Presence in Africa

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
China is steadily expanding its military footprint in Africa, highlighted by the recent deployment of 700 combat-ready troops to join a multinational peacekeeping operation in South Sudan. In all, the People’s Liberation Army and Navy now have an...

Beijing's National Security Law Could Create New Tensions

Michelle FlorCruz
International Business Times
China adopted a national security law which defines issues in cyberspace, outer space, the deep sea and, the South China Sea, as areas it has the right to defend.

China: The Indian Ocean can’t be India’s backyard

Business Insider
Chinese military officials warn that the Indian Ocean is not India's "backyard" and may result in clashes.

China Nears Completion of Controversial Airstrip in South China Sea

Oliver Holmes
Guardian
The runway is large enough for heavy military transport planes and fighters. It is only a third complete, showing that it has since been constructed at a rapid rate.

China Parliament Ratifies BRICS Bank Agreement

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
The BRICS Bank, is one of two international development banks that China is promoting as an alternative to western institutions such as the World Bank.

China Invites Kim Jong Un to Beijing in September

Alastair Gale
Wall Street Journal
China has invited Kim Jong Un to attend events in Beijing in September to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

See China’s Rapid Island-Building Strategy in Action

Kevin Uhrmarcher, Kevin Schaul and...
Washington Post
New satellite imagery of remote islands in the South China Sea shows Chinese island-building projects and how attention has turned to building military bases.

Beijing Works to Calm Tumbling Stock Market

Gabriel Wildau and Josh Noble
Financial Times
Beijing will do whatever it takes to avert a collapse in the stock market; authorities have already taken steps to boost sentiment and liquidity, including an interest rate cut.

Russia Delivers Submarine To Vietnam For Defense Over South China Sea Dispute

Elizabeth Whitman
International Business Times
The submarines are Vietnam's effort to deter China's military from building up in the South China Sea.

'Ghost Fleet' Depicts War Between China, U.S.

Tom Risen
USA Today
Peter Singer and August Cole expand their research as analysts into the realm of imagination about a future that could find the U.S. at war with China.

Books

06.25.15

City of Virtues

Chuck Wooldridge
Throughout Nanjing’s history, writers have claimed that its spectacular landscape of mountains and rivers imbued the city with “royal qi,” making it a place of great political significance. City of Virtues examines the ways a series of visionaries, drawing on past glories of the city, projected their ideologies onto Nanjing as they constructed buildings, performed rituals, and reworked the literary heritage of the city. More than an urban history of Nanjing from the late 18th century until 1911―encompassing the Opium War, the Taiping occupation of the city, the rebuilding of the city by Zeng Guofan, and attempts to establish it as the capital of the Republic of China―this study shows how utopian visions of the cosmos shaped Nanjing’s path through the turbulent 19th century.―University of Washington Press{chop}

China Aims to Move Beijing Government Out of City’s Crowded Core

Ian Johnson
New York Times
Officials finalize plans to move Beijing’s municipal government, including tens of thousands of civil servants to Tongzhou.

China Military Declines to Confirm Djibouti Base Plan

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
Though all countries have an interest in region peace and stability says China's Defense Ministry, it declines to confirm Djibouti military base.

China Invites Former Soldiers in Taiwan to War Commemorations

Ben Blanchard and Nick Macfie
Reuters
China welcomes former soldiers in Taiwan who fought against Japan in WWII to take part in the commemorations, 70 years after the war.

China Voice: Cooperation Prevails Over Confrontation in China-U.S. Ties

Xinhua
The dialogues will help pave the way for President Xi Jinping's state visit to the U.S. in September.

The Truth About China’s South China Sea Land Reclamation Announcement

Prashanth Parameswaran
Diplomat
China's building of artificial islands is illegal and detrimental to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

China to Halt Its Building of Islands, but Not Its Projects on Them

Edward Wong
New York Times
China will soon halt island building in the South China Sea but will continue constructing military and civilian facilities.

China Military Says Two More top Officers Probed for Graft

Reuters
Serving and retired Chinese military officers have said military graft is so pervasive it could undermine China's ability to wage war.

Former CIA Chief Says Government Data Breach Could Help China Recruit Spies

Damian Paletta
Wall Street Journal
Retired Gen. Michael Hayden calls records a ‘legitimate foreign intelligence target’.

Hong Kong Police Detain 9 After Finding Materials for Explosives

Alan Wong and Austin Ramzy
New York Times
Police linked the arrests to the most strident local voices against the Chinese government.

Conversation

06.11.15

How Will Beijing Treat Myanmar’s Symbol of Democracy?

Jurgen Haacke & David Mathieson
Burmese opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who spent 15 years under house arrest in Myanmar, is visiting the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing for five days this week, through Sunday. Also courted by...

Top Leaders to Host Suu Kyi on Her 1st Visit to China

Louise Watt
Associated Press
The five-day visit includes no public appearances and gives Beijing a chance to get to know Suu Kyi as her country has shifted toward the West.

Sale of High-Tech Battery Plants to China May Haunt Hillary Clinton

Todd Spangler
Detroit Free Press
@tsspangler http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/06/05/clinton-sale-michigan-china-gop/28525387/

Postcard

06.03.15

Beijing Autumn

Ilaria Maria Sala
Then even August ended. China was disappearing from the news, as portentous events elsewhere thrust themselves to the forefront.South Africa had started to come out of the dark age of apartheid. Eastern Europe had begun the march to unshackle itself...

Divers Comb Capsized China Ship, Hopes Fade for Survivors

John Ruwitch, Engen Tham
Reuters
Rescuers have not slackened off, even though about 200 divers face difficulties such as cabin doors blocked by tables and beds.

China Voice: South China Sea Issue Should not Hinder China-U.S. Ties

Xinhua
A U.S. anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft flew over waters off China's Nansha Islands last month.

The Ultimate Irony: Is China the ‘America’ of Asia?

Doug Bandow
National Interest
Beijing’s claims in Asia are as valid as those made by the U.S. States against Mexico and Great Britain in the mid-19th century.

China Cares Little for Other Countries’ Territorial Claims

Steve Tsang
Guardian
Beijing’s actions in building man-made islands in the South China Sea are motivated by a desire to impose its sovereignty.

Conversation

05.29.15

Did the Game Just Change in the South China Sea? (And What Should the U.S. Do About It?)

Yanmei Xie , Andrew S. Erickson & more
As the 14th annual Asia Security Summit—or the Shangri-La Dialogue, as it has come to be known—gets underway in Singapore, we asked contributors to comment on what appears to be a recent escalation in tensions between the U.S. and China over the two...

Two Way Street

05.28.15

What China’s Lack of Transparency Means for U.S. Policy

Susan Shirk from Two Way Street
I am a political scientist and former diplomat who has studied China for more than forty years, and yet I still can’t answer some of my students’ most basic questions about China’s policy-making process. Where—in which institutional arena and at...

How America Should Respond to China’s Moves in the South China Sea

J. Randy Forbes
National Interest
U.S. military superiority is required to keep the Asia-Pacific region from getting out of hand. 

Why the U.S. Needs to Listen to China

Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Robert E. Rubin
Atlantic
And why China needs to listen to the U.S. The importance of the mutual economic criticisms between two major world powers.

Environment

05.19.15

Dredging For Disaster

from Foreign Policy
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea. On May 16, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Beijing for talks which will likely focus on the territorial disputes. But China’s controversial effort to assert its sovereignty in the South China...

The Worrying Rise of Anti-China Discourse in the US

Chen Dingding
Diplomat
Forget U.S. patrols in the South China Sea. This is the real threat to U.S.-China relations.

Despite Tension, Xi says U.S.-China Relations are Stable

David Brunnstrom
Reuters
John Kerry's trip has been dominated by security concerns about Beijing’s maritime ambitions in the So China Sea.

Indians From All Over China Are Flocking to Shanghai to Hear Their Prime Minister Speak

Rishi Iyengar
Time
More than 5,000 Indian expats are expected to attend an event on Saturday.

Kerry Expected to Bring Up China’s Sea Claims During Visit

Andrew Jacobs
New York Times
The U.S. might send ships and aircraft to within 12 nautical miles of built-up reefs near the Philippines.

Dredging For Disaster

Foreign Policy
Beijing’s massive So. China Sea island-building is destroying the region’s irreplaceable coral reefs.

U.S., China Set for High-Stakes Rivalry in Skies Above South China Sea

Greg Torode
Reuters
Experts say it's increasingly likley that Beijing will declare an Air Defense Identification Zone in the area.

China Economy Loses More Steam in April, Further Stimulus on the Cards

Kevin Yao
Reuters
China's money supply grew at its slowest pace on record in April and investment growth sank to its lowest in 15 years.

How the South China Sea Could help Beijing Level the Nuclear Playing Field

Will Englund
Washington Post
China bases its nuclear submarines, including the four equipped to launch ballistic missiles, on Hainan Island.

Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping Aim to Shelve Rifts Amid Economic Courtship

Ellen Barry and Chris Buckley
New York Times
Indian and Chinese officials are promoting Modi’s three-day visit as a business trip filled out with displays of good will.

Why China and India Just Can’t Get Along

Hannah Beech
Time
A stunning dearth of fraternal ties exist between the two Asian superpowers.

U.S. Gambit Risks Conflict With China

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Option to challenge Beijing in South China Sea is fraught with danger.

China Lashes Out Over U.S. Plan on South China Sea

Eva Dou and James Hookway
Wall Street Journal
Pentagon proposal to use aircraft and Navy vessels in region prompts swift response: ‘We are severely concerned’.