Ideas

China’s chip chokepoints

The U.S. and its allies have leverage in the competition to build advanced microchips.

Ideas

How Russia, China envision nuking US satellites: from above and below

As the Pentagon builds huge constellations to shrug off conventional ASAT weapons, potential adversaries are taking things to a terrifying new level.

Ideas

What reports got wrong about China’s ‘sunken nuclear submarine’

Western news organizations often miss crucial context—and even the real news—about Chinese military modernization.

Ideas

China claims breakthroughs in autonomous vehicles

If Chinese companies succeed in solidifying their dominance of the autonomous vehicle and LiDAR markets, the security implications are profound.

Ideas

China’s latest aircraft carrier is much more than a big ship

Along with technical and operational advances, the Fujian represents a response to 19th-century humiliation.

Threats

A new breakthrough could deepen US troops' dependence on Chinese batteries

The Qingdao Institute reports a new manufacturing technique that enables cells to charge quicker and age slower.

Threats

'Fast movers': Chinese satellites zoom around for inspections—or interference

In a previously unreported incident, one of China's maneuvering satellites was tracked and approached by a Russian one.

Ideas

Farewell to China’s Strategic Support Force. Let’s meet its replacements

The PLA axes an organization once hailed as evidence of innovation.

Ideas

China’s nascent railgun is just the tip of its shipboard R&D

Meet the lab working to equip PLAN warships with vast amounts of electrical power.

Science & Tech

China is building its own Starlink—even as questions surround Musk's constellation

A recent rocket launch lofted satellites for a Chinese service to mimic SpaceX, which was slammed this weekend by a top U.S. lawmaker.

Ideas

How China is winning the Middle East

China is working to present itself as a responsible alternative to the U.S. in the Middle East, just as many are questioning Washington’s long-term commitment to the region.

Ideas

We have China’s ‘anti-access’ challenge exactly backward

Stronger regional security depends on getting this right—then setting aside our wants for our needs.

Ideas

Size isn’t everything: China’s new chip is less earthshaking than you may have heard

It’s one thing to make circuits smaller than the US will sell you; it’s another to do it at scale.

Ideas

China is honing runway-repair teams

In a Pacific conflict, sustained air operations will turn on the ability to keep airfields open.

Ideas

China’s war planners are leaning harder on its militia

The PLA’s reserve auxiliary force dwarfs the regular military, but is understudied and too often overlooked.

Ideas

What Venezuela’s moonbase vow says about China, Russia, and the USA

Caracas’ participation in the International Lunar Research Station is more than merely symbolic.

Ideas

China Is Gearing Up to Evade Chip-Export Rules

As one avenue for China to illicitly acquire high-end dual use technology dries up, watch for others to expand.

Ideas

China’s New Conscription Rules Reveal Concerns

New sections on wartime drafts, punishment, and physical fitness offer a glimpse into PLA leaders’ minds.