This two-part series analyzes past, present, and future trends in China’s resource-backed loans. This installment (Part I) looks at why China made frequent use of this tool in the 2000s and early 2010s and why it has since diminished in stature. Part...

[A translated excerpt from a propaganda cartoon published by China’s anti-corruption body featuring party cadres questioning emergency responders. Source: CCDI Wechat Account]

“To control the epidemic, the national disciplinary inspection and supervis...

During the Politburo’s 40th Collective Study Session in April 2017, President Xi delivered a speech on strengthening the Party’s leadership over financial affairs, particularly over the financial mechanisms used to stimulate economic growth. In respo...

In this two-part series, I examine the story behind China’s potential future military basing in Cambodia. Part I focused on how China used economic tools to win over the Cambodian leadership and drew conclusions about the intersection of China’s econ...

In this two-part series, I examine the story behind China’s potential future military basing in Cambodia.  Part I focuses on China’s use of economic tools to win over the Cambodian leadership and draws conclusions about the intersection of China’s ec...

Last year, I wrote a feature explaining why China’s GDP numbers were cause for worry. At the time, the US-China trade war was just a possibility, and the English-language dialogue surrounding China was largely cautious about discussing the nation’s e...

China’s largest state-owned commercial banks—Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China—have been increasing their market share in the Middle East. Also known as the “Big Four,” the...

The PLA will always be the Party’s army. China’s latest national defense white paper, released on July 24, highlights the imperative of adherence to the Party’s “absolute leadership” (绝对领导). Tellingly, the requirement that the PLA must “obey the Part...

[Yang Xiaodu, director of the National Supervision Commission, answers questions on the sidelines of the 19th Party Congress]

It has been over a year since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) passed the National Supervision Law, part of a major gover...

Depending on who you talk to, China’s economic engagement in developing countries could be construed as an absolute positive or an absolute negative. Proponents cast it as a “win-win” in which Chinese firms and government agencies respond to local de...