Reports

China started its manned space program four decades after the United States, but it is making great strides while the American effort stagnates. Beijing has long-term plans for a manned lunar base and is testing antisatellite weapons at record altitudes. There appears to be little will in Washington to commit ...

If the North Korean regime continues to develop its nuclear strike capabilities, South Korea and Japan may feel compelled to acquire their own weapons of mass destruction, while China will lose its strategic edge in northeast Asia. Beijing has a few options to prevent such a scenario.

China’s population is aging rapidly, a trend that will put huge strain on its economy and pension system. China is not the only country with this problem, but it is much poorer than many of its Western counterparts facing similar challenges. The government is working on measures to address the ...

China has overtaken the IMF and the World Bank as the biggest provider of loans to African and Latin American governments. But that could soon change as slower Chinese growth and huge investments in Eurasian transportation networks have crimped Beijing’s finances. The inevitable cutbacks will strain what has been a ...

China faces three big challenges in its energy strategy: reducing pollution, mitigating the negative effects of climate change and securing overland supply. The country has made huge investments to achieve its goals, but macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties could yet derail Beijing’s plans. In the end, China is likely to be ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping is consolidating power at a strikingly effective rate. His anticorruption drive has not only managed to gain him popularity, he has also used it to eliminate political opponents. But his success raises questions about what direction he plans to take China and whether he intends to ...

Within a decade, China will enter a difficult stretch. As its population begins to shrink and rapidly turn gray, the country will experience monumental strains in its economic, social and political systems. Beijing will try to tackle the challenge with fewer resources than China’s richer neighbors in the Far East ...

China’s state-owned enterprises dominate huge swaths of the economy, but their outlook is grim. Rapidly growing debts from politically driven loans, risky real estate deals and lower investment returns imperil their future and that of the entire Chinese economy. Many will be privatized, merged, or otherwise dissolved within the next ...

Beijing is eager to use China’s economic slowdown as a means to improve the country’s environment. The slower growth gives the government maneuverability to address some of the country’s most pressing environmental problems. Nevertheless, doubts remain as to whether authorities are truly committed to green issues or are merely saving ...

Since Thailand’s May 2014 coup, China’s influence in the country has increased at the expense of Bangkok’s long-standing alliance with the United States. China’s success is rooted in its nonideological foreign policy, as well as increasing economic and political leverage. Looking forward, economic, historical, cultural, geographic and political factors all ...

China’s President Xi Jinping is increasingly criticized for centralizing control and using nationalism to mobilize citizens, but these throwbacks to autocratic rule do not outweigh his accomplishments. He has launched a number of major policy initiatives and maintained systemic stability in China during a difficult juncture, as its economy copes ...

Beijing’s increasing involvement in the Middle East has important economic, diplomatic, and military implications for the region, China and the world. The stakes were highlighted when the Chinese government chose to build its first overseas military base in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. President Xi Jinping’s recent visits to ...

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has seen decades of ethnic conflict and corrupt military rule stifle its considerable economic prospects. With an advantageous geographic location, abundant natural resources and ample labor force, Myanmar has the ingredients needed to become a regional economic power. A win by pro-democracy groups in last ...

With birth rates far below replacement levels, China is facing a demographic crisis. The government’s recent relaxation of the so-called ‘one-child policy’ showed its willingness to tackle the issue. But it will not solve the problem. Economic and social factors are driving the desire to keep families small, writes GIS ...

As it gears up for the sixth presidential election since its 1986 revolution, the Philippines faces a host of challenges on the economy, foreign policy and domestic political reform. The biggest issue is tensions with China, but the incoming president will also have to tackle corruption to unleash this young, ...

Vast expanses of unoccupied housing on the edges of China’s cities are testimony to the country’s spectacular economic growth and urbanisation. However, they also reveal the fundamental problems that China faces as its economy slows. These ‘ghost cities,’ as they have become known, represent a monumental challenge to policy makers, ...

Bangladesh faces a host of deep-rooted social and environmental problems. With the exception of a few city-states and small island nations, it is the most densely populated country on earth. Global warming and seasonal storms threaten the livelihoods, and sometimes the lives, of much of the population in the low-lying ...

China stands to benefit economically from lower global energy prices. The country became the world’s top energy consumer in 2010 and has since overtaken the US as the biggest petroleum importer. However, significantly cheaper fossil fuels come at an awkward time for the government, which has redoubled its efforts to ...

China has a fifth of the world's population, but only seven per cent of its fresh water. Its needs have been severely strained by rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, writes GIS guest expert Brendan O’Reilly. The south of the vast country has relatively abundant water resources, but much of the north ...

Powerful macroeconomic and demographic trends are threatening China’s manufacturing dominance, with potentially dangerous implications for the nation’s continuing economic rise. International demand appears to be weakening and many foreign firms are shifting their overseas business to areas with cheaper labour. The young, working age population is beginning to decl...

Massive Chinese investment is flowing into Moscow’s strategic backyard. The Russian Empire, and then the Soviet Union, ruled over the various ethnic groups of Central Asia for centuries. Now Beijing is making a concerted effort to solidify economic, transport, and political links with the volatile and resource-rich region, writes GIS ...

China’s boom years saw huge increases in steel production, particularly for housing, cars and infrastructure projects. The nation’s current economic slowdown has encouraged producers to concentrate on exports, sparking accusations of steel ‘dumping’ and leading to tariffs in some countries, writes GIS guest expert Brendan O’Reilly. Beijing has attempted to ...

After decades of isolation, Myanmar is opening up to the world. However, its political reforms have been accompanied by regional tensions and ethnic conflict. As China’s influence grows in the region, both India and America are keen to sway Myanmar away from Beijing’s orbit. Meanwhile, Myanmar's leaders want to capitalise ...

By 2050, a quarter of the world’s population will live in Africa. Its mineral wealth and agricultural and industrial potential are coveted by nations hungry for resources and developing markets. None is better placed than China, writes GIS guest expert Brendan O’Reilly. It is Africa’s leading trading partner and its ...