China

Chinese Century

'Grasp clearly the grand trend that the East is rising while the West is declining.' - Xi Jinping



According to many scholars and strategic practitioners, the rise of China will be the most important geopolitical trend of the 21st century. Just four decades ago, China was relatively isolated from the global economy. Now, it is the second-largest economy in the world.


SDAFA's Chinese Century project seeks to answer the big questions about China. Can Beijing sustain the immense pace of China's economic growth and overcome looming financial and demographic challenges? Will China threaten American interests, leading to a war with the United States? What does the rise of China mean for the international order and the global distribution of power?

The ‘Second Cold War’ Concept is Clouding Strategic Clarity on US-China Competition

by Alexander Gale • 6 December 2021
Although the Cold War contains important lessons for the future of US-China relations, by overemphasising similarities between the present and the past, policy elites risk succumbing to an oversimplified narrative.

'Great Wall of Steel' or 'Great Wall of Words'? A critical analysis of Xi Jinping's centenary speech

by Alexander Gale • 20 July 2021
Xi Jinping issued a warning to China's adversaries this month that those seeking to 'subjugate' China would be bashed against a 'Great Wall of Steel.' Were Xi's words intended to intimidate a specific opponent or were they merely spoken to fire up a domestic audience?

‘A friend for hard times’: A breakdown of the China-Iran Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

by Alexander Gale • 11 April 2021
Does a new deal negotiated between China and Iran pose problems for American interests in the Middle East or has its potential impact been overblown?

AirSea Battle: The United States' doctrine for war with China in the Pacific

by Oliver Boxall • 21 February 2021
The place of AirSea Battle in strategic thought and its value as a conceptual military doctrine when applied to the Western Pacific, in deterring, and if necessary, fighting the People’s Republic of China in a hypothetical conflict

Chinese Illegal Fishing is Draining the Oceans and Creating Conflict from Argentina to Angola

by Olav Bing Orgland • 24 November 2020
Depleted fish stocks within China’s territorial waters are leading Chinese fishermen to invade the territorial waters of other nations, often leading to violent clashes.
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