The China Intelligence

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.

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.

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.

China’s New Conscription Rules Reveal Concerns

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

Chinese Breakthroughs Bring Quantum Tools Closer to Practicality

Still, concerns of a Chinese “quantum supremacy” should be softened by the realities and difficulties of this new space.

China's Secretive Quest for Heavier Artillery

A now-deleted post reveals a research contract to test-fire 203mm shells, bigger than anything in the U.S. or Chinese arsenal.

China Gears Up for Cognitive Warfare

Like the U.S. military, the PLA is working on wearable sensors and other ways to hone and maintain troops' fighting spirit.

China Is Eating Russia’s Lunch in the Defense Market

The script has flipped in the countries’ traditional defense-industrial relationship.

China ‘Colonizes’ Space with Its First Rice Harvest

The cultivation of food in orbit is part of a larger push by the Chinese space program toward a lunar base.

How the West May Have Helped Build China’s Spy Balloons

Beijing has long pursued aerostat technology, even enlisting French and American firms to help.

China Gears Up To Shoot Down US Drones

Its military-industrial complex is already working on a list of technologies needed to fight off swarms of UAS.

The PLA’s People Problem

China’s military has long struggled to field quality personnel.

How China Is Trying to Turn the US CHIPS Act to Its Favor

A strategic messaging campaign portrays the new law as a counterproductive and lawless act.

The Balance of Power Is Shifting Among Nuclear-Energy Titans

Russia and China have overtaken the United States as the world’s premier nuclear-power exporters. But are they comrades or competitors?

Putin’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week Looks Even Worse Through a China Lens

A series of meetings reveal how Beijing is stealing Russia’s influence even in its own backyard.

How Putin’s Ukraine War Has Made Russia More Reliant on China

Despite Putin’s imperial dreams, in the last six months China has increasingly dictated the direction of the partnership and squeezed more concessions from the Russians.