Ideas

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.

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China Is Eating Russia’s Lunch in the Defense Market

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

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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.

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One Year In: What Are The Lessons from Ukraine For The Future Of War?

From drones to network attacks to the LikeWar of social media, the conflict marks a turning point from old to new.

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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.

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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.

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The PLA’s People Problem

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

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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China’s Roadblocks to Becoming A Science Superpower

Historical and structural problems complicate Beijing’s vision of tech leadership.

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China’s ‘Particle Beam Cannon’ Is a Nuclear-Power Breakthrough

It promises to recycle spent nuclear fuel, making it cheaper and less dangerous—and moving Beijing toward energy independence.

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Four Ways China Is Growing Its Media Influence in Southeast Asia

Beijing is trying to burnish its image in the region. What if it took aim at America’s instead?

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China May Have Just Taken the Lead in the Quantum Computing Race

China’s record-shattering processor is 1 million times faster than what Google achieved three years ago–but we are years from the finish line.

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What Is China Learning from the Ukraine War?

From battlefield concepts to geopolitics, Beijing is sure to be watching with avid interest—and some chagrin.

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The ‘No-Fly Zone’ Test

Want to put U.S. or allied aircraft over Ukraine? Answer these questions first.

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What China Is Actually Saying About Russia and Ukraine

Bits of pro-Russian rhetoric are a far cry from substantive support—or preparations for an invasion of Taiwan.