China Politics

Despite its impressive size and population, economic vitality, and drive to upgrade its military, China remains a vulnerable nation surrounded by powerful rivals and potential foes. Understanding China's foreign policy means fully appreciating these geostrategic challenges, which persist even as the country gains increasing influence over its neighbors. Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell analyze China's security concerns on four fronts: at home, with its immediate neighbors, in surrounding regional systems, and in the world beyond Asia.

War Russlands Überfall auf die Ukraine nur der Anfang? Kommt bald der noch größere Krieg? Ein Krieg zwischen den beiden Supermächten unserer Zeit? Ein Krieg zwischen China und den USA? Ein Krieg, der sich an Taiwan entzündet? Wie können wir verhindern, dass die politischen Führungen dieser Welt als "Traumwandler" in den dritten Weltkrieg schlittern, und sich die düsteren Voraussagen zu selbsterfüllenden Prophezeiungen entwickeln?

Wer den Einfluss verstehen will, den China auf die deutsche Wirtschaft ausübt, muss den Namen Gerhard Ludwig Flatow kennen. Er war wohlhabender Stahldirektor und Kommunist, Abenteurer und Lobbyist, sprach fließend chinesisch und wurde in den Fünfziger und Sechziger Jahren zum wichtigsten Agenten der Chinesen in Deutschland. Dabei hat er es verstanden, völlig unbekannt zu bleiben–bis der Wirtschaftspublizist und Chinakenner Bernd Ziesemer die Fäden zusammenführte und entdeckte, dass ein Maoist und ein Industrieller ein und dieselbe Person waren.

Lange galt China als eine Art sanfter, schlafender Riese. Zwar war das politische System und dessen Menschenrechtsverletzungen nur schwer vereinbar mit westlichen demokratischen Werten, doch man setzte auf das Prinzip »Wandel durch Handel«. China würde sich mit steigendem Wohlstand schon öffnen. Doch das Gegenteil ist eingetreten: China verschließt sich nach außen, hat aber enorm an wirtschaftlichen und politischen Einfluss gewonnen. Bereits seit 2013 schafft die kommunistische Partei mit Krediten, Investitionen und Entwicklungsprojekten neue Absatzmärkte und hat neue Seidenstraßen erschlossen.

The PRC is engaged in political warfare against most countries of the world. This is an aggressive brand of total war that integrates all aspects of PRC national power into its political warfare campaigns. Open societies normally lack government understanding and response to the political warfare threat, therefore typically establishing weak applicable laws and policies to combat it.

After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, leaders in China and the United States had high hopes of a lasting partnership between the two countries. More than 120,000 U.S. servicemen deployed to China, where Chiang Kai-shek's government carried out massive programs to provide them with housing, food, and interpreters. But, as Zach Fredman uncovers in The Tormented Alliance, a military alliance with the United States means a military occupation by the United States.

Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World tells the complete story of how a city once famed for protests so peaceful that toddlers joined grandparents became a place where police have fired tear gas, rubber bullets and even live ammunition at their neighbors, while pro-government hooligans attack demonstrators....

Fear swept Zhenjiang as British soldiers gathered outside the city walls in the summer of 1842. Already suspicious of foreigners, locals had also heard of the suffering the British inflicted two months earlier, in Zhapu. A wave of suicides and mercy killings ensued: rather than leave their families to the invaders, hundreds of women killed themselves and their children or died at the hands of male family members. British observers decried an "Asian culture" of ritual suicide. In reality, the event was sui generis—a tragic result of colliding local and global forces in nineteenth-century China.

Kampfjets über Taiwan, Kriegsschiffe in japanischen Gewässern, Militärbasen auf den Spratly-Inseln. China will sein Territorium im Ost- und Südchinesischen Meer ausweiten. Dabei ist besonders der Anspruch auf Taiwan explosiv, das China nicht als souveränen Staat anerkennt. Doch hinter Taiwan stehen die USA. Der aktuelle Konflikt um Inseln und Riffe vor Chinas Küste wird im Westen oft vernachlässigt. Doch dahinter stehen handfeste Territorialkonflikte mit einer Reihe von Staaten wie Japan, Südkorea oder Vietnam.

This is the story of the women who took part in the Long March, seen through the biographies of three key players. Lee and Wiles trace the womens' stories in three time periods: the Long March itself, a decade later at liberation and then 40 years on. Drawing on published and unpublished sources, including interviews, this is the moving story of one of the great events of 20th-century history.

Thirsty Dragon lays bare the untold story of how an influx of Chinese money rescued France's most venerable wine region from economic collapse and how the result was a series of misunderstandings and crises that threatened the delicate infrastructure of Bordeaux insular wine trade.

Every Western business leader wants to know more about China in order to enjoy a greater chance of business success in China. They also need to understand how and why Chinese businesses are spreading throughout the world, particularly under the new "One Belt, One Road" initiative. However, few seek advice from those who best know the answers - Chinese business people. In Unlocking the Emperor's Door, we utilize exclusive and unparalleled access to multi-billionaire Li Jinyuan and his multinational Tiens Group as a case study

In this adventurous, original book, NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt describes how he created a free taxi service - offering rides in exchange for illuminating conversation - to go beyond the headlines and get to know a wide range of colorful, compelling characters representative of the new China. They include folks like "Beer", a slippery salesman who tries to sell Langfitt a used car; Rocky, a farm boy turned Shanghai lawyer; and Chen, who runs an underground Christian church and moves his family to America in search of a better, freer life.

It's 1983. Scott Savitt, one of the first American exchange students in Beijing, picks up his guitar and begins strumming Blackbird. He's soon surrounded by Chinese students who know every word to every Beatles song he plays. The city's first nightclubs open; rock 'n' roll promises democracy. Becoming foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times then United Press International, Scott finds himself drawn into China's political heart.

There are more than 320 million Chinese between the ages of 16 and 30. Children of the one-child policy, born after Mao, with no memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre, they are the first net native generation to come of age in a market-driven, more international China. Their experiences and aspirations were formed in a radically different country from the one that shaped their elders, and their lives will decide the future of their nation and its place in the world.

George Macartney's disastrous 1793 mission to China plays a central role in the prevailing narrative of modern Sino-European relations. Summarily dismissed by the Qing court, Macartney failed in nearly all of his objectives, perhaps setting the stage for the Opium Wars of the 19th century and the mistrust that still marks the relationship today. The Last Embassy tells the story of the Dutch mission of 1795, bringing to light a dramatic but little-known episode that transforms our understanding of the history of China and the West.

At the start of the 20th century in China, the Hans were married in an elaborate ceremony before they were even born. While their future was arranged by their families, this couple had much to be grateful for. Not only did they come from similar backgrounds - and as such were recognized as a good match - they also had a shared passion in their deep love of ancient Chinese poetry. They went on to have nine children and chose colours portrayed in some of their favourite poems as nicknames for them - Red, Cyan, Orange, Yellow, Green, Ginger, Violet, Blue and Rainbow.

Far from the glittering cities of Beijing and Shaghai, China's borderlands are populated by around one hundred million people who are not Han Chinese. For many of these restive minorities, the old Chinese adage "the mountains are high and the Emperor far away", meaning Beijing's grip on power is tenuous and its influence unwelcome, continues to resonate.

The downfall of Bo Xilai in China was more than a darkly thrilling mystery. It revealed a cataclysmic internal power struggle between Communist Party factions, one that reached all the way to China’s new president Xi Jinping. The scandalous story of the corruption of the Bo Xilai family - the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood; Bo’s secret lovers; the secret maneuverings of Bo’s supporters; the hasty trial and sentencing of Gu Kailai, Bo’s wife - was just the first rumble of a seismic power struggle that continues to rock the very foundation of China’s all-powerful Communist Party.

China’s economic, technological, and military hyperpower has reached an all-time high. This power is based upon decades of intense government spending, military build-up, cyber and intellectual property breaches of other sovereign nations—foremost the US and its allies—and a hegemonic dictator for life Xi Jinping yielding unparalleled control, comparable to the era of Mao Tse Tung.