CSAF Announces CASI Toolkit for China

Leaders,Understanding China is the pacing challenge as articulated in the National Defense Strategy, we must accelerate learning across the Air Force to stay ahead of the pace.  To ensure all Airmen understand China, the Chinese Communist Party, and the People's Liberation Army, their organization,

An Exploratory Analysis of the Chinese Hypersonics Research Landscape

According to reports, China conducted tests of hypersonic glide vehicles in July and August 2021, which Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley described as “concerning.”1 China’s hypersonic weapons program has drawn significant global attention and research interests in recent years.

CASI Webinar on the CCP's 20th Party Congress

CASI will hold its next Webinar on Wednesday, 7 Dec, at 13:00 Eastern Time via ZOOMGov. This iteration will be an in-depth look at the recent 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.  

The Centralization of the PLA Air Force’s Basic and Technical Training

Initial entry training is a major undertaking for any armed force, but China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) faces a unique set of challenges based on its enlisted force’s large size, relatively short service commitments, and high proportion of technical requirements. Although the

Preparing the People’s Liberation Army Militia for War

Since the inception of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the militia has played an important role.  In an interview with the Director of the Political Work Bureau of the Hunan Military District Liu Xinwen sums up this sentiment stating, “The militia is the backbone of the people's war [人民战争] . To

Sichuan Tengden Technology: Privately Owned, State Sponsored

Traditionally, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) acquires whole systems that are manufactured or integrated by companies partially- or wholly-owned by the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that fall under the State Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND). It

ITOW: Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

The “In Their Own Words” series is dedicated to translations of Chinese documents in order to help non-Mandarin speaking audiences access and understand Chinese thinking. CASI would like to thank all of those involved in this effort.In the “In Their Own Words” series, CASI and its collaborators aim

Strategic Ambiguity and the Deterrent Value of the Sino-Russian Partnership

            The ever deepening Sino-Russian partnership has attracted considerable attention, especially in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.   Although the partnership was outlined first in a 2001 20-year agreement and recently extended in 2021, its parameters remain opaque. In

PLA Rocket Force Organization

      The PLA Rocket Force (PLARF), formerly known as the PLA 2nd Artillery Force (PLASAF) until 2016, is responsible for the PLA’s land-based nuclear and conventional ballistic missiles. The Second Artillery Force was officially established in 1966 and given command of China’s small inventory of

History of China’s Robotic Lunar Program

In December of 1978, Deng Xiaoping gave his ground-breaking speech on China’s new policy of “reform and opening up” to the world at the 11th Party Congress. Six months previously, he had addressed an association of Chinese scientists, most of whom had been sent to the countryside for

ITOW: Research on Port Landing Operations

"In Their Own Words" are translations from Chinese source documents In Their Own Words The “In Their Own Words” series is dedicated to translations of Chinese documents in order to help non-Mandarin speaking audiences access and understand Chinese thinking. CASI would like to thank all of those

CASI Quarterly update #3 for 2022

CASI Quarterly update#3 for 2022Friends of CASI,            The summer was full of goodness for CASI.  We hosted yet another group of stellar cadets from USAFA.  They learned about China, the CCP, and the CCP’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army; and then we turned them loose to work on a

Effective Control

Effectively deterring China or, in the case of a conflict, successfully bringing the conflict to a close will require deep understanding of China’s approach to and priorities in conflict. A term with evolving significance for these issues is “effective control” [有效控制], a concept most prominently

Competition with China: Chinese views on Deterrence

This video is part of CASI's "Competition with China" series. In this video, Colonel Kyle Marcum discusses China's views on deterrence. We need to understand how the Chinese think about deterrence, how they might plan to deter us, how they think we might try to deter them, and how they might react

China- The Challenge

Dr. Brendan Mulvaney, the Director of China Aerospace Studies Institute talks about the challenge the United States faces in regard to China at Air University, July 15, 2022. Mulvaney described that the only real threat to U.S. leadership and global interests around the world is the People's

China’s Space Situational Awareness Capabilities For Beyond GEO

This paper reviews the publicly available information on China’s existing and planned ground and space-based systems for its beyond geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) missions.  This paper assumes that the PRC, like the U.S., has not needed a well optimized system for discovering, tracking, and

Chinese military thinking on orbits beyond GEO

Written by CASI's Kristin Burke, originally published in The Space Review, available at: https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4387/1It is impossible to unlink the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) military perspective on orbits beyond the geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) from the US and former

ITOW: NATO is a 'Systemic Challenge' to Global Security and Stability

State & Private Capital Allocations in China as Strategic Intelligence

Xi Jinping: Lines of Authority

     Xi Jinping is the undisputed top leader of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Chinese media. He regularly appears on the front pages of Chinese newspapers, has phone applications dedicated to “Xi Jinping Thought,” has dedicated sections for his speeches present on many Chinese