On May 21 2014], China signed a 30-year, $400 billion gas supply deal with Russia. The agreement concluded a decade of protracted negotiations, and coincided with an escalation of the Ukraine crisis in Europe. This paper examines the conditions, motives, and implications of the deal. It begins by looking at China's energy needs and gas import strategy, as well as Russia's Asia pivot. It then analyzes the key points of contention - the price, shipping route, and payment and investment conditions - and whether or not these were resolved in China's favor. Section 3 places the deal in the...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a pillar of the postwar order in East Asia. Founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, principally to coordinate security policy during the Cold War, the bloc was significantly enlarged in the 1990s, when it took in low-income countries Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Today, the complex relationship between China and ASEAN combines aspects of cooperation and tension. China's aggressive posturing in the South China Sea illustrates its increasing naval capabilities and willingness to...

Between 2011 and 2013, the value of China's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the United States exceeded the value of U.S. M&A deals in China. While it is too early to call this a permanent turning point, Chinese companies are poised to deepen their presence in the United States. Despite a recent economic slowdown, China remains a dominant goods exporter and is growing at a faster clip than the rest of the world. China's central bank holds some $4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, and Chinese companies and wealthy individuals are eager to diversify their assets overseas. This report...

Renewable energy is gaining currency around the globe, but China and the United States are central to its development. They are the world's top-two countries in terms of energy consumption, net oil imports, and carbon emissions, as well as gross domestic product (GDP) and manufacturing. Their large territories harbor some of the best sites to generate renewable energy. If the United States and China cooperate-and compete-effectively, renewable energy can contribute to economic growth, energy security, and climate change mitigation. The past two years saw important developments, including a...