Beijing's push for rapid urbanization aims to promote growth, but the socioeconomic effects remain unclear.

"[The] country's defense experts and policy makers are now addressing systemic reform and modernization issues, and are talking about breaking down barriers to cooperation with civilian industry and market-driven management."

Jerome A. Cohen says the Communist Party's sustained efforts since June 4 to influence China's courts for its own ends may be easing, but judicial independence is still a long way off.

Chinese officials see stability on the Korean peninsula under the Korean Armistice as a component that has enabled China's growth for over three decades. Despite a growing difference between the economic systems of China and North Korea, China's communist party leadership feels an affinity with North Korea because its government, like China's, pursues one-party leadership under a socialist banner.

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President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California June 7-8, 2013, to discuss cybersecurity, climate change, territorial disputes, and North Korea. After their discussions, they released an agreement to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California June 7-8, 2013. Based on the Montreal Protocol findings regarding ozone layer-depleting emissions, they issued this agreement to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs, to address one aspect of climate change.

Yanzhong Huang argues that while Chinese growth has been impressive, it's singular focus on economic development has negatively affected health, environment, and social areas.

Elizabeth Economy identifies addressing the trust deficit as the top priority for this week's summit between President Obama and President Xi.

The foreign policy of China's newly-installed president, Xi Jinping, is in its infancy, but one variable that has already generated much discussion is the role that Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan might play in shaping China's image abroad.

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Escalating tensions on the peninsula due to North Korea's recent provocations motivate Presidents Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye to closely coordinate policies toward the North. However, Beijing's shifty stance on sanctions, an increase in Sino-DPRK economic exchanges, and the obstacles to China-South Korea-Japan trilateral cooperation impede North Korea policy alignment between Beijing and Seoul. Still, the willingness of both leaders to improve bilateral relations offers a silver lining, explain CFR's Scott Snyder and See-won Byun of George Washington University.

In preparation for President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama's meeting in California on June 7-9, Adam Segal writes, "The presidents won't come to any agreements next week, but over the course of the two days, they should try and dispel the growing mistrust by explaining their national interests and intentions in cyberspace."

Michael Spence writes that cooperation between the United States and China on issues surrounding the environment, trade, investment, and financial stability will be critical not only for the continued well-being of the two countries, but also for the successful rebalancing of the world economy.

A recent gaffe by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe exposes the tense relations between Japan, China, and South Korea, and "helps explain why the region seems on the brink of not one by several conflicts," says Jonathan Tepperman.

The first foreign leader to visit Pakistan following its recent elections was the prime minister of China, signifying the close relations between the two countries. During the visit, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari said, "Our top priority is to further strengthen economic linkages."

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The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (The IP Commission), with members from the "private sector and public service in national security and foreign affairs, academe, and politics," released its report on May 22, 2013. The Commission addresses theft by cyber means and pinpoints China as a main concern.

The United States did not have diplomatic relations with mainland China in the late 1940s after the communist takeover (though theoretically it maintained diplomatic relations through ties with Taiwan). The United States ended diplomatic relations with Vietnam following the Vietnam War in 1975.

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In his testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Yanzhong Huang discusses China's recent public health crises. He focused on two areas: encouraging further government transparency and emboldening civil society to help enact policy changes.

Political change is happening all the time in China, though the government is not leading the charge. Rather, the Chinese people are advancing political change through advocacy by nongovernmental organizations, communication via the Internet, and political protest.

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Mandated by the FY2000 National Defense Authorization Act, the Department of Defense's annual report discusses China's military and security strategies, technological advancements in its capabilities, military doctrine, and security issues in the Taiwan Strait.

To date, Chinese officials have asserted that their interest in Gwadar is strictly a commercial effort to provide another energy corridor for Middle East oil, and Pakistani government officials stridently affirm this position. New Delhi, on the other hand, has expressed "concern" about the true motivations in developing Gwadar, suspecting that it is a Sino-Pak effort at encirclement.

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