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Asia Unbound

CFR fellows and other experts assess the latest issues emerging in Asia today.

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Elderly people rest and chat at a park in Beijing, January 16, 2024.
Elderly people rest and chat at a park in Beijing, January 16, 2024. Tingshu Wang/Reuters
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What Is the Chinese Pension System and Why Are Its Problems Hard to Fix?

by Zongyuan Zoe Liu January 13, 2025

As the Chinese society ages, China not only loses its comparative advantage in labor but also faces a severe pension funding challenge. Chinese leaders have competing priorities but they do not have the resources to fund them all.

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Election 2024
Vietnam Struggles to Avoid the Trump Administration’s Glare
Vietnam’s rising trade surplus with the United States may threaten its close strategic and economic bilateral ties under the second Trump administration.
Post by Joshua Kurlantzick January 7, 2025 Asia Unbound
Myanmar
Could the Myanmar Junta Rapidly Collapse Like al-Assad?
With the sudden collapse of the al-Assad regime in Syria, analysts and fighters in other long running civil wars are wondering whether their country could be next.
Post by Joshua Kurlantzick December 26, 2024 Asia Unbound
China
Six Takeaways From the Pentagon’s Report on China’s Military
Despite ongoing and high-profile corruption issues, China’s military continues to rapidly modernize.
Post by David Sacks December 20, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • Philippines
    The Philippines Bounces Between China and the United States—and Could Get Burnt by Both
    The Philippines risks losing strategically and economically by oscillating between the United States and China— without securing lasting benefits from either.
    Post by Joshua Kurlantzick and Abigail McGowan December 20, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • Asia Program
    Beijing Pivots Towards Private Pensions
    China expanded its two-year-old private pension project this week in an attempt to reduce financial strain on the current state pension system from the rapidly aging population.  
    Post by Carl Minzner December 16, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • India
    India Between Superpowers: Strategic Autonomy in the Shadow of a Pacific Conflict
    As tensions escalate between the United States and China, India’s long-standing policy of strategic autonomy is increasingly under strain.
    Post by Davide Donald December 16, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • South Korea
    The Costs of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Defiance
    South Korea continues to reel from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration on December 3. Although the National Assembly overwhelmingly nullified the declaration in a few hours, political tensions remain unresolved.
    Post by Jinwan Park December 12, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • China
    Unpacking China’s “Four Red Lines” and Its Warning to Trump
    With his “four red lines,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping is attempting to set the terms for U.S.-China relations during a second Trump administration. 
    Post by David Sacks December 12, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • Asia
    Asia’s Year of Elections Did Not Strengthen Democracy
    Asia’s 2024 election wave fell short of advancing democracy, with autocratic regimes manipulating votes and even established democracies facing political challenges.
    Post by Joshua Kurlantzick December 12, 2024 Asia Unbound
  • Authoritarianism
    Alliance of Autocracies: Part 3
    While the “big four” autocratic powers dominate attention, a broader and increasingly interconnected network of authoritarian states poses an equally significant but underappreciated threat to global stability.
    Post by Joshua Kurlantzick December 10, 2024 Asia Unbound