China’s ASAT Test and Space Deterrence

China’s anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon test on Jan. 11, 2007, was a defining moment for the security of outer space. Three articles in the current issue of China Security explore China’s motivations behind the test, U.S. and international reactions, and implications for the delicate strategic balance in space. Complementing these analyses, this issue also discusses the rationale for China’s robust deterrence in space. 

U.S. Nuclear Primacy and China’s Nuclear Challenges

The global strategic nuclear environment is rapidly changing.  A Chinese scholar and senior PLA colonel surveys the threats that China faces and its future choices in meeting those challenges. A second analysis revisits the issue of U.S. nuclear primacy with the debate shifting to its consequences for China’s minimum nuclear deterrent and the future stability of China-U.S. strategic nuclear relations.

Crisis Management in China

China’s domestic crises are rising. From SARS, avian flu, and HIV/AIDS, to coal-mining accidents and social unrest, these non-traditional security challenges will play a critical role in defining the future of China’s stability. A Chinese scholar closely examines how China has fared in undertaking this monumental task and the path ahead to better crisis management strategies.       

China Security is a policy journal that brings diverse Chinese perspectives to Washington on vital traditional and non-traditional security issues that impact China’s strategic development and its relations with the United States.

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• Deterrence Revisited: Outer Space, by Bao Shixiu

“China cannot accept the monopolization of outer space by another power.” BaoShixiu is a senior fellow at the Academy of Military Sciences.

• U.S.-Sino Relations in Space: From “War of Words” to Cold War in Space? by Theresa Hitchens

“If the intent of the Chinese test was to deter the United States from building space-based missile defenses, it may well backfire.” Theresa Hitchens is the director of the World Security Institute’s Center for Defense Information.

• China’s ASAT Test: Strategic Response, by Eric Hagt

“China has concluded that the United States is determined to control space.” Eric Hagt is the director of the China Program at the World Security Institute.

• Nuclear Challenges and China’s Choices, by Wang Zhongchun

“China should avoid sacrificing its interests to satisfy U.S. nonproliferation requests.” Wang Zhongchun is a professor at the National Defense University and senior colonel of the People’s Liberation Army.

• U.S. Nuclear Primacy and the Future of the Chinese Deterrent, by Keir A. Lieber & Daryl G. Press

“America’s drive for nuclear primacy is primarily driven by concerns about the future relations with China.” Keir A. Lieber is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. Daryl G. Press is an associate professor of government at Dartmouth College.

• Crisis Management in China, by Zhong Kaibin

“Crises increasingly spill over national borders and affect regional and international actors.” Zhong Kaibin is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Public Policy & Management at Tsinghua University.

About the World Security Institute (WSI):

WSI is a 21st century global think tank and a leading not-for-profit media organization committed to independent journalism and research, and the development, production, and marketing of impartial news and information to a global audience. Through a variety of publications and services, in several languages including Chinese, Russian, Farsi, and Arabic, WSI provides a unique news and research-based approach to communications, policy development, and cooperation focusing on the social, economic, environmental, political and military components of international security and interdependence. WSI's divisions include the Center for Defense Information, International Media, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Azimuth Media and International Programs with offices in Washington, D.C. (founded in 1972), Brussels (founded in 2002), Cairo (founded in 2006) and Moscow (founded in 2001), and a Beijing program (founded in 2004).

Eric Hagt, Editor

China Security

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