China

China is one of the world’s longest-continuous civilizations, repeatedly unifying vast territory under powerful states, then fracturing and re-forming through dynastic cycles, conquest, and rebellion. Imperial China built durable institutions—bureaucracy, exams, law, agrarian taxation—and a rich cultural world shaped by Confucian ethics, classical learning, and regional diversity. Its modern era was forged through shock: Western imperialism, internal collapse, warlordism, Japanese invasion, and civil war. The People’s Republic of China (founded 1949) transformed society through revolutionary campaigns, then pivoted after 1978 toward market-oriented reforms that delivered rapid growth and lifted hundreds of millions from poverty. Today China is a major industrial and technological power led by a centralized party-state. Its story is defined by scale and continuity, but also by sharp discontinuities—especially in ideology, governance, and China’s relationship with the outside world.

1. 1 China’s economy is deeply integrated into global manufacturing and supply chains, so its policy shifts ripple worldwide.
2. 2 Its industrial strategy in EVs, batteries, solar, and advanced manufacturing is reshaping global competition.
3. 3 U.S.–China rivalry is increasingly centered on technology, trade, and security, with consequences for allies and emerging markets.
4. 4 Domestic priorities—growth, demographics, property, and social stability—are driving major policy decisions.
5. 5 China’s governance model and information controls influence debates about state capacity, surveillance, and modernization.
6. 6 Its regional posture (Taiwan, South China Sea, borders) remains a key driver of geopolitical risk.