Near-Abroad. China’s most substantial expansion of its military access in recent years has occurred in its near-abroad, where territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas persist. China continues to exercise low-intensity coercion to advance its claims in the East and South China Seas and uses an opportunistically-timed progression of incremental but intensifying steps to attempt to increase effective control over disputed areas while avoiding escalation to military conflict.
China seeks some high-tech components and major end-items from abroad that it has difficulty producing domestically – particularly from Russia and Ukraine. China has purchased advanced Russian defense equipment such as the SA-X-21b (S-400) surface-to-air missile system and Su-35 fighter aircraft, and is pursuing a Sino-Russian joint-design and production program for a heavy-lift helicopter and diesel-electric submarines. China is partnering with Russia to purchase electronic components as well as creating joint production facilities located within Russia. In addition, China has signed significant purchase contracts with Ukraine in recent years, including contracts for assault hovercraft and aircraft engines.
China has also obscured its investments in media in the United States and other countries. For example, a 2015 Reuters report revealed that China Radio International (CRI), a Chinese state-owned entity, was using subsidiaries to mask its control over 33 radio stations in 14 countries, including the United States. These radio stations broadcast pro-China content but have not registered as agents of a foreign government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
n 2009, China used economic incentives, including a currency swap agreement to stabilize Argentina’s currency, to negotiate a 50-year, rent-free lease of nearly 500 acres for a satellite tracking facility in Argentina.
In 2011, China reportedly agreed to forgive an undeclared amount of Tajikistan’s debt and received over 1,000 square kilometers of disputed territory in exchange.
n 2016, after the visit of the Dalai Lama to Mongolia, China suspended talks on a major assistance loan, worsening Mongolia’s fiscal challenges and eventually driving it to seek an IMF bailout. China also increased fees on imports of mining products from Mongolia and temporarily closed an important border crossing.
In 2016, China tried unsuccessfully to dissuade South Korea from deploying a missile defense system by restricting tourism, cutting imports, and closing nearly 90 Korean-owned supermarkets in China.
Originally Posted by davidbfpo
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