Can China use military force to achieve its political goals, without triggering nuclear war? To find out, ChinaTalk interviewed Fiona Cunningham, a professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the new book, Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security.

Co-hosting today is Michael Horowitz, another Penn professor who served in Biden’s Department of Defense.

We discuss…

How to use open source PLA documents to conduct deep research,

The evolution of Chinese defense strategy, including the impact of the third Taiwan Strait crisis,

Nuclear modernization and China’s “no first use” policy,

How the PLA makes decisions, including why they chose to develop cyber capabilities, anti-satellite weapons, and hypersonic missiles over proposed alternatives.

Outtro Music: Beauty by Gui Bian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTlfSOCwYJ8

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