Water stress is not a unique or new challenge to China, but the scale at which China must manage finite water resources to maintain economic and social stability creates trade-offs and challenges with potentially broader implications. Water supplies are limited in the northern region of China compared with supplies in the southern region. China has invested in large-scale infrastructure projects that move water between regions. However, China has initiated a wave of governmental changes in the past decade that have shifted policy focus to reduce demand, therefore increasing water conservation and efficiency while supporting economic growth and national security aims. Water supply infrastructure projects likely cannot rectify the regional water disparities, particularly as the effects from climate change worsen and China continues investing in water-intensive industries. Water is tied to many of China’s policy initiatives and economic investments, and at some point the total sum of water demand may be significantly more than supply, particularly in northern China. There are disconnects in China’s water policy that will exacerbate water stress in the future and require China to make hard decisions about water, food, and economic security. The authors of this report analyzed China’s water stress and recent water resource policy decisions to identify the current and future implications of water resource constraints for China’s strategic planning. The authors also conducted a workshop with China experts to identify the interaction of water resource constraints with other societal trends, such as economic, geopolitical, and environmental trends.

This paper examines China's evolving strategy of economic deterrence, arguing that while it lacks a formal doctrine, it has developed a coherent and effective system that discourages economic coercion from third parties. The authors identify five core elements underpinning China's strategy: enhancing resilience in critical sectors, fostering strategic interdependencies, maintaining a ready-to-deploy economic retaliation toolbox, building credibility through consistent coercive actions, and preparing the domestic population to absorb economic shocks. These elements are not part of an official economic deterrence strategy, but they are embedded in broader national security and economic policies and are operationalised through mechanisms such as the dual circulation strategy, long-term resource contracts, industrial subsidies, and retaliatory legal instruments like the Export Control Law. The paper distinguishes between deterrence by denial, entanglement, and punishment, noting China's shift toward deterrence by dependence — leveraging asymmetric interdependencies to discourage adversarial actions. It also highlights the importance of credibility and communication in sustaining deterrence, supported by China's track record of economic retaliation. Finally, the paper assesses the applicability of lessons from China's approach to Europe, emphasising the EU and UK's current limitations in strategic coherence, collaboration, and credibility. It calls for a more structured and collective European approach to economic deterrence, leveraging regulatory power, innovation, and strategic interdependence to safeguard sovereignty in an increasingly weaponised global economy.

African-born Black women living in the US experience markedly higher rates of HIV diagnosis than their US-born counterparts, with condom use and PrEP remaining underutilized despite their effectiveness. Existing HIV prevention interventions for African-born Black women are limited in scope; some lack cultural tailoring, linguistic appropriateness, and most not do include PrEP. Using the ADAPT-ITT model, we culturally adapted two evidence-based interventions for US Black women–Sister-to-Sister and Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS (SISTA)–to increase condom use and PrEP uptake among African-born Black women through community stakeholder input. DADA, which was adapted from SISTA, consists of two 3-hour peer-led, group-level intervention and Dada kwa Dada (DKD), adapted from Sister-to-Sister, is a 1-hour individual-level intervention. To test feasibility and acceptability, 29 African-born women without HIV were recruited from social media groups and community partner listservs in Massachusetts and New York; 17 were randomized to DKD and 12 to DADA. Participants completed risk assessments at baseline and provided post-intervention feedback interviews and surveys. Both adapted interventions demonstrated high feasibility and acceptability, with participants expressing positive qualitative and quantitative feedback regarding their culturally appropriateness, and relevance.This study addresses critical gaps in tailored HIV prevention approaches for African-born Black women and paves the way for future trials to improve condom use and PrEP in this population. Next steps are to conduct a fully-powered comparative effectiveness trial to assess the relative impact of both interventions on increased condom use and uptake of PrEP.

The United States is engaged in a strategic competition with China over the nature of the global system, and the Middle East has emerged as a central site of great power competition: The United States, China, and Russia are all active there. At the heart of this competition is technology. Middle Eastern countries have been developing strong technology links with China while maintaining their security and economic relations with the United States. Smart cities present a valuable case study of this competition. A smart city is a city that addresses public issues with solutions based on information and communication technology–enabled use of large-scale data available from the Internet of Things. China is involved in dozens of smart city projects in the Middle East. In that region, the need for improved urban environments is pressing. The region is well above the world average for percentage of population living in urban areas and for urban population growth. Smart city infrastructure can be used to improve services, but it can also be used for population control, to limit public dissent, to violate privacy, and to strengthen authoritarian tendencies. This therefore makes smart cities a positive factor in improved services and greater connectivity but also a potential threat to civil society and personal and political freedom. China’s involvement raises an additional issue: that of data security and the integrity of communications networks, especially those related to U.S. activities in the region. This paper addresses potential U.S. concerns related to these developments.

As the Department of the Air Force (DAF) accelerates its testing of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) concepts and further integrates the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program into operations against highly capable adversaries, it is critical for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and DAF planners, strategists, and analysts to better understand Chinese perspectives and similar lines of effort to integrate autonomous systems into air operations. Additionally, understanding China's approach to MUM-T can help the DAF anticipate and counter adversarial tactics, ensuring that U.S. forces maintain a strategic advantage in the foreseeable future. The analysis presented in this report is intended to improve the DAF's understanding of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) perceptions regarding MUM-T and the PLA's efforts to integrate autonomous systems into air operations. These insights into China's MUM-T capabilities can inform the DAF's operational planning, enhance interoperability with allied forces, and guide investment in relevant technologies.