James Char is Assistant Professor with the China Programme and Deputy Coordinator of MSc (Asian Studies) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He is the inaugural recipient of the Wong Wai Ling Scholarship in the Masters of Arts in Contemporary China (since renamed the Masters of Social Sciences in China and Global Governance) at NTU. He received his Ph.D. in military history at the University of Cambridge.

James has published extensively on China’s domestic politics and its military developments. More specifically, his research centres on the nexus between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). At present, his work focuses on the ongoing PLA reforms and the history of the Chinese Civil War. He has published or served as guest editor for a number of top-tier peer-reviewed journals, including Asian Security, the Journal of Strategic Studies and The China Quarterly.

In addition to his role as a regular guest commentator with international media outlets, James’s policy analyses and op-ed pieces have featured on platforms such as Nikkei Asia, The Diplomat, East Asia Forum, The National Interest, Pacific Forum CSIS, RSIS Commentaries, as well as Singapore’s major newspapers (both in English and Chinese). His work on Chinese civil-military relations has also been cited at a hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

• Chinese Domestic Politics
• Civil-Military Relations in China
• China’s Military Modernisation
• The Chinese Civil War
• China’s Diplomatic Strategies in the Global South

Guest Editor of The China Quarterly, Vol. 232, (Dec 2017).

Guest Editor of Asian Security, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2017).

Guest Editor of the Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 39, No. 5-6 (2016).

Working Papers

• WP288 | China-Myanmar Relations Since Naypyidaw’s Political Transition: How Beijing can Balance Short-term Interests and Long-term Values

  16 March, 2015

Policy Reports

• Introduction to China's Military Operations Other than War

  25 February, 2019

RSIS Commentaries

• Relooking China-Russia Relations Through a Historical Lens

  08 August, 2023

• CO17218 | PLA Under Xi Jinping: New Direction in Strategic Thinking?

  17 November, 2017

• CO17204 | China’s New Military Leaders: Civil-Military Relations in Xi Jinping Era

  31 October, 2017

• CO16019 | Cross-Strait Relations: No Return to Crisis Mode

  27 January, 2016

• CO15143 | The “Big Tiger’s” Curtain Call: A Sign of Lesser Things to Come?

  25 June, 2015

• CO14228 | Retaining Leadership in the Asia-Pacific: Why the US Should Work With China

  18 November, 2014

• CO14182 | No South Africa Visa for Dalai Lama: China’s Growing Influence in Africa

  12 September, 2014

• CO14157 | Snaring the ‘Big Tiger’ in Anti-Graft Campaign: Xi Asserts His Authority

  06 August, 2014

Annual Reviews

• Selected Essays by RSIS Researchers - 2022

  16 January, 2023

Journal Articles

• “Book Review of ‘The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps. University of Oklahoma Press, 2018’” in Strategy Bridge, 1, May, 2019, 1
• James Char “A New Direction in the People’s Liberation Army’s Emergent Strategic Thinking, Roles and Missions”, The China Quarterly, Vol. 232 (December 2017): 841-865
• “New Trends in Chinese Foreign Policy” (with Hoo Tiang Boon, and Li Mingjiang) in Asian Security, 13, 2, 2017. 81-83
• James Char. Introduction to the Special Issue: New Trends in Chinese Foreign Policy, Asian Security http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2017.1286158 (Published online: 01 March 2017); 3rd Co-Editor
• James Char, "Reclaiming the Party’s Control of the Gun: Bringing Civilian Authority Back in China’s Civil-Military Relations," Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 39, No. 5-6 (2016), pp. 608-636, DOI: 10.1080/01402390.2016.1219947
• James Char & Richard A. Bitzinger, "Reshaping the People’s Liberation Army since the 18th Party Congress: Politics, Policymaking, and Professionalism," Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 39, No. 5-6 (2016), pp. 599-607, DOI: 10.1080/01402390.2016.1235037
• James Char, The China Quarterly, Vol. 226 (June 2016), pp. 567-568
• James Char. “Exposed: How China is Removing the ‘Rot’ from Its Military,” The National Interest, August 10, 2015.
  

Edited Books / Special Issues

• Modernising the People’s Liberation Army in the New Era: Aspiring to be a Global Military Power. United Kingdom: Oxon, 2024
• Strategic Currents: China and US Competition for Influence (with Bernard Loo Fook Weng), Eds. Singapore: World Scientific, 2024
• The People’s Liberation Army in Its Tenth Decade: Assessing ‘Below the Neck’ Reforms in China’s Military Modernisation. Online: Journal of Strategic Studies Vol.44 No.2, 2021
• Reshaping the Chinese Military: The PLA’s Roles and Missions in the Xi Jinping Era. United Kingdom: Oxon, 2019
• A New Direction in the PLA’s Emergent Strategic Thinking, Roles and Missions. United Kingdom: The China Quarterly Vol. 232 (2017), 2017
• New Trends in Chinese Foreign Policy. Online: Asian Security Vol. 13 No. 2 (2017) , 2017
• Reshaping the People’s Liberation Army Since the 18th Party Congress: Politics, Policymaking and Professionalism. Online: Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol.39 No.5–6 (2016) , 2016

Chapters in Edited Books

• “Introduction: Technology Competition Between China and the United States: Problems, Prospects, and Challenges” (with Bernard Loo Fook Weng) in Bernard F.W. Loo, James Char , China and U.S. Competition for Influence, Singapore. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2024, pp.1-15
• “Introduction: Modernising the People’s Liberation Army: Aspiring to be a Global Military Power” in James Char, Modernising the People’s Liberation Army Aspiring to be a Global Military Power. Oxon: Routledge, 2024, pp.1-23
• “Ongoing Organizational and Structural Reforms of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force” in Kenneth W. Allen, Brendan S. Mulvaney and James Char, Modernising the People’s Liberation Army Aspiring to be a Global Military Power. Oxon: Routledge, 2024, pp.87–120
• “China, the Global South and the Struggle for Hegemony” in Jacqueline Braveboy Wagner , Diplomatic Strategies of Rising Nations in the Global South. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2024): Springer Link, 2024, pp.65–104
• “Chinese civil-military relations: Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign and the People’s Liberation Army” in Richard A. Bitzinger and James Char , Reshaping the Chinese Military: The PLA’s Roles and Missions in the Xi Jinping Era.. Oxon: Routledge, 2019, 9-44
• “Introduction: Reshaping the Chinese Military under Xi Jinping” (with Bitzinger, Richard A.) in Richard A. Bitzinger and James Char , Reshaping the Chinese Military: The PLA’s Roles and Missions in the Xi Jinping Era. Oxon: Routledge, 2019, 1-8
• James Char, “Aspiring to Be a Global Power: China’s Activism in the Global South,” in Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagner, ed., Diplomatic Strategies of Nations in the Global South: The Search for Leadership (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), pp. 59-91
• “Li, Chenyang and Char, James. 2016. “China-Myanmar Relations since Naypyidaw’s Political Transition: How Beijing can Balance Short-Term Interests and Long-Term Values.” In Li Chenyang, Chaw Chaw Sein and Zhu Xianghui (eds.). 2016. Myanmar: Reintegrating into the International Community. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd., 63–104.” in Li Chenyang, Chaw Chaw Sein and Zhu Xianghui , Myanmar: Reintegrating into the International Community. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, 2016, 63–104

Op-Eds

• “Xi’s anti-graft purge of the PLA is limited and has dubious motives”, NIKKEI Asia, 13 August 2024
• “Is Xi’s army ready for Taiwan?”, China Office of Finnish Industries, 28 June 2024
• James Char “Upgrading PLA Hardware and ‘Heartware’ in the Xi Jinping Era,” East Asia Forum (December 13, 2017)
• James Char “China’s Military is Upgrading Its Hardware (and Its People),” The National Interest (November 22, 2017)
• James Char “China’s New Military Leaders,” East Asia Forum (November 22, 2017)
• James Char “Xi Tightens Grip on Military, But at What Cost?” TODAY (November 01, 2017) < http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/china/xi-tightens-grip-military-what-cost>
• James Char “Sun Sets on Era of Collective Leadership in China,” TODAY (July 27, 2017)
• James Char, “Demobilised Soldiers Could Prove Roadblock to China’s Military Reforms,” TODAY, 26 October 2016
• James Char, “Demobilised and Disaffected: Another Roadblock for China’s Military Reforms,” Pacific Forum CSIS, 20 October 2016
• Hoo Tiang Boon and James Char. “台海危机不会重现,” Lianhe Zaobao, January 23, 2016.
• Hoo Tiang Boon and James Char. “Wither cross-Strait relations?” East Asia Forum, January 29, 2016.
• Hoo Tiang Boon and James Char. “Taiwan-China Ties Set to Cool But will Stay Calm,” The Straits Times, January 22, 2016.
• James Char. "Xi Jinping Aims for Full Control of the Gun," TODAY, August 13, 2015.
  
• James Char. “Exposed: How China is Removing the ‘Rot’ from Its Military,” The National Interest, August 10, 2015.
  
• James Char. “Purging the Military Corps of Its Rotten Core,” Pacific Forum CSIS, August 06, 2015.
• James Char. “Tackling the ‘big tiger’ in the anti-graft net,” The Straits Times, 29 May 2015.
• James Char. “Tackling the ‘big tiger’ in the anti-graft net,” AsiaOne, 30 May 2015, available at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asian-opinions/tackling-big-tiger-anti-graft-net.
• James Char, "The Trial of Zhou Yongkang: How to 'Flog a 'Dead' Tiger?" The Diplomat, May 06, 2015.
• James Char, "Turning Point in China's Anti-Graft Campaign," The Diplomat, January 11, 2015.