Starlink, the satellite internet constellation owned by U.S. aerospace firm SpaceX, has proved a major focus for Beijing and the Chinese security community in recent years due to the technology’s use on the battlefield in Ukraine. In this symposium, key experts analyze insights Beijing is drawing regarding the technology’s broader economic, political, and security ramifications and the future of U.S.-China space competition.

The term 敢于斗争 (gǎnyú dòuzhēng) has become increasingly prevalent in Chinese official discourse. While recently translated as “dare to fight” among multiple high-profile authors and outlets outside of China, two scholars argue that “dare to struggle” better reflects the ideological, political, and multidimensional nature of the concept in historical Chinese discourse.

As the United States gears up for “great power competition” with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), accurate translation of Chinese sources is increasingly important. Different translations can lead to different inferences about intentions, which in turn can affect policy analysis. As an example, this article looks at the November 2020 study on China by the Department of State’s Policy Planning Office, which made key inferences about China’s long-term intentions based, in part, on a problematic translation and decontextualization of key phrases in a speech by China’s leader, Xi Jinping.