Xiong Guangkai, Chairman of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies and former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (COURTESY OF XIONG GUANGKAI)

Xiong Guangkai's International Situation and Security Strategy was published in Chinese by the Junshi Yiwen Press and in English by the Foreign Languages Press in March, catching the attention of researchers on international strategic studies and military affairs at home and abroad. Xiong, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), currently heads the China Institute for International Strategic Studies.

The book's English edition was edited by Lin Wusun, former President of the China International Publishing Group. It aims to introduce China's national security strategy to interested readers around the world. In a book review for Beijing Review, Sa Benwang and Wang Wei, researchers with the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, speak highly of Xiong's academic achievements as a scholar and his devotion as a retired army general.

Before his retirement, General Xiong Guangkai worked for the Chinese military for more than 50 years, during which time he took part in top-level policy making of the state and the military as a senior advisor. Xiong, who has traveled around the globe, is also an active person devoted to foreign exchanges. His distinguished professional background, deep strategic insight and legendary personal experiences have made International Situation and Security Strategy an extraordinary work.

BOOK OF INSIGHT: Xiong Guangkai takes an insider's look at the evolving international situation and China's security strategy in his recent book (WEI YAO)

The book, consisting of 27 essays, speeches and reports the author published from 2000 to 2009, is a comprehensive and systematic summary of his reflections on the international situation and security strategy in recent years. In the book, Xiong summarizes the evolution of the international situation since the beginning of the 21st century. He not only analyzes China's security environment from an overall perspective, but also analyzes major strategic problems in China's security strategy and the modernization of its national defense. At the same time, he conducts useful research into China's international strategic deployment, the adoption of its security strategy, the development of its security concept and its military reform. With insightful analyses, convincing arguments and vivid narration, International Situation and Security Strategy is an excellent book that integrates history with current affairs, strategy with policy and theory with practice. It is a culmination of the author's efforts to study strategic issues over the past decades. His expertise on international strategic studies and national security is undoubtedly of great value to other researchers specializing in these fields. Its English edition opens the door to a better understanding of China's national security strategy for researchers on strategic issues throughout the world.