The China Syllabi Project helps China-focused professionals expand their knowledge of China beyond their current areas of expertise. For instance, are you an expert on the Chinese economy but never really studied the PLA? This is the resource for you. We also hope these syllabi will also help recent graduates and young professionals transition from academic China studies to a professional environment that requires more specialized knowledge. Finally, this project attempts to break down knowledge silos and get people thinking more holistically about China.

Current topics include: the Chinese military; Chinese politics and the party; the Chinese economy; China’s environment and energy; and Chinese foreign policy.

These self-study syllabi contain targeted readings in English and Chinese and have been prepared by top experts in these fields. Each can be completed in a month, with a hour or so of reading per day, five days a week. We have made efforts to ensure that most readings are available online; where the authors have suggested books, it means that they think these are worth buying and owning. Below each syllabus you will also find a vocabulary list to help with specialized terms from the readings with which you may not yet be familiar.

This is a living project. The syllabi are curated documents and are updated as needed. The most recent update is July 2024. If you have any suggestions for edits, modifications, or improvements, please send suggestions to the authors via the links in the syllabi.

After registering (for free!), all AMS members and associates have full access to the syllabi. For now we have made the first syllabus, Military, available for viewing prior to registration.

To further your Chinese language abilities, we also recommend checking out our Chinese for Professionals course.

We put a great deal of work into the creation and updating of these documents, which we think are the single best resources available on these topics. AMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that depends on grants and donations. If you use these syllabi, we kindly ask that you make a donation to support this and AMS’ other work via the link below.