The list was compiled by parsing through online materials issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, as well as some state-run media reports. The Chinese government does not maintain an official public record of these partnerships, a fact confirmed to Newsweek by Beijing's embassy in Washington, so each bilateral relationship was examined on an individual basis. Some sources offered conflicting assessments, and therefore the list cannot claim to be authoritative or exhaustive to the extent either term applies to the nature of this system.
Newsweek also consulted experts who have studied this system and gained their insight into the hierarchy and significance of China's various partnerships.
