What Will the TPP Mean for China?
On Monday, the U.S., Japan, and ten other countries concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—the largest regional trade accord in history. If approved, the agreement will set new terms for the nearly $28 trillion in trade...
The Future of Autonomy in Hong Kong
Yesterday, the governing board of Hong Kong University, one of the territory’s most esteemed institutions of higher education, voted to reject the promotion of Johannes Chan, a former law school dean, over the objections of the faculty and...
Can the U.S. & China Make Peace in Cyberspace?
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the United States today on his first state visit. Xi will address a group of American business leadersin Seattle. High on their list of concerns about trade with China is cyber hacking, cyber espionage and...
What Would New Breakthroughs on Climate Change Mean for the U.S.-China Relationship?
With just over a week to go before Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his first State Visit to the United States, there is much evidence to suggest that bilateral action to fight climate change is an area most ripe for meaningful Sino-U.S....
What Is China’s Big Parade All About?
On September 3, China will mark the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory over Japan with a massive parade involving thousands of Chinese troops and an arsenal of tanks, planes, and missiles in a tightly choreographed march across...
Is the Bloom Off the Rose of China’s Economic Miracle?
On Monday, August 24, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 8.5 percent, its second such steep fall since late July, and its worst since...
How Should the U.S. Conduct the Xi Jinping State Visit?
As tensions increase between China and the United States over the value of the yuan, human rights violations, alleged cyber attacks, and disputed maritime territories, among other issues, how should the Obama administration conduct the upcoming...
Should the U.S. Extradite Chinese Wanted by Beijing?
This week, The New York Times reported that Chinese officials have asked the U.S....
Can Xi Jinping Turn China’s Economy Around?
On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5 percent, erasing all of the gains it had made in an extraordinary run-up this year. The drop was the second 8.5 percent drop in recent weeks. The first such drop (the occasion for the Conversation...
Is China’s Reform Era Over and, If So, What’s Next?
Fordham Law School professor and regular ChinaFile contributor Carl Minzner says we've arrived at “...
China’s ‘Rule by Law’ Takes an Ugly Turn
Yet another crackdown has begun under Chinese President Xi Jinping. This time, the target is so-called “rights lawyers,” loosely defined as those who defend unpopular or dissident clients, or bring cases against the state that rest on claims of...
Are China’s Limits on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Meaningful?
Last week, Premier Li Keqiang said China would cut its “carbon intensity”—the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per...
How Much Does the Chinese Market Matter to the World?
China’s main market, reflected in the Shanghai Composite Index, has fallen 24 percent since June 12, losing...
Has China’s ‘One Country, Two Systems’ Experiment Failed?
As Hong Kong’s legislature began debate this week on the reform package that could shape the future of the local political system, the former British colony’s pro-democracy lawmakers swore again they will reject electoral reforms proposed by the...
How Will Beijing Treat Myanmar’s Symbol of Democracy?
Burmese opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who spent 15 years under house arrest in Myanmar, is visiting the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing for five days this week, through Sunday. Also courted...
Should the U.S. Change its China Policy and How?
The past several months have seen a growing chorus of calls for the U.S. to take stock of its policy toward China. Some prominent voices have called for greater efforts by the U.S. and China to forge “a...
Did the Game Just Change in the South China Sea? (And What Should the U.S. Do About It?)
As the 14th annual Asia Security Summit—or the Shangri-La Dialogue, as it has come to be known—gets underway in Singapore, we asked contributors to comment on...
Censorship and Publishing in China
This week, a new PEN American Center report “Censorship and Conscience: Foreign Authors and the Challenge of Chinese Censorship,” by Alexa...
Is China Building Up Soft Power by Aiding Nepal?
A devastating earthquake has struck one of China’s smallest neighbors, the mountainous former kingdom known, since 2008, as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Surrounded on three sides by India—known in Nepali as a “friendly nation”—Nepal...
A New Era for China and Pakistan?
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Islamabad and showered Pakistan with attention and promises of $46 billion in development support. What does this intensified Sino-Pakistani engagement mean for Asia and the rest of the world? —...
What Went Wrong With U.S. Strategy on China’s New Bank and What Should Washington Do Now?
Now that much of Europe has announced its intentions to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), was Washington’s initial opposition a mistake? Assuming the AIIB does get off the ground, what might it mean for future...
Dark Days for Women in China?
With China’s recent criminal detention of five feminist activists, gender inequality in China is back in the spotlight. What does a crackdown on Chinese women fighting for equal representation say about the current state of the nation’s political...
Is China Really Cracking Up?
On March 7, The Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by David Shambaugh arguing that “the endgame of Chinese communist rule has...
Are China and Russia Forging a New Ideological Bloc?
What’s the Case for Heads of State Meeting the Dalai Lama?
On Thursday in Washington, the Dalai Lama attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast hosted by President...
Does Size Matter? (In the U.S. and Chinese Economies, That Is...)
Last week, President Obama’s State of the Union Address touted a U.S. economic recovery....
What Does Hong Kong’s Post-Protest Report Signal For Relations with Beijing?
This week, we saw the release of the official government “Report on the Recent Community and Political Situation in Hong Kong.” It concluded...
What Must China and Japan Do to Get Along in 2015?
Can China Conquer the Internet?
Lu Wei, China’s new Internet Czar, recently tried to get the world to agree to...
Was the U.S.-China Climate Deal Worth the Wait?
Last week, Ann Carlson and Alex Wang, environmental experts at UCLA Law School, called the November 12 U.S.-China Joint...
What Should Obama and Xi Say to Each Other at APEC?
Next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing (November 5-11) between Presidents Xi Jinping, Barack Obama, and other leaders from around the...
Are China’s Economic Reforms Coming Fast Enough?
Economic data show a slowdown in China. At least two opposing views of what’s next for the world’s largest...
Rule of Law—Why Now?
In a recent essay, “How China’s Leaders Will Rule on the Law,” Carl Minzner looks at the question of why China’s leaders have...
Will Asia Bank on China?
Last week The New York Times reported U.S. opposition to China's plans to launch a regional...
Is This the End of Hong Kong As We Know It?
Over the past week, tens of thousands of Hong Kong people have occupied the streets of their semi-autonomous city to advocate for the democratic elections slated to...
Should the U.S. Cooperate with China on Terrorism?
Richard Bernstein: Of course, they should. But can they? Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in the United States, China has defined almost any dissent from its policies there as examples of international terrorism. It has also...
China and Climate Change: What’s Next?
Climate Week at the United Nations General Assembly is upon us and we asked a group of experts to bring us up-to-date about the areas where progress on climate change looks most possible for China, now the world's largest emitter of greenhouse...
Is a Trade War with China Looming?
As Alibaba gets ready to sell shares on Wall Street, U.S. investors will be focused on Chinese companies getting a fair shake here in America even as some big U.S. brand names (Microsoft, Chrysler, et al) are being shaken down by China's newly...
Simon Leys Remembered
Isabel Hilton: When I heard the news of the death of Pierre Ryckmans, better known by his pen name,...
How to Read China’s New Press Restrictions
On June 30, China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television posted a statement on its website warning Chinese journalists not to share...
The U.S. and China Are At the Table: What’s At Stake?
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are in Beijing this week for the sixth session of the high level bilateral diplomatic exchange known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. We asked contributors what's likely to...
The Debate Over Confucius Institutes PART II
Last week, ChinaFile published a discussion on the debate over Confucius Institutes–Chinese language and culture programs affiliated with China’s...
The Debate Over Confucius Institutes
Last week, the American Association of University Professors joined a growing...
