Notes from ChinaFile
09.24.24
From Wild Exuberance to State Control in China’s Art Market
The scholar and journalist Kejia Wu is the author of A Modern History of China’s Art Market, a...
Conversation
01.28.22
The Olympics Return to Beijing
In February Beijing will host the Olympic Games again, this time amid a surging pandemic, a new wave of lockdowns, at least 10 diplomatic boycotts, and international alarm at the disappearance of one of the country’s top athletes. “Together for a...
Photo Gallery
02.12.19
The Face of China’s #MeToo Movement Enters the Fray
In the summer of 2014, Zhou Xiaoxuan, then a 21-year-old living in Beijing, filed a report with the local police. She described what had happened the previous day when she had delivered a basket of fruit to one of China’s most prominent news...
Ai Weiwei Responds To Chinese Authorities Destroying His Beijing Studio
In Beijing, the AFP reports that authorities have slated the neighborhood surrounding Ai's studio for redevelopment. According to the AP, Beijing has destroyed "large swaths of the suburbs over the past year in a building safety campaign."
Lone Suspect Wounded in Blast near U.S. Embassy in China
The explosion happened on the street outside the southeast corner of the embassy compound. Beijing police said the suspect, a 26-year-old man from China’s Inner Mongolia region, had injured his hand and been taken to the hospital. Police did not...
China’s ‘Digital City’ Showcases Xi’s Grand Ambition
Transformation of rural backwater into the new Shenzhen is still some way off.
China: Security Guards Assault Women Attending LGBT Event
Women wearing rainbow badges were blocked from entering Beijing’s 798 arts district by guards who punched them and then knocked them to the ground.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un Leaves Beijing after Surprise Visit
Security returns to normal in Chinese capital as armored train pulls out.
China’s Radical Plan to Limit the Populations of Beijing and Shanghai
In the weaving alleys of Shanghai’s Laoximen district, swathes of residential buildings sit empty. The historic area in the heart of the city is being slowly demolished, and many residents have already abandoned it, leaving behind rows of...
Conversation
03.02.18
How Will Trump’s Tariffs Affect U.S.-China Relations?
Arguing that America is harmed by other countries’ trade practices, President Donald Trump said on March 1 that the U.S. will impose a new 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum. “People have no idea how...
Chinese Capital Dangles Carrots to Lure Foreign Talent to Its Silicon Valley
Beijing, a major hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors in China, is touting a new list of incentives to try and bait foreign talent for its equivalent of Silicon Valley in the Chinese capital.
Catholics Warn of Church Schism If Vatican Makes a Deal with China
Influential Catholics expressed shock and disappointment about the Vatican's potential deal with Beijing.
Small Earthquake Rattles China's Capital, Beijing
A 4.3 magnitude quake centered just south of Beijing in the neighboring province of Hebei.
Features
01.26.18
A Most Immoral Woman: George E. Morrison's Life in Turn-of-the-Century China
My historical novel “A Most Immoral Woman” tells the story of Morrison’s passionate and unconventional affair with Mae Perkins, an independent and wealthy young American libertine, in 1904. It’s a tale that roams the landscape of a dynasty in...
Conversation
01.18.18
Are China’s Blue Skies Here to Stay?
In mid-January, the environmental group Greenpeace announced dramatic improvements in air quality across China. In 74 Chinese cities, measurements of PM2.5, the fine particles that have been a major contributor to the country’s choked skies,...
A Blue Sky in Beijing? It's Not a Fluke, Says Greenpeace
Winters in Beijing have long been choked by thick, dusty, toxic smog. But this winter, the sky has taken on a once seemingly unthinkable hue: blue.
China Is Winning Its War on Air Pollution, at Least in Beijing
China is seeing signs of success in its fight against smog as pollution levels slump dramatically in the capital region Beijing.
Beijing to Build $2 Billion AI Research Park: Xinhua
Beijing is planning to build a 13.8 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) artificial intelligence development park in the city’s west, the official Xinhua news agency reported, as China pushes ahead to fulfill its ambition to become a world leader in AI...
Google to Open Beijing AI Center in Latest Expansion in China
Google is deepening its push into China as it seeks an edge in one of technology’s most competitive fields: artificial intelligence.
Forced Evictions in China's Capital Spark a Rare Display of Dissent
The protests in Feijia, a village in Beijing’s northeastern Chaoyang district, follow a controversial clean-up campaign that began after an apartment block fire killed 19 people last month, the South China Morning Post reports.
The Underclass That Threatens Xi's 'China Dream'
Beijing’s mass evictions of migrants cast a chill over Xi’s lofty equality goals.
China's Evicting Mentions of Its "Low-End" Migrants from Cyberspace
First Beijing pushed thousands of migrant workers out of the city in the name of safety. Now authorities are carrying out a parallel virtual eviction as well, removing references to China’s “low-end population” from the internet.
China Child Abuse Claims: Kindergarten Company Reveals More Complaints
The major company whose kindergarten in Beijing is under investigation over child abuse allegations, has said it is aware of more complaints by parents at some of its schools elsewhere in China.
Three Things to Know About China's Kindergarten Abuse Scandal
A public firestorm has erupted in China over allegations of teachers abusing children at a kindergarten in Beijing. At the kindergarten in Xintiandi run by RYB Education, a New York-listed education chain that is well known in China, children...
Mass Evictions in Freezing Beijing Winter Sparks Public Outrage but Little Official Remorse
In his nationwide address to usher in the start of 2017, China’s President Xi Jinping said he was “seriously concerned” about people living in hardship in his country — those who struggle to find jobs, housing, health care and education for their...
China or the U.S.? Asian Nations' Answer: Neither
It’s a neat narrative: America’s inevitable decline means the inexorable rise of China. But Asian countries have more to say.
Xi Jinping's Leninist Quest for a Dynasty Inspires Congressional Love-In
While the explosion of sycophancy over China’s president may seem almost comical, his reign will have ramifications far beyond the country’s borders
In China, Scholars Are Being Punished amid Growing Squeeze on Public Expression
In late July, Beijing Normal University authorities fired Shi Jiepeng, an assistant professor, citing a number of offenses, including "expressing views outside the mainstream of society."
Tillerson Masters the Art of Comity in Talks with China Leaders
Rex Tillerson made a show of harmony with Chinese leaders during a whirlwind visit to Beijing, skipping over tensions around trade and North Korea to emphasize the personal bond between the countries’ presidents.
U.S. Directly Communicating with North Korea, Seeks Dialogue
The disclosure by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a trip to China represented the first time he has spoken to such an extent about U.S. outreach to North Korea over its pursuit of a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile...
Leaving Nothing to Chance, China Increases Security, Social Control before Congress
China is tightening security for next month’s twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress, cancelling police leave in Beijing, limiting tourism to Tibet, and clamping down on the spread of political rumors.
Ice Hockey Makes Push to Help China Get Its Skates On
The corralling of such resources behind the latest attempt by a major league to tap into the country’s huge market reflects how keen Beijing is to develop interest in the NHL and how much effort will be needed to make China an ice hockey country...
Media
09.23.17
The German Edition of the Falun Gong-Affiliated ‘Epoch Times’ Aligns with the Far Right
On the eve of the German election Sunday, it’s no surprise that Russian state-funded media outlets are attacking German Chancellor Angela Merkel, sensationalizing migrant violence, and providing conciliatory coverage of far-right...
China to Rev up Bullet Train Revolution with World's Fastest Service on Shanghai-Beijing Line
China will soon start official operation of the world’s fastest train service, knocking an hour off the 1,318km journey between Beijing and Shanghai.
U.S. Warship Sails Close to China-Held Island in Disputed Sea
A U.S. warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed the South China Sea in an operation that challenged China’s vast territorial claims in busy international waters, a U.S. Navy official said Thursday.
As Trump Unnerves Asia, China Sees an Opening
With America’s Asian allies unnerved by President Trump’s threat to bring “fire and fury” to North Korea, China sees a chance to capitalize on the fear and confusion and emerge as the sober-minded power in the region, according to analysts who...
Depth of Field
08.03.17
Inspirational Vandalism, Theme Parks, and the Man Who Swam to Hong Kong
from Yuanjin PhotoThis month, five photo galleries explore different aspects of public and private space in contemporary China. Wu Yue meets a couple who swam to Hong Kong from Guangzhou during the Cultural Revolution and still find solace in the waters of Hong...
Chinese Blogger Sorry after Essay Slamming Beijingers’ ‘Fake’ Lives Goes Viral and Is Censored
Widely-read blog criticized by state media after it lists complaints about soaring property prices, crowded subways and lack of human warmth in the capital
Where The Streets Had My Name
If you’re not dead yet and you were never very famous, can you still get a street named after you in Beijing? You can if you’re 27-year-old artist Ge Yulu. Open Google Maps, enter his name, and there you will find a 1,476-foot-...
China Dispatches Troops to Djibouti to Set up Its First Overseas Base
China dispatched troops to set up its first military base overseas on Tuesday. After a ceremony in the southern port city of Zhanjiang, military personnel embarked on a voyage to the East African country of Djibouti to establish an outpost “...
In China, Xi Jinping’s New Mega City Xiongan Is Expanding Underground
Chinese geologists are examining subterranean conditions of Xiong, Rongcheng and Anxin counties, which will become a new district to rival special economic zones such as Shenzhen and Pudong in Shanghai, in the hope of building structures under...
China Likely to Set up Military Base in Pakistan – Pentagon
The report from the Pentagon predicts China will expand its military prowess after the construction of its first overseas naval base in Djibouti, a strategic location at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal.
Trump Lies. China Thrives.
We underestimate China — and attribute all of its surge in growth to unfair trade practices — at our peril. China has been fast and smart at adopting new technologies, particularly the mobile internet.
West Underestimates China’s New Silk Road, German Envoy Says
Western countries are underestimating China’s new Silk Road project, which is an important scheme, despite concerns it is too China-centric and so far lacking in opportunities for foreign firms, Germany’s ambassador to China said on Thursday.
China Tries to Play Nice at Key Security Forum
Although China attempted to strike a more conciliatory tone in this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, a major Asian security forum held here through Sunday, officials’ uncompromising comments on Taiwan and the South China Sea only highlighted its rifts...
China and Europe Are Moving Forward without Trump
Beijing is in prime position to capitalize on major policy fissures that have emerged between Europe and the Trump administration on climate, trade and defense. The new dynamic will be on full display on Thursday in Brussels, when Chinese Premier...
North Korea: Is China Trying Hard Enough to Stop Pyongyang Threat?
Recent actions by South Korea President Moon Jae-in and China’s President Xi Jinping have raised questions about the sincerity of both countries in helping the U.S. reign in North Korea’s nuclear program.
China’s New Cybersecurity Law Leaves Foreign Firms Guessing
As China moves to start enforcing a new cybersecurity law, foreign companies face a major problem: They know very little about it. The law — which was rubber-stamped by the country’s Parliament last year — is part of wide-ranging efforts by...
Emirates Says Telling Cabin Crew Not to Wear Taiwan Flag Pins per China’s Request Was an ‘Error’
Emirates on Wednesday walked back an email ordering its Taiwanese cabin crew to remove the island’s flag from their uniforms following the Middle East airline’s decision to acquiesce to Beijing’s one-China policy.
China Has a Huge Debt Problem. How Bad Is It?
Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded China this week, warning that the country’s financial health is suffering from rising debt and slowing economic growth. It’s the first time the agency has cut China’s rating in nearly three decades.
Killing C.I.A. Informants, China Crippled U.S. Spying Operations
The Chinese government systematically dismantled C.I.A. spying operations in the country starting in 2010, killing or imprisoning more than a dozen sources over two years and crippling intelligence gathering there for years afterward.
Philippines, China Play down Duterte's Talk of War in Disputed Sea
The Philippines and China played down on Monday a warning by President Rodrigo Duterte that China would go to war if the Philippines drilled for oil in the disputed South China Sea.
Why Soft Power Could Be the Real Value of China’s Massive Belt and Road Project
The real benefits of OBOR to China could be the international clout it stands to gain as its attempts to spearhead international policy and improve relations with OBOR partner countries.
Chinese Aviation Finally Takes off with Help from the West
The latest vehicle for China’s aviation dream, the Comac C919, has just completed its first test flight after Beijing decided to take a different path: buying parts from European and U.S. aviation companies rather than stealing their technology...
India Boycotts China’s Global Trade Jamboree
India’s main objection is the partnership China is developing with Pakistan. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key component of One Belt, One Road -- passes through the disputed region of Kashmir, which both India and Pakistan claim in its...
Books
05.15.17
A World Trimmed with Fur
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, booming demand for natural resources transformed China and its frontiers. Historians of China have described this process in stark terms: pristine borderlands became breadbaskets. Yet Manchu and Mongolian archives reveal a different story. Well before homesteaders arrived, wild objects from the far north became part of elite fashion, and unprecedented consumption had exhausted the region’s most precious resources.