China’s Weibo Eclipses Rival Twitter’s Market Capitalization
Shares rally on back of Chinese social platform’s ability to monetize subscriber base
Conversation
02.10.17
Did Xi Just Outmaneuver Trump?
On the evening of February 9, U.S. President Donald Trump had what the White House described in a terse readout...
Plan for $10 Billion Chip Plant Shows China’s Growing Pull
On Friday, the California-based chip maker GlobalFoundries announced a $10 billion project in China, showing how the center of gravity continues to shift across the Pacific.
China’s Quota on Hollywood Film Imports Set to Expand, State Media Says
After an “extremely cordial” call between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a government-backed news outlet projected an expansion to China’s film quota and a greater share of box-office revenue for Hollywood studios.
Here Are Five Ways China’s New Silk Road Is Good for Western Companies
China’s One-Belt-One-Road initiative is the most ambitious infrastructure project in history. Referred to as “OBOR,” this immense network of planned highways, railways, energy grids and port facilities will create economic corridors between 65...
China’s Transgender Oprah
As an army colonel who became a woman, she exemplifies a society in flux
EU to Phase out China Solar Panel Duties Read
The EU said Wednesday it aimed to phase out anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panel imports after 18 months, ending a bitter dispute with one of its largest trading partners.
‘Irrational’ Coal Plants May Hamper China’s Climate Change Efforts
A certain coal plant near the rugged Kazakhstan border and others like it undermine China’s aim of being a global leader on efforts to limit climate change.
Joyous Africans Take to the Rails, With China’s Help
China, which designed the system, supplied the trains and imported hundreds of engineers for the six years it took to plan and build the 466-mile line. And the $4 billion cost? Chinese banks provided nearly all the financing.
China’s Shipbuilders Go From Boom to Rust
Shipyards across China are being driven out of business by weak global demand for new ships
How China Lost $1 Trillion
It’s a lot of money—but it’s shrinking.
China Protests U.S. Sanctions on Iran, but Sees ‘Clouds of War’ Dispersing over South China Sea
China said Monday it had lodged a formal protest with the United States over a decision to impose new sanctions targeting Iran, which affected a handful of Chinese companies and individuals.
It Won’t Be Easy for Donald Trump to Bully China
Trump’s screeds against China—for cheapening its currency, stoking its export machine and “stealing” American jobs—were a centerpiece of his campaign. And yet, as Trump himself probably knows, China won’t be easy to bully.
China’s Intelligent Weaponry Gets Smarter
The Pentagon’s plan to bring A.I. to the military is taking shape as Chinese researchers assert themselves in the nascent technology field.
Disappearance of Chinese Billionaire Alarms Financial Sector
Xiao Jianhua is one of several high-profile Chinese businessmen to go missing since China’s 2015 stock-market crash
Ivanka Trump Effect: New Year Wishes from President’s Daughter Welcomed in China
Beijing media says visit to embassy in U.S. could help ‘balance president’s harsh posture’ but relationship with Washington remains strained
These American-Made Ford Raptor Pickups Are Shipping off to China
In a move that is sure to make President Trump happy, Ford is shipping a boatload of F-150 Raptor pickup trucks. Company reps are very excited to be sending American-made trucks over to China instead of the other way around.
China Tightens Monetary Policy by Raising Money Market Rates
China’s central bank tightened monetary policy by raising the interest rates it charges in open-market operations and on funds lent via its Standing Lending Facility as it shifts to reining in asset prices and inflation.
China Labor Unrest Spreads to ‘New Economy’
Retail and logistics sectors hit by strikes and protests once focused on industry
Why Foreign Companies Are Shutting Shop in China
Sony Electronics, Marks & Spencer, Metro, Home Depot, Best Buy, Revlon, L’Oreal, Microsoft, and Sharp—some of the big names to have closed Chinese operations
The Life of a Football Coach in China
After impressing in Taiwan and the Philippines, Matt Ward moved to Shanghai Shenxin, where he gained ‘all the experience you need to deal with anything’
China Is Facing a Catch-22 Dilemma
A subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has recently reached deals with seven Chinese state-owned enterprises to convert about 60 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) of unpaid loans into equity shares.
Apple Renaissance in China Key for iPhone 8 Success but It Faces a Tough Road Ahead
Apple’s fiscal first quarter results showed a bit of stabilization in China and “record revenues” in India, according to CEO Tim Cook, but the U.S. technology giant still faces challenges in these emerging but increasingly “critical” markets.
Philippines’ Duterte Asks China to Patrol Piracy-Plagued Waters
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he had asked China to help in the fight against Islamic State-linked militants by sending ships to patrol southern waters plagued by raids on commercial vessels.
For Couriers, China’s E-Commerce Boom Can Be a Tough Road
The Chinese e-commerce industry has been built on the backs of couriers—called kuaidi, or express delivery, in China. They number 1.2 million, and online retailers like Alibaba use them to zip packages to customers by scooter or three-wheeled...
Facebook Is Trying Everything to Re-Enter China—and It’s Not Working
Since regulators blocked the service in 2009, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hired well-connected executives, developed censorship tools and taken a ‘smog jog’ in Beijing—but the company has made no visible headway.
With Pen Plan, China Etches Nationalist Economic Policy
New ability to manufacture pen nibs gives China ability to produce whole pen—and a point of pride
Apple iPhone Toppled from No. 1 Spot in China for the First Time in 5 Years Making Firm ‘Vulnerable’: Research
Apple’s iPhone has failed to clinch the title for the top selling smartphone in China for the first time since 2012, making the U.S. technology giant “vulnerable” in the world‘s second-largest economy
Conversation
01.27.17
TPP is Dead, Now What?
On Monday, on his first full working day as president, Donald Trump officially withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (...
Chinese Send Fake Trump Tweets as Jokes, New Year Wishes
In China, Twitter is blocked but fake tweets by @realdonaldtrump look set to become the latest internet sensation.
Forget Xi’s ‘Defense’ of Globalization. China Just Fortified the Great Firewall.
Over the weekend, China announced a new, year-long crackdown on “unauthorized Internet connections.”
China’s Growing Obesity Problem
A recent study published shows that China can now lay claim to having a greater percentage of obese men and women than in the United States.
China Swings back at Golf, Shutting down 111 Courses
China has launched a renewed crackdown on golf, closing 111 courses in an effort to conserve water and land, and telling members of the ruling Communist Party to stay off the links.
China’s Economy Grows Strongly, Yet Central Bank Eases Policy
China’s economy firmly hit its growth target last year, but this is China, where figures are sometimes doubted and where economists look for signs of strain underneath the numbers.
Asian Shares Mixed as Investors Eye Trump’s Inauguration
Asian markets were a mixed bag on Friday after China’s latest set of economic data suggest the economy is recovering, even as risk sentiment sours ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration
China’s Latest Hollywood Move: Pumping $1B into Paramount Movies
Paramount Pictures has announced a $1 billion financing deal with two Chinese firms, strengthening the U.S. studio's ties with a lucrative but difficult market.
U.S. Commerce Nominee Ross Calls China ‘Most Protectionist’ Country
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for commerce secretary, voiced sharp criticism of China’s trade practices on Wednesday
China Is America’s “Vendor,” and Needs to Treat Its Biggest Customer Better, Trump’s Commerce Pick Says
China loomed large in the US senate’s confirmation hearing today of Wilbur Ross for commerce secretary.
Viewpoint
01.19.17
Do We Want to Live in China’s World?
Each weekday morning, I cross D.C.’s National Mall and pass a sign on Constitution Avenue bearing an epigram by the U.S. architect Daniel Burnham: Make No Little Plans. And every morning, these words make me think not of Burnham’s 20th century...
Conversation
01.18.17
U.S.-China Flashpoints in the Age of Trump
Over the past year, Donald Trump has vowed to “utterly destroy” ISIS, considered lifting sanctions on Russia, promised to cancel the Paris climate agreement and “dismantle” the Iran nuclear deal. But many of his most inflammatory statements are...
China’s Top Economic Official Braces for Possible Trade War
Liu He has struggled to overcome resistance to a program of measured economic liberalization and more open markets that he argues is critical to China’s long-term economic health
First Freight Train from China to Britain Arrives in London
The first China-to-Britain freight train arrived in London on Wednesday after a 7,500-mile journey, marking a milestone in China’s push to build commercial links across Europe and Asia.
The Chinese Government Finally Admitted That Its Economic Data Was Made Up
For many who have long believed that China’s economic growth figures seemed too good—and tidy—to be true, they now have official confirmation of that skepticism.
China’s Oil Collapse Is Unintentionally Helping OPEC
OPEC’s campaign to prop up oil prices is getting unlikely support from its biggest customer.
Google Play and iOS Apps Demand Surges in India and China
The two leading app stores both experienced a tilt towards Asia in 2016, according to an annual study.
Rich Chinese, Inspired by ‘Downton,’ Fuel Demand for Butlers
Inspired in part by the Downton Abbey television drama, the country’s once raw and raucous tycoons are fueling demand for the services of homegrown butlers trained in the ways of a British manor.
China Overseas Investment Spree Set to Run Out of Steam
A government think tank predicts China’s direct investment overseas, after years of robust gains, is likely to decline in 2017
Books
01.11.17
Taiwan’s China Dilemma
China and Taiwan share one of the world’s most complex international relationships. Although similar cultures and economic interests have promoted an explosion of economic ties between them since the late 1980s, these ties have not led to an improved political relationship, let alone progress toward the unification that both governments once claimed to seek. In addition, Taiwan’s recent Sunflower Movement succeeded in obstructing deeper economic ties with China. Why has Taiwan’s policy toward China been so inconsistent?
The Humble Ballpoint Pen Has Become a New Symbol of China’s Innovation Economy
China has grown by leaps and bounds during its quest for greater domestic innovation, but one of its most recent accomplishments is in an area that’s considerably more basic: ballpoint pens.
Conversation
01.10.17
Can Beijing’s Ivory Ban Save the Elephants?
On New Year’s Eve, Beijing announced it will ban the ivory trade in China, potentially shutting down the world’s biggest ivory market. Why did Beijing decide to curb the ivory trade? Will it put enough muscle behind it to enforce the decision?...
China Probes Bitcoin Exchanges amid Capital Flight Fears
Investors in the cryptocurrency say they doubt it is being used to transfer large amounts of cash out of China.
How Chinese Super App WeChat Plans To Lock Out Foreign App Stores In China
Since its launch on January 21 2011, WeChat has established a solid track record in pushing forward big game changing innovations within China’s mobile ecosystem.
Alibaba Looks to Bricks and Mortar With Bid for Mall Operator in China
Alibaba is pushing further into the very sector that it helped to disrupt with a $2.6 billion bid for Intime Retail, a department store and mall operator in China.
McDonald’s China Operations to Be Sold to Locally Led Consortium
McDonald’s said on Monday that it would sell its businesses in mainland China and Hong Kong for $2.08 billion to Citic, a state-owned conglomerate, and the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.
China Is Mad About Hollywood Remakes
Aiming to crack new frontiers in China, Hollywood studios are turning to something familiar: established American films and TV series that can be remade for Chinese audiences.