What’s Scarier Than a Strong China? A Weak China.
When China actually does take a tumble, Americans feel it in their pocketbooks and portfolios.
Scott Walker Calls on Obama to Cancel Chinese State Visit
Amid rising tension, a Republican calls to end a diplomatic courtesy.
Why is China’s Stock Market Falling and How Might it Affect the Global Economy?
Concerns about inflation, shares and interest rates raised after ‘Black Monday’ wiped billions off global markets.
Apple Stock Recovers After Tim Cook Email Praises China Sale
CEO Tim Cook emailed “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer to say the App Store in China had its best performance of the year in the last two weeks.
Great Fall of China Sinks World Stocks, Dollar
A near 9-percent dive in China shares and a sharp drop in the dollar and major commodities sent investors rushing for the exit.
Japan Refuses to Take Part in China’s ‘Victory Day’ Event to Mark End of War
Shinzo Abe has decided against visiting Beijing for the event, partly to protest against China’s regional military build-up.
Caixin Media
08.24.15
How to Solve China’s Currency Parity Puzzle?
Boosting exports, controlling outbound capital flow and supporting the Chinese currency’s bid for Special Drawing Rights (SDR) status are just some of the reasons cited by analysts for the yuan's unexpected devaluation in mid-August.
The...
Sinica Podcast
08.24.15
The Tianjin Explosion
from Sinica Podcast
Insurance scam? Industrial accident? Political machinations? After August excursions to lands of clean air and English-language media, the Sinica team is back this week with a show covering the astonishing explosions that gutted the Binhai economic...
Tibet’s Road Ahead
Tibetans complain that they live, essentially, as second-class citizens in their own land. Their language, culture and faith are all under pressure. They attend substandard schools and, if they manage to get an education, lack the same job...
Environment
08.21.15
Beijing Tells Mayors of Chinese Cities to Clean Up Their Air
from chinadialogueIn China, “APEC blue” was the sarcastic term used to refer to the unusually clear skies Beijing enjoyed when an Asia-Pacific leaders summit was in...
China Says More than 10 Countries to Join Unprecedented WW II Military Parade
Russia and Kazakhstan are among those countries joining a parade in Beijing in September to commemorate China's WWII victory over Japan.
China Shares Brush New Low Since Depth of Selloff
Shanghai Composite closes down 4.3%, a fraction above July 8 low.
Features
08.20.15
Is China About to Plunge the World Into Recession?
On Aug. 18, China’s stock market plummeted by a vertigo-inducing 6.2 percent in one day of trading,...
The Politburo’s Predicament
Freedom House
Drawing on an analysis of hundreds of official documents, censorship directives, and human rights reports, as well as some 30 expert interviews, the study finds that the overall degree of repression has increased under the new leadership....
Conversation
08.18.15
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...
Culture
08.18.15
Has Chinese Film Finally Produced a Real Hero?
“This Is an Era That Calls for Heroes”—the boldface Chinese characters scream from a publicity poster for the Chinese animation film, Monkey King:...
Caixin Media
08.18.15
Official Stonewalling on Tianjin Explosions Sparks Outcry
While victims of the Tianjin explosions are still waiting to be told why their loved ones died or, how safe it is to go outside, officials remained evasive in the sixth press conference regarding the disaster.
In response to a question...
Obama Administration Warns Beijing About Covert Agents Operating in U.S.
The warning reflects escalating anger in Washington about intimidation tactics used by the agents.
Military Sends Chemical Specialists to Blast Site, Death Toll Rises to 50
So far more than 1,000 firefighters, 151 fire engines and a drone have been dispatched to the blast site.
P&G Tripped Up by Its Assumptions About Diapers in China
Pampers diapers fall behind after aiming too low at the growing middle class.
Tianjin Blast Rescuers Removing Toxic Chemical Substance from Scene
Sodium cyanide has now been detected in the sewage and leakage has been confirmed.
Media
08.13.15
Sorry China, the Internet You’re Looking for Does Not Exist
The long arm of China’s massive internal security apparatus just reached further into the heart of the country’s web. On August 4, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that it would embed law enforcement officers at major...
U.S.-China Aviation Talks Hit Stumbling Block on Airport Access
In May talks China offered to permit more flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and lower caps for other domestic cities.
China Seeks to Calm Markets as It Devalues Currency for 3rd Consecutive Day
Since Tuesday, the currency, the renminbi, has fallen 4.4 percent, the biggest drop in decades.
The NYRB China Archive
08.13.15
China: The Superpower of Mr. Xi
from New York Review of BooksIn the almost one-hundred-year existence of the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.), its current general secretary, Xi Jinping, is only the second leader clearly chosen by his peers. The first was Mao Zedong. Both men beat out the...
Caixin Media
08.11.15
Auditors Probe Sinopec, Savvy Broker in Angola
Government auditors are taking a closer look at U.S.$10 billion worth of offshore oil investments by state-run China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) that owe their existence to a Hong Kong businessman with a flair for networking in the...
Bearish Bets Multiply as China Slows
A slowdown in China is harder for its trading partners and manufacturing competitors than it is for China itself.
China TV Anchor Bi Fujian to be Punished for Mao Insult
He committed "a serious violation of political discipline" mocking the man who led the Cultural Revolution and sparked a crippling famine.
China Hits Back at U.S. Criticism over South China Sea ‘Restrictions’
Free overflights and navigation doesn't equal foreign warships and jets to violate sovereignty and security, Beijing said.
China Shares Post Biggest One-Day Gain in a Month
Weak economic data boosts stimulus hopes; investors signal confidence in Beijing’s support.
China Read Emails of Top U.S. Officials
First codenamed "Dancing Panda" by U.S. officials was detected in April 2010, according to a top secret NSA briefing from 2014.
Two Way Street
08.10.15
A Response to ‘China’s Foreign Policy Isn’t Transparent? You’ve Got to Be Kidding’
from Two Way StreetI’m pleased that my article on the lack of transparency in China’s political system has stimulated this intellectually interesting commentary from Chu Yin. Chu elaborates my argument that China’s leaders keep the policy process secret because...
Excerpts
08.10.15
What Happened to the Settlers the Japanese Army Abandoned in China
Seventy years ago today, thousands of Japanese settlers—mostly women and children—found themselves trapped in an area then known as Manchuria, or Manchukuo, the name of the puppet state the Japanese military established in 1931....
At Sea in the City
When building cities in China, someone forgot the drains.
Wealthy Brother of Top Chinese Corruption Suspect Lived Quiet Life in California
Jason Wang was a golf enthusiast and was memorably friendly, neighbors said.
China’s Liberal Academics Fear Growing Censorship
“It is getting worse,” said Qiao, 45, whose public advocacy of western-style democracy and civil rights made him a thorn in the government’s side. “Since [Xi] came to power the government has placed tighter controls on ideological research...
The Singapore Lesson China Missed
It’s impossible to understand Singapore’s success without recognizing the importance of state constraint. Since Mr. Xi acknowledges no such limits, he will have a hard time achieving Singapore’s results.
Conversation
08.05.15
Should the U.S. Extradite Chinese Wanted by Beijing?
This week, The New York Times reported that Chinese officials have asked the U.S....
Environment
08.05.15
High-Ranking Retired Environmental Protection Official Mired in Corruption Probe
from chinadialogueRetired Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) Vice Minister Zhang Lijun has run afoul of the ongoing corruption crackdown, becoming the highest-ranking environmental official yet to be investigated.
On Thursday, China’s anti-...
Media
08.05.15
Beijing’s Ban on Smoking Is Actually (Sort of) Working
They rarely trash hotel rooms or boast about drugs, but Chinese rock stars could at least be counted on to smoke. Now even that’s starting to change in the face of a smoking ban in China’s capital that shows little sign of burning...
The China Africa Project
08.04.15
U.S. Not Concerned About Chinese Competition in Africa ... But It Probably Should Be
The difference between U.S. and Chinese foreign policies in Africa was on stark display in July when president Barack Obama made his landmark visits to Kenya and Ethiopia. The president brought along with him a vast agenda that transcended trade...
For China’s Gay Men, Beijing Park Offers Haven
Though illegal, Chinese media regularly report on gay home weddings and gay couples getting marriage certificates in the U.S.
The Melancholy Pop Idol Who Haunts China
Teresa Teng’s influence is particularly powerful in China, which her parents had fled after the revolution.
China Seeks Businessman Said to Have Fled to U.S., Further Straining Ties
Ling Wancheng is the younger brother of Ling Jihua, who for years held a post akin to that of the White House chief of staff.
Two Way Street
08.01.15
China’s Foreign Policy Isn’t Transparent? You’ve Got to Be Kidding
from Two Way StreetIn her recent article, “What China’s Lack of Transparency Means for U.S. Policy,” U.S.-China relations expert Susan Shirk caused a stir when she argued that China’s “lack of transparency” around public policy making, defense, national security,...
Guo Boxiong Expelled From Chinese Communist Party in Bid to Reform Military
The military has been a core focus of President Xi Jinping's campaign against official corruption.
China’s Naked Emperors
By trying to control the market China's rulers show that despite 25 years of success they have no idea what they’re doing.
China Gets the 2022 Winter Olympics
Beijing will stage the winter games in the desert.
China Shares Suffer Worst Month in Nearly Six Years
Shaken confidence in Beijing’s role in market led to wild swings in recent days.
In China, Michael Jordan Does Not Hold Rights to His Own Name
Jordan first sued Qiaodan Sports in 2012 for using his Chinese name, his team number 23, and a jumping man logo to sell basketball shoes and jerseys.
China’s Film Industry Is Gaining on Hollywood
Chinese audiences are growing, more theaters are being built, and the movies are getting better.
Media
07.28.15
Clickbait Nationalism
On July 16, the lower house of the Japanese Parliament passed a set of new...
China’s Shares Tumble Again
Artists, essayists, lawyers, bloggers and others deemed to be online troublemakers have been hauled into police stations and investigated or imprisoned for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge that was once confined to physical...
China’s Un-separation of Powers
U.S. industry has figured out how to pull the levers of power in China but also points to a substantial change in how China is governed. In the past, there was at least some separation between party and government roles, but it seems that the...
China Uses ‘Picking Quarrels’ Charge to Cast a Wider Net Online
Artists, essayists, lawyers, bloggers and others deemed to be online troublemakers have been hauled into police stations and investigated or imprisoned for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge that was once confined to physical...