Why Has China Grown So Fast For So Long?
For analysts China presents a conundrum. It is clear that China has made rapid progress, and the landscape of the world is changing due to China’s unique position. Yet for decades, many have questioned this phenomenon, showing concern about cooked data, asset bubbles about to burst, and so on. Yet the Chinese economy has kept growing at a blistering pace, 9-10 per cent annually, and more at times, over a span of almost three decades.
Why India Trails China
India’s underperformance can be traced to a failure to learn from the examples of so-called Asian economic development, in which rapid expansion of human capability is both a goal in itself and an integral element in achieving rapid growth.
The Chimerica Dream
Whatever the confusions and difficulties the Chinese leadership faces, Beijing seems to understand the realities behind Washington’s strategic intentions. One wonders whether the reverse applies.
Confucianism as a World Religion
Is Confucianism a religion? If so, why do most Chinese think it isn’t? From ancient Confucian temples, to nineteenth-century archives, to the testimony of people interviewed by the author throughout China over a period of more than a decade, this book traces the birth and growth of the idea of Confucianism as a world religion.
Snowden is Reportedly Considering to Iceland
Icelandic journalist Kristinn Hrafnsson confirmed with the Wall Street Journal that he received a message from Mr. Snowden on June 12 asking to notify the Icelandic government that the former government contractor is interested in seeking asylum...
Let Hong Kong Decide Snowden’s Fate
The Hong Kong SAR government might as well be more candid in dealing with this incident, without excessive consideration of Sino-American relations. Things will go much easier if Hong Kong plays a leading role in resolving this incident, rather...
What’s Right or Wrong with This Chinese Stance on Edward Snowden?
For today’s ChinaFile Conversation we asked contributors to react to the following excerpt from an op-ed published on Monday June 17 in the...
Chinese State Media Warns Against Extradition of Edward Snowden
Chinese newspaper, The Global Times published an article calling for China to “safeguard its interests”, describing extraditing Snowden back to the US as a “betrayal of Snowden’s trust.” The editorial published on Monday argued Mr...
In China, a Push for Cleaner Air
China’s State Council announced an ambitious package on Friday of 10 measures to combat air pollution. Air pollution is a major problem in China and steps to alleviate the problem are vital to the government’s stated goals of building a “...
Calls Grow in China to Press Claim for Okinawa
The Chinese government has not asserted a claim to Okinawa. But the seminar last month, which included state researchers and retired officers from the senior ranks of the People’s Liberation Army, was the latest act in what seems to be a...
China’s Jailed Nobel’s Wife Writes Open Letter to Chinese Leader to Protest Brother’s Sentence
In the letter, Liu Xiaobo’s wife Liu Xia said the sentencing was unfair and urged Xi to govern China in a way that respects the rights of individuals and avoids “ruthless suppression based on violence.”
Ex-N.S.A. Contractor’s Disclosures May Draw China’s Attention
The decision by a former National Security Agency contractor to divulge classified data about the U.S. government’s surveillance of computers in mainland China and Hong Kong has complicated his legal position, but may also make China’s security...
Cool War
The Cold War seemingly ended in a decisive victory for the West. But now, Noah Feldman argues, we are entering an era of renewed global struggle: the era of Cool War. Just as the Cold War matched the planet’s reigning superpowers in a contest for geopolitical supremacy, so this new age will pit the United States against a rising China in a contest for dominance, alliances, and resources. Already visible in Asia, the conflict will extend to the Middle East (U.S.-backed Israel versus Chinese-backed Iran), Africa, and beyond.
A Hero’s Welcome for Snowden on Chinese Internet
Chinese Internet users – who for years have lived with well-founded paranoia over the possibility that someone the government could be monitoring their activities online — lauded the self-described whistleblower for the risks he has taken in...
NSA surveillance: The US is behaving like China
Officials always think what they do is necessary, and firmly believe they do what is best for the state and the people. But the lesson that people should learn from history is the need to limit state power, says Ai Weiwei.
Q&A: Edward Snowden and Hong Kong's Asylum Laws
There has been feverish speculation in recent days over the legal framework surrounding surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and his presence in Hong Kong. Here, Professor Simon N.M. Young, director of the University of Hong Kong's Centre...
Chinese Web Users React to U.S. National Security Agency Surveillance Program
The online reactions to the PRISM incident, in which the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has been revealed to conduct a far-ranging surveillance program affecting many both in the U.S. and abroad, have been as fascinating as the event itself...
Liu Zhijun Admits to Taking 64.6 Mln Yuan in Bribes
The bribery charges involved securing favors for 11 people over the course of 25 years in project bidding, promotions and allocation of rail transport quotas. The court session ended in three and half hours without specifying a sentencing...
U.S. and China Pledge New Model of Cooperation
The two presidents appeared eager to redefine the relationship in a way that would allow their countries to overcome their economic, political and diplomatic differences, rather than letting new — or old — crises derail progress....
Xi Jinping Appears More Maoist Than Reformer So Far
During his first months in power, Xi has proven himself more hard-line than his recent predecessors. He has tightened censorship in academia and the media, and spearheaded China’s territorial assertions in the South China and East China...
At the U.S.-China Summit, Friendship Isn’t What Matters
As the interactions between American and Chinese officials have increased dramatically, ties between the two nations have only become more strained. That’s one indication that Chinese leaders are not influenced by personal relations. ...
How China Views Obama-Xi Meeting in California
Comments about Xi’s arrival in the Golden State barely made waves on China’s Twitter-like social-media service Sina Weibo. The bulk of Friday’s traffic focused on the annual university-entrance exams that are currently under way....
Both Sides Worried on Maintaining Relations (Video)
Chinese leaders, during private meetings with U.S. officials, have moved past their previous denial of cyber-espionage, and are acknowledging a problem, CBS says, citing unnamed officials.
U.S.-China Relations: Stop Striving For “Trust”
The argument that trust leads to peace is built on the premise that the suspicions between China and the U.S. are unfounded and would evaporate with more and deeper dialogue.
Most View China as a Friend
According to a Gallup poll on Thursday, 55 percent of respondents thought China was either an ally or friendly nation. A total of 40 percent viewed China unfavorably.
Cui Tiankai, China’s Envoy to the U.S., Aims to Allay Tensions
Cui Tiankai, the country’s ambassador in Washington, is its chief behind-the-scenes facilitator for the meeting that will bring together Mr. Xi and President Obama at Sunnylands starting June 7.
Anyuan
How do we explain the surprising trajectory of the Chinese Communist revolution? Why has it taken such a different route from its Russian prototype? An answer, Elizabeth Perry suggests, lies in the Chinese Communists’ creative development and deployment of cultural resources – during their revolutionary rise to power and afterwards.
Getting China to Talk About Cyberespionage
There’s plenty of nasty stuff in cyberspace that both countries probably can’t control, but Mr. Xi could agree to a sustained and deeper engagement on the topic, perhaps with an accelerated pace of bilateral working groups....
Xi’s Not Ready
The U.S. needs to free itself from the idea that finding the soft spot in a foreign leader antagonistic towards it improves bilateral relationships. Summits like this one should be reserved for friends and allies.
U.S.-China Meeting’s Aim
The two day meeting is an enormous bet on the power of personal diplomacy, in a setting carefully chosen to nurture a high-level friendship.
Obama Meets Xi: A Chance to Make History
This weekend's gathering is more informal than other meetings. The leaders of the world's two biggest economies have a rare chance to get to know one another on top of the official business about trades, security and global power....
New Idea for Sino-U.S. Relations: First-Lady Diplomacy
A potential partnership between the first ladies could go beyond forming a popular new image for the U.S.-China relationship. Obama and Peng have shown a mutual interest in areas of policy central to our shared future.
What China is Getting Right
from Sinica PodcastComplain as we might about life in China, the last thirty-four years or so haven’t been all bad: we have seen three decades of roughly ten percent GDP growth, a whole lot of people eating a whole lot better than they did, and impressive progress...
Wuxi-Düsseldorf and the Challenge of Green City Partnerships
from chinadialogueAt first glance, it isn’t an obvious pairing. Düsseldorf is the fashion and advertising capital of Germany. Wuxi is a fast-growing industrial city on China’s east coast, with probably more coal plants than catwalks. But a German environmental...
China’s New Leadership Has Ties to Tiananmen Era
Many current top leaders served their political apprenticeship in the 1980s, when the boundaries between the permissible and the forbidden were not as stark and heavily policed as they are now.
Rare Protest in Vietnam Raises Call to Curb China
An anti-China march in the Vietnamese capital on Sunday showed the domestic pressure the government faces when dealing with Beijing’s muscular approach to territorial claims in the South China Sea.
What Would the Best U.S.-China Joint Statement Say?
As we approach the June 7-8 meeting in California of U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping we are holding a small contest. We have asked ChinaFile Conversation regulars and a few guests to envision their ideal...
How to Play Well With China
There is no way to rebalance the global economy, slow climate change, manage the trouble kicked up by rogue states and keep the peace in Asia unless Washington and Beijing work together in as many areas as possible.
Hagel, in Remarks Directed at China, Speaks of Cyberattack Threat
Mr. Hagel emphasized the need for more talks between the American and Chinese militaries to build trust and reduce the risk of miscalculation at a time of mounting rivalry.
Chinese Views Regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute
How Would Facing Its Past Change China’s Future?
David Wertime:
The memory of the 1989 massacre of protesters at Tiananmen Square remains neither alive nor dead, neither reckoned nor obliterated. Instead, it hangs spectre-like in the background, a muted but latently powerful...
The U.S., China, and Cyber Security (Podcast)
Evan Osnos and others discuss the U.S.-China relationship before an upcoming Obama-Xi meeting, covering the topics of cyber security and the two countries’ mutual “strategic distrust.”
On Eve of Tiananmen Anniversary, China’s Prominent Weiborati Speak Out
“Don’t worry about forgetfulness—at least the Sina censors remember,” tweeted Jia Zhangke, a film director.
Like 2013, 1989 was the year of the Snake on the Chinese calendar. It was also a year that Chinese authorities prefer not to...
Obama’s Meeting with China’s Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping
President Obama and the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, will meet June 7–8 in California. The meeting has been characterized as a way for the two to establish a personal relationship and build trust. This would all...
Ideological Debate: Drawing the Battle Lines
Xi Jinping’s lip service to liberalization and constitutionalism has emboldened advocates of political reform. Party officials have responded by rallying against constitutionalism and warning activists to not adopt Western ideals....
Think Tank Urged to Research ‘China Dream’
With this reference to a great renewal of the CHinese nation dominating the zeitgeist the Chinese Academy of Social Science was urged to conduct research to provide academic support for self-confidence in the Chines path, theories and...
What Should Obama and Xi Accomplish at Their California Summit?
Susan Shirk:
It’s an excellent idea for President Obama and President Xi to spend two days of quality time together at a private retreat in Southern California. Past meetings between Chinese and American presidents have been too...
Stumbling Giant
While dozens of recent books and articles have predicted the near-certainty of China’s rise to global supremacy, this book boldly counters such widely-held assumptions. Timothy Beardson brings to light the daunting array of challenges that today confront China, as well as the inadequacy of the policy responses. Threats to China come on many fronts, Beardson shows, and by their number and sheer weight these problems will thwart any ambition to become the world’s “Number One Power.”
Europe and China Trade Talks End Bitterly
China called on the European Union to refrain from imposing tariffs on solar panels, and the European trade commissioner complained that China was pressuring individual countries to prevent Europe from reaching a consensus....
Wang Tells Donilon China Must Coordinate Its Policies With U.S.
China and the U.S. should “strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, and jointly promote world economic recovery and growth,” Wang told Donilon today, according to a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.
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North Korea Special Envoy Sent to China for Talks
Because Choe Ryong Hae has high-level military and ruling party positions, he can cover a variety of topics and likely will discuss security, normalization of economic ties and possible requests for aid when he meets with Chinese officials...
Obama to Meet China’s Xi in California
The June 7 and 8 meeting will likely find the two leaders discussing several hot-button issues such as North Korea’s recent belligerence, cyberattacks, and tension in the South China Sea.
Former Bank Executive In China Faces Bribe Accusations
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Yang Kun, a former vice president of the state-controlled Agricultural Bank of China, had been expelled from the party and handed over to criminal investigators.
Chen Guangcheng Issues Plea For Relatives In China
“I think the U.S. government should publicly and officially ask the Chinese government to fulfill their commitments. It’s been a year now and neither side is living up to their promises following the negotiations last year.”...
China Tries to Improve Image in a Changing Myanmar
With its petrol projects challenged more than ever by activists energized by Myanmar’s democratic opening, China has been trying to repair its tarnished reputation among residents here, and in the country at large.
China and the Other Asian Giant: Where are Relations with India Headed?
Mike Kulma:
Earlier this week at an Asia Society forum on U.S.-China economic relations, Dr. Henry Kissinger remarked that when the U.S. first started down the path of normalizing relations with China in the early 1970s, the...
China Granted Access to Arctic Club as Resource Race Heats Up
China has identified the Arctic as a strategically and geopolitically valuable region and having a seat at the table, albeit only as a permanent observer, has long been an essential part of the country’s regional strategy.
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