Is The White House Beginning to Resemble Zhongnanhai?

A ChinaFile Conversation

By Melissa Chan & Yifu Dong on February 5, 2017

Since Donald Trump was sworn into office on January 20, he has lied repeatedly about the size of the crowd at his inauguration, embraced xenophobic policies, and declareda “running war with the media.” The White House has frozen out the news network CNN—it hasn’t sent an administration official to the network since January 8, and the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he refused to “engage with people who have no desire to actually get something right.” Is the White House beginning to resemble Zhongnanhai, the seat of the Chinese Communist Party and the government that rules China? Or are these just superficial similarities?

Why’s Beijing So Worried About Western Values Infecting China’s Youth?

By Eric Fish on February 4, 2017

In early December, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the country’s universities to “adhere to the correct political orientation.” Speaking at a conference on ideology and politics in China’s colleges, he stressed that schools must uphold the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership and “guide the broad masses of teachers and students to be strong believers” in Marxist theories and socialist core values.

Chinese Tourism to Africa Is Up, but Travel Companies Are Wary

A China in Africa Podcast

By Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more on February 3, 2017

Africa is becoming an increasingly popular holiday destination among adventure-seeking Chinese tourists. The number of visitors who went to Africa in 2016 was up sharply due to looser visa restrictions and new direct flights between China and Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa, among other popular destinations.

The Art of a China Deal

Reciprocity and the Trump Pacific Partnership

By James McGregor on February 2, 2017

By his own admission, President Donald J. Trump is a brilliant businessman, a master negotiator, an exceptional deal maker, somebody who always wins. When it comes to China, he is prepared to do just that—win. “I’ve read hundreds of books about China over the decades,” Trump wrote in his 1987 bestseller The Art of the Deal. “I know the Chinese. I’ve made a lot of money with the Chinese.