China Is About to Bury Elon Musk in Batteries
By Joe Ryan via Bloomberg
June 28, 2017
As Elon Musk races to finish building the world’s biggest battery factory in the Nevada desert, China is poised to leave him in the dust.
Elon Musk, Manufacturing
Why The Great Malls of China Are Starting to Crumble
By Irina Ivanova via CBS News
June 28, 2017
China, which for years has been goading consumers to spend their hard-earned yuan as the country seeks to modernize its economy, faces an all-too-American problem: too many shopping malls, and not enough people to shop there.
Retail Sales, Consumerism, Markets
China's Massive Corporate Crackdown Aimed at Curbing Outflows: IMF's Former China Chief Prasad
By Leslie Shaffer via CNBC
June 28, 2017
China is sending a "remarkably strong signal" about stemming capital outflows by going after big companies.
International Monetary Fund, International Capital Flows
China Opposes Interference After Vatican Concern Over Bishop
By CNA via Channel NewsAsia
June 27, 2017
China said on Tuesday it opposed outside interference in its internal affairs after the Vatican expressed concern about a Chinese bishop it said had been "removed".
The Vatican, Pope Francis, Catholicism
China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, Praises Free Trade, in Contrast to Trump
By Keith Bradsher via New York Times
June 27, 2017
Premier Li Keqiang of China reaffirmed on Tuesday his country’s desire to be seen as the world’s new leader in globalization and free trade, but he offered no specifics on how China might lower its own trade barriers, which are among the steepest of any large country.
Donald Trump, Li Keqiang, Free Trade, Protectionism
Tycoon’s Claims Reverberate in China Despite Censorship and Thin Evidence
By Chris Buckley via New York Times
June 27, 2017
Since taking office, President Xi Jinping has cultivated an aura of austere probity and stern control. But now a garrulous billionaire living in a lavish apartment in Manhattan, taunting the authorities beyond the easy grasp of Chinese security forces, has muddied that image.
Censorship, Dissidents and Activists
Liu Xiaobo: China Tells U.S. not to Interfere Over Jailed Dissident
By BBC via BBC
June 27, 2017
Beijing has hit back at Washington for "irresponsible remarks" after the US criticised its treatment of Chinese Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Liu Xiaobo, Dissidents and Activists, U.S.-China Relations
China and India Border Dispute Raises Fears of New Asian War
By Reuters via Reuters
June 27, 2017
China has accused Indian border guards of crossing into its territory from the state of Sikkim on India's northeastern border with Tibet, the Chinese foreign and defence ministries have said, complicating an already difficult relationship.
China-India Relations, Territorial Disputes
Second Landslide Hits Stricken Site in Southwest China
By Associated Press via Associated Press
June 27, 2017
A second landslide struck a village in southwestern China where rescue workers have been looking for nearly 100 people buried over the weekend by a massive wave of rocks and debris.
Natural Disasters
Hollywood Conducting First Independent Audit of China's Box Office
By Patrick Brzeski via Hollywood Reporter
June 27, 2017
After years of U.S. studio concerns over a lack of transparency and possible ticket fraud, Hollywood is getting a closer look at the Chinese industry's books.
Film Industry, Hollywood, Auditing
New U.S. Ambassador to China Says North Korea a Top Priority
By Christian Shepherd via Reuters
June 26, 2017
The new U.S. ambassador to China has said that stopping the threat posed by North Korea will be a top priority, along with resolving the U.S.-China trade imbalance, according to a video message to the Chinese people released on Monday.
United States, China-North Korea Relations, North Korea
China Jails Workers from Crown Resorts of Australia in Message to Casinos
New York Times
June 26, 2017
A court in Shanghai on Monday sentenced three Australian employees of Crown Resorts to less than a year in prison each for illegally promoting gambling in China. Including the time they have already spent in prison, all three should be released in weeks or months. Thirteen other employees, one Malaysian and 12 Chinese, received similar sentences, the company said.
Casinos, Gambling, Australia, Malaysia, Macau
Hong Kong’s Youth Press Campaign despite China’s Rejection of Full Democracy
Reuters
June 26, 2017
When the British handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised to allow universal suffrage as an “ultimate aim”, along with other freedoms, under a “one country, two systems” arrangement agreed with London.
hongkong, London, Democracy, Hong Kong-Mainland Tension
Coal on the Rise in China, US, India after Major 2016 Drop
ABC
June 26, 2017
The world’s biggest coal users — China, the United States and India — have boosted coal mining in 2017, in an abrupt departure from last year’s record global decline for the heavily polluting fuel and a setback to efforts to rein in climate change emissions.
Donald Trump, CO2 Emissions, Coal Industry, Coal, Pollution
China Focus: China’s New High-Speed Train Debuts on Beijing-Shanghai Route
Xinhua
June 26, 2017
China’s next generation bullet train, “Fuxing,” ran for the first time on the Beijing-Shanghai line on Monday. CR400AF departed Beijing South Station at 11:05 a.m. for Shanghai, while, at exactly the same time, CR400BF left Shanghai Hongqiao Station bound for Beijing.
Shanghai, High-Tech Industry, Public Transportation
China Southern Air to Raise up to $1.9 Billion in Share Issue for Aircraft Purchase, Capital Boost
Reuters
June 26, 2017
China’s largest airline by passenger numbers said 7.8 billion yuan of the proceeds will be used to acquire 41 aircraft, and the selection and installation of lightweight seats for its A320 series aircraft.
Airlines, Airbus, China Southern Airlines, Stock Market
In China, Xi Jinping’s New Mega City Xiongan Is Expanding Underground
South China Morning Post
June 26, 2017
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 the ground as well as above, state media reported.
Xi Jinping, Hebei, Pollution, Beijing
China Landslide: Families' Frustration Grows as More Than 100 Feared Dead
Guardian
June 26, 2017
Families affected by huge slip that buried Xinmo village say they are concerned by a lack of information and the fate of orphaned children
Natural Disasters, Disaster Relief
Liu Xiaobo, Jailed Chinese Nobel Laureate, Is Moved from Prison for Cancer Treatment
By Austin Ramzy via New York Times
June 26, 2017
Liu Xiaobo, the jailed Chinese dissident who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his writings promoting democracy, has been moved from prison to be treated for late-stage cancer, two of his lawyers said on Monday.
Liu Xiaobo, Political Prisoners, Imprisonment
China’s Mistress-Dispellers
New Yorker
June 26, 2017
How the economic boom and deep gender inequality have created a new industry.
Marriage, Society
China Has Agreed to Stop Cyberattacks on the Canadian Private Sector, Report Says
Time
June 25, 2017
China has signed an agreement to stop conducting state-sponsored cyberattacks against the Canadian private sector, the Globe and Mail reported on Sunday, citing an official communiqué.
Canada, Cyberattacks, Cybersecurity
China Charges Labor Activist for ‘Picking Quarrels’
By Chun Han Wang via Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2017
A Chinese activist who for years has documented worker unrest faced charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” on Friday, in a trial seen as a bellwether of Beijing’s approach to containing labor tensions.
Protests, Activism, Labor
Unless China Changes Tack, India Won’t Be the Only Country Opposing One Belt, One Road
By Harsh V Pant via Quartz
June 23, 2017
India said about OBOR that “no country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Belt and Road Initiative, Trade, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Pakistan
Why I'm Building a Network of 10,000 Elite Scholars Who Understand China
By Steve Schwarzman via CNBC
June 23, 2017
By 2007 China had become a critical player on the world's stage but few people had a deep understanding of the cultural values and traditions that underpin that nation's business, political and everyday life.
Higher Education, U.S.-China Relations
China's Government Tightens Its Grip On Golf, Shuts Down Courses
By Rob Schmitz via NPR
June 23, 2017
By 2004, many of China's hundreds of golf courses were found to be built on valuable farmland through corrupt land deals.
Golf, Deng Xiaoping, Anti-Corruption, Farming, Drought, Sports
China Clamps Down on Live-Streaming Services
By Jon Russell via TechCrunch
June 23, 2017
Internet Censorship, Video
Xi Jinping Is Set for a Big Gamble With China’s Carbon Trading Market
By Chris Bukcley via New York Times
June 23, 2017
The start of China’s carbon trading market late this year has been years in the making, but is now shaping up as Mr. Xi’s big policy retort to Mr. Trump’s decision to quit the Paris accord.
Carbon Trading, Air Pollution
Big China Companies Targeted over ‘Systemic Risk’
Financial Times
June 22, 2017
China’s bank regulator ordered domestic lenders to check the “systemic risk” presented by “some large enterprises” involved in overseas buying sprees, sending stock prices of some of the country’s most acquisitive private-sector companies sharply lower.
Wanda, Wang Jianlin, Stock Market, Fosun International, China Banking Regulatory Commision
China Invites Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to Visit Beijing
Bloomberg
June 22, 2017
Details of the possible trip by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, both of whom have official jobs in the White House, were still under discussion, according to a U.S. official and a Chinese official who asked not to be identified. The visit may also help prepare for a trip by the president himself, said the Chinese official, who asked not be identified disclosing plans that haven’t been announced.
Donald Trump, Corruption, Washington D.C., Xi Jinping, Political Economy
Trump Says ‘We Have a Great Relationship with China’ after Critical Tweet
CNBC
June 22, 2017
The United States pressed China to exert more economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea to help rein in its nuclear and missile programs during a round of high-level talks in Washington on Wednesday.
North Korea, Washington D.C., Diplomacy, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Nuclear Issues
China Is Trying to Pull Middle East Countries into Its Version of NATO
Washington Post
June 22, 2017
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held annual summit last week in Kazakhstan, and the most significant outcome was the announcement that India and Pakistan became its first new members since being formed in 2001.
Pakistan, India, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Iran
Beijing Is Investigating Some of China’s Top Overseas Deal Makers
Wall Street Journal
June 22, 2017
China’s banking regulator is conducting a sweeping check on the borrowings of some of the country’s top overseas deal makers, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in one of the most forceful attempts yet to get a grip on runaway debt.
Corruption, Anti-Corruption, Crime, Political Economy
Former State Department Security Officer Accused of Spying for China
By Charlie Savage via New York Times
June 22, 2017
F.B.I. agents found top-secret documents on a device he brought back from Shanghai.
Espionage, U.S. State Department, Shanghai, Telecommunications
China Takeover Tycoons' Cash Wall
By David Fickling via Bloomberg
June 22, 2017
These firms' engine isn't profit-making drudge-work selling goods but the art of persuading financiers.
Apple, Wealth, Foreign Capital
China’s Trump Honeymoon: Unexpected, and at Risk of Ending
By Steven Lee Myers via New York Times
June 21, 2017
Mr. Trump’s assertion that China had failed to pressure North Korea into curbing its nuclear and ballistic missile program means that Beijing must now confront the prospect of a stormier relationship ahead — not just over North Korea but also tougher stands on trade, currency and the South China Sea that Mr. Trump set aside as he sought President Xi Jinping’s help with Pyongyang.
Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, North Korea, South China Sea
U.S., China Meet on North Korea after Trump Points to Failed Chinese Effort
By David Brunnstrom via Reuters
June 21, 2017
Top diplomats and defense chiefs from the United States and China began a day of talks in Washington on Wednesday looking for ways to press North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea, Nuclear Disarmament, Trilateral Dialogue, U.S.-China Relations, China-North Korea Relations
China Cancels Military Meeting With Vietnam Over Territorial Dispute
By Mike Ives via New York Times
June 21, 2017
Analysts, citing government sources, said that the Chinese delegation had unexpectedly cut short a trip to Vietnam after tempers flared during a closed-door discussion on disputed territories in the South China Sea.
South China Sea, Military Policy, China-Vietnam Relations
The Dark Side of China’s National Renewal
By Jamil Anderlini via Financial Times
June 21, 2017
The race-based ideas of the country’s leaders have unwelcome historical echoes.
Race, Chinese Leadership, Ethnic Minorities, Chinese Communist Party
China Shares Get MSCI Nod in Landmark Moment for Beijing
By Dion Rabouin, Michelle Price via Reuters
June 21, 2017
U.S. index provider MSCI said on Wednesday Hong Kong time it would add a selection of China's so-called "A" shares to its Emerging Markets Index .MSCIEF after having rejected them for three years running.
Shanghai Stock Exchange, Investment, Financial Market
China’s Dog Meat Festival Opens Despite Rumours of a Ban
Agence France-Presse
June 21, 2017
A notorious Chinese dog meat festival opened on Wednesday with butchers hacking slabs of canines and cooks frying the flesh despite rumours that the authorities would impose a ban this year.
Animal Welfare, Guangxi, Festivals
Ford to Save $1 Billion Building Focus in China Instead of Mexico
By Keith Naughton via Bloomberg
June 20, 2017
Ford Motor Co. is canceling controversial plans to build the Focus small car in Mexico, saving $1 billion by ending North American production entirely and importing the model mostly from China after next year.
Manufacturing, Trade, Donald Trump, Mexico
China Imposes 100% Tax on Foreign Star Signings in Bid for World Cup Glory
By Katie Stallard via Sky News
June 20, 2017
The country's President Xi Jinping is hoping the Asian superpower will host - and one day win - the global football tournament.
Sports, World Cup, Imports and Exports, Taxes
China Invites Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to Visit Beijing
By Peter Martin, Keith Zhai, and Jennifer Jacobs via Bloomberg
June 20, 2017
China has invited President Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law to visit later this year, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest sign of the first family’s growing influence over foreign affairs. Details of the possible trip by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, both of whom have official jobs in the White House, were still under discussion, according to a U.S. official and a Chinese official who asked not to be identified. The visit may also help prepare for a trip by the president himself, said the Chinese official, who asked not be identified disclosing plans that haven’t been announced.
Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump, Jared Kushner
China Shames Jaywalkers Through Facial Recognition
By AFP via Agence France-Presse
June 20, 2017
Chinese cities are cracking down on jaywalkers by installing facial recognition kits at intersections to identify and shame them by posting their photo on public screens.
Technology, Law Enforcement
What Are the Odds of a U.S.-China War?
By Andrew Browne via Wall Street Journal
June 20, 2017
Two fiery nationalists— Xi Jinping and Donald Trump—now occupy the seats of power in Beijing and Washington. In their mission to make their countries great again, one pursues the “China Dream,” one “America First.” Both see the other as the chief obstacle to their ambition; they’re locked into a zero-sum competition.
Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Military
Gang of Six Sought in Hong Kong for HK$7.8m Knifepoint Robbery of Two Mainland Chinese Visitors
By Clifford Lo via South China Morning Post
June 19, 2017
Hong Kong police are looking for six men after two male visitors from mainland China were held at knifepoint and forced to transfer 6.8 million yuan (HK$7.8 million).
Crime
Alibaba Is Coming to Detroit to Sell Small Businesses the Chinese Dream
By Josh Horwitz via Quartz
June 19, 2017
The Chinese e-commerce giant is pulling out all the stops to impress America at Gateway ’17, its biggest-ever public event in the United States.
Alibaba, Detroit, Jack Ma, E-Commerce
China May Soon Establish Naval Base in U.S. Ally Pakistan
By Wajahat S. Khan via NBC News
June 19, 2017
Nuclear-armed Pakistan is a key ally of the United States — but the relationship is far from untroubled. And one of Washington's main geopolitical rivals appears ready to step in.
Pentagon, Pakistan, Navy, Military
Greece Blocks E.U. Statement on China Human Rights at U.N.
By Robin Emmott, Angeliki Koutantou via Reuters
June 19, 2017
Greece has blocked a European Union statement at the United Nations criticizing China's human rights record, a decision EU diplomats said undermined efforts to confront Beijing's crackdown on activists and dissidents.
European Union, Human Rights
China Propels Rise of Electric Ultra-High-Performance Cars
New York Times
June 19, 2017
Want an insanely fast ride with zero emissions? Startup NIO has the car: An electric two-seater with muscular European lines and a top speed of 195 miles per hour (313 kilometers per hour). The catch: The EP9 costs nearly $1.5 million. NIO, a Chinese-Western hybrid with bases in Shanghai, London and Silicon Valley, created it to showcase the company's technology and had no sales plans. But it is taking orders for "bespoke vehicles" after hearing from buyers ready to pay the eye-popping price.
Electric Vehicles, High-Tech Industry, Wealth, Wealth Gap
‘Islamic State Killings: China’s Censored Social Media Is in Uproar, so What’s Beijing Thinking?
By Coco Liu via South China Morning Post
June 18, 2017
The deaths of two Chinese prompt widespread calls for retribution. Beijing, seeking favour in the region with its Belt and Road Initiative, remains curiously silent.
ISIS, Terrorism, Censorship, Media Control, Belt and Road Initiative, Netizens
Some Global Investors See Fresh Worries in an Old Problem: China
By Michael Schuman via New York Times
June 18, 2017
While investors have been preoccupied with President Trump and chaos in Washington, nerve-rattling elections in Europe and the uncertainty created by Federal Reserve policy and Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, a once-familiar — and possibly bigger — risk to global markets has been bubbling in the background.
Stock Market, Financial Crisis, Financial Market, Investment
China, Where the Pressure to Marry Is Strong, and the Advice Flows Online
By Karoline Kan via New York Times
June 18, 2017
Although women in their 20s are greatly outnumbered by men in the same age group in China, a product in part of the since-abandoned one-child family policy and a cultural preference for sons, they face enormous pressure to marry. Those who do not have a husband by the age of 27 are routinely branded as “leftover women,” with diminishing value in the dating market.
Marriage, One-Child Policy, Social Media, Leftover Women
Are China and the United States Headed for War?
New Yorker
June 15, 2017
Professors, pundits, and journalists weigh in on a heated topic.
Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Asia-U.S. Relations, South China Sea, Shinzo Abe
Dog Meat Dropped from Two Carrefour Supermarkets in China
Guardian
June 14, 2017
The French retailer Carrefour has removed dog meat products from two supermarkets in China after an outcry from animal rights groups. Animals Asia said it had already asked the international chain, which operates more than 200 stores in China, to remove dog meat from its shelves in 2012. The company promised to do so, it said, but an inspection by the charity last month found two branches of Carrefour supermarkets in the eastern city of Xuzhou prominently featured dog meat products.
Anbang Chairman’s Detention Underlines China Business Risks
By Tom Mitchell, Henny Sender, Gabriel Wildau via Financial Times
June 14, 2017
Wu Xiaohui was targeted by insurance regulator and anti-corruption investigators.
Anbang, Anti-Corruption
Have a Nice Day, Chinese Gangster Animation, Blocked in France
By Stephen McDonelll via BBC
June 14, 2017
The makers of a cutting-edge Chinese film that was pulled from the world's premier animation festival following government pressure from Beijing say they still hope the movie will get a run in cinemas at home later this year.
Censorship, Film Industry, Film, Filmmakers, France
Asia Closes Mostly Lower Following Release of China Industrial Data; Fed Awaited
By Cheang Ming via CNBC
June 14, 2017
Equities in Asia closed mostly lower on Wednesday as China data came in mostly in line with expectations and markets awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on monetary policy.
Federal Reserve, Investment, Manufacturing, Retail Sales, Oil
‘Lazy’ Chinese Driver Turns Shop into an Instant Drive-Through
By Tracy Hu via South China Morning Post
June 14, 2017
A man drove his car into a convenience store in eastern China to save time from having to park his vehicle, according to Chinese media. Surveillance footage from the store in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, showed a grey car being driven through the doorway late on Saturday night. The footage was shared by the People’s Daily on its Twitter account on Tuesday. It did not identify where in Jiangsu the incident took place. In the video, a staff member manning the convenience store is seen responding in shock and rushing over to attend to the driver.
China Developing Hypersonic Missiles For Jet Fighters
By Sky News via Sky News
June 13, 2017
If the ramjet engine is successfully miniaturised it will allow air-to-air missiles to strike targets at more than 4,000mph.
Military, Military Technology
Chinese Man Caught with 500 Imprisoned Cats Destined for Restaurants
By Simon Denyer via Washington Post
June 13, 2017
Many of the cats were found in cages in the back of a small truck, some near death and mewing faintly in the heat. The man had used sparrows and caged birds to lure both stray cats and domestic ones in the city of Jiujiang in southern Jiangsu province, the 163.com and news.ifeng.com websites reported.
Animal Welfare, Jiangsu
Why China No Longer Fears the Fed
By Tom Mitchell via Financial Times
June 13, 2017
In 2016, the People's Bank of China got a reprieve from the U.S. Federal Reserve. This year it needs no such help.
Federal Reserve, People's Bank of China, Interest Rates, Credit
Trump’s Trade Restrictions Could Miss China And Slam Everybody Else
By David Francis via Chicago Tribune
June 13, 2017
Any restriction on imports of the key metals would likely fall on friendly U.S. trading partners, rather than on China, the ostensible target of the administration's concern about steel and aluminum imports.
Protectionism, Donald Trump, Metals, Export
Trump Adds More Trademarks in China
By Sui-Lee Wen via New York Times
June 13, 2017
President Trump is poised to add six new trademarks to his expanding portfolio in China, in sectors including veterinary services and construction, potentially renewing concerns about his possible conflicts of interest.
Donald Trump, Investment
China Detains Chairman of Anbang, Which Sought Ties With Jared Kushner
By Michael Forsythe, Alexandra Stevenson via New York Times
June 13, 2017
Wu Xiaohui, the chairman of Anbang Insurance Group, was taken away on Friday in Beijing, according to Caijing, a respected newsmagazine. In a statement early Wednesday morning in China, the company said that Mr. Wu was “for personal reasons no longer able to perform his duties.”
Anbang, Jared Kushner, Speculation, Detention
Nearly 14,000 Companies in China Violate Pollution Rules
By Edward Wong via New York Times
June 13, 2017
Environmental inspectors in northern China have found that nearly 14,000 companies, or 70 percent of the businesses they examined, failed to meet environmental standards for controlling air pollution.
Environmental Protection, Pollution