Books
02.05.20The Scientist and the Spy
Penguin Random House: A riveting true story of industrial espionage in which a Chinese-born scientist is pursued by the U.S. government for trying to steal trade secrets, by a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction.In September 2011, sheriff’s deputies in Iowa encountered three ethnic Chinese men near a field where a farmer was growing corn seed under contract with Monsanto. What began as a simple trespassing inquiry mushroomed into a two-year FBI operation in which investigators bugged the men’s rental cars, used a warrant intended for foreign terrorists and spies, and flew surveillance planes over corn country—all in the name of protecting trade secrets of corporate giants Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer. Hvistendahl gives a gripping account of this unusually far-reaching investigation, which pitted a veteran FBI special agent against Florida resident Robert Mo, who after his academic career foundered took a questionable job with the Chinese agricultural company DBN and became a pawn in a global rivalry.Industrial espionage by Chinese companies lies beneath the United States’ recent trade war with China, and it is one of the top counterintelligence targets of the FBI. But a decade of efforts to stem the problem have been largely ineffective. Through previously unreleased FBI files and her reporting from across the United States and China, Hvistendahl describes a long history of shoddy counterintelligence on China, much of it tinged with racism, and questions the role that corporate influence plays in trade secrets theft cases brought by the U.S. government.{chop}
The China Africa Project
01.03.18Industrial Parks Are Africa’s Latest Gamble to Lure Chinese Manufacturers
Freelance journalist William Davison joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his reporting from the Hawassa Industrial Park in Ethiopia, which is the latest high-stakes gamble taken by a number of African countries to lure Chinese manufacturers. Officials...
The China Africa Project
11.10.17Chinese Investment is Reshaping Africa’s Manufacturing Sector
Author Irene Yuan Sun argues in her new book that Africa is poised to become the world’s next manufacturing hub, boosted by Chinese investment and production expertise. With costs steadily rising in the People’s Republic of China, more and more...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.05.17China Sees Difficulty Meeting 2017 Air Quality Targets: Minister
China faces difficulties in meeting its smog-fighting target for 2017, its environmental protection minister said during a visit to four heavily industrialized provinces in northern China, where the country’s air pollution problem is especially...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.22.17China, Like U.S., Struggles to Revive Industrial Heartland
New York Times
The hulking, brown–brick industrial plants lining the roads were once the backbone of this gritty city. Today, they are outdated and unwanted, and the region is one of the Chinese economy’s most troubled.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.14.17India’s Air Pollution Rivals China’s as World’s Deadliest
New York Times
India’s rapidly worsening air pollution is causing about 1.1 million people to die prematurely each year and is now surpassing China’s as the deadliest in the world, a new study of global air pollution shows.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.06.16In China, Trump-Style Infrastructure Partnerships are Used to Hide Debt
Wall Street Journal
To pay for a highway project, Wenling’s government teamed up with Bank of China to create an ‘industrial fund’ that pulls in money from ordinary investors
Caixin Media
06.24.16China Has a Plan to Clean Up Its Soil But No Way to Pay For It
The 231-clause, 13,000-Chinese character action plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control was released May 31 by the State Council, China’s cabinet, after undergoing some 50 draft revisions over the previous three years.The final version was...
The China Africa Project
06.07.16Industrialization in Africa: Ethiopia Wants to Become the New ‘Made in China’
There’s a pretty good chance that some of the clothes you’re wearing, the shoes on your feet, and even the device you’re using to read this were made in China. Even as its economy slows, China remains the world’s factory, churning out billions of...
Green Space
02.16.16Gorging on Gadgets
Documentary filmmaker Sue Williams is finishing up her latest documentary about our beloved electronic gadgets, Death By Design. I was involved in the project and traveled with Williams to south China’s Guangdong province, to the the town of Guiyu,...
Caixin Media
02.01.16Tough Times call for Tougher Reform Push
Beijing has has done a good job in terms of industrializing the country but will face unprecedented challenges when dealing with a service-driven economy.
Conversation
04.16.15How Much Consumerism Can China Afford?
This week, a blockbuster movie celebrating speedy cars and the racing life landed atop China’s box office. The Hollywood import Fast and Furious 7 grossed $63 million in one day (as reported by Bloomberg), the most-ever for a single title in that...
The China Africa Project
01.09.15From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Made in Africa’
A growing number of Chinese companies are looking to outsource production overseas in a bid to lower costs and meet Beijing’s increasingly stringent environmental laws. Ethiopia and South Africa are among the beneficiaries of this new trend as...
Sinica Podcast
05.15.10Schoolyard Violence with Chinese Characteristics
from Sinica Podcast
Despite efforts to downplay the story in the face of the Shanghai Expo, news of a recent wave of copycat killings has spread quickly through China, driven in part by the surprising revelation that many of the killers have been middle-aged and...