ChinaFile Recommends
02.24.16A Misty-Eyed Ode to China's Leader from a Deputy Editor
BBC
A poem written by deputy editor at Xinhua in tribute to President Xi has gone viral, although that should not be taken as a sign of literary merits.
Conversation
02.23.16How Long Can China’s Internet Thrive if the Rest of the World Gets Shut Out?
Last week, Chinese authorities announced that as of March 10, foreign-invested companies would not be allowed to publish anything on the Chinese Internet unless they have obtained government permission to publish with a Chinese partner. What does...
Conversation
02.18.16‘Rule by Fear?’
In the just over three years since Xi Jinping assumed leadership of China, observers and scholars of the country have increasingly coalesced around the idea that Xi’s term in office has coincided with a shift in the tone, if not the practice, of...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.16.16How Xi Jinping Sees the World ... and Why
Brookings Institution
Large national transformations are more often the product of historical forces than the writ of one powerful leader.
Conversation
02.09.16What New Approach Should the U.S. and China Take to North Korea?
On Sunday, North Korea launched a long range rocket many see as a test of its capability to launch a missile attack against the U.S., defying both American and Chinese pressure not do so. Republican U.S. presidential candidates argued Washington...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.04.16Xi Jinping Assuming New Status as China’s ‘Core’ Leader
New York Times
A new push to praise him as China’s “core” leader, a term resonant with the formidable stature once held by Deng Xiaoping, suggests that his steely quest for dominance is not over.
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.
Reports
02.01.16Xi Jinping on the Global Stage
Council on Foreign Relations
Xi Jinping is the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, and with his sweeping actions and ambitious directives he has fundamentally altered the process by which China’s domestic and foreign policy is formulated and implemented. Xi’s...
Media
01.29.16‘The New Yorker’ on China
Following is an edited transcript of a live event hosted at Asia Society New York on December 17, 2015, “ChinaFile Presents: The New Yorker On China.” (The full video appears above.) The evening, introduced by Asia Society President Josette Sheeran...
The China Africa Project
01.19.16Africa Feels the Chill of China’s Cooling Economy
It hasn’t even been a month since Chinese president Xi Jinping was in South Africa for the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) confab where he unveiled a massive $60 billion financial package. Oh how those were innocent, halcyon days...
Media
01.07.16Assessing China’s Plan to Build Internet Power
When the Chinese Communist Party targeted clean energy in its 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010), the resulting investment spree upended the global clean energy market almost overnight. Now, as China approaches its 13th Five Year Plan, a new policy...
Conversation
01.06.16The North Korean Bomb Test—What's Next?
On Wednesday, North Korea claimed that it had tested a hydrogen bomb, bringing to four the number of nuclear weapons it has set off on its own territory since 2006. The act drew international condemnation, prompting us to ask: What’s different this...
Media
01.05.16China’s Top 5 Censored Posts in 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping rounded off 2015 by posting his first message on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, in the form of a new year’s greeting to the People’s Liberation Army. His post received 52,000 comments, mostly fawning messages of...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.25.15China and Russia’s Orwellian attacks on Internet freedom
Washington Post
Xi Jinping’s recent speech suggests that China won’t give up nudging global Internet governance toward the “sovereignty” model.
Conversation
12.23.15China in 2016
What should China watchers be watching most closely in China in 2016? What developments would be the most meaningful? What predictions can be made sensibly?
ChinaFile Recommends
12.17.15Will China’s Censorship Spread?
Wall Street Journal
Since last year, China has been promoting its notion of ‘Internet sovereignty’ for global Internet governance.
The China Africa Project
12.16.15‘China is Doing More to Protect Elephants than Africa [Is]’
For the first time in years, there is positive news to report in the fight to save Africa’s elephants from extinction. A new study by Save the Elephants revealed that the price of ivory in China has halved over the past 18 months, indicating that...
The China Africa Project
12.08.15FOCAC 6: A China-Africa Lovefest
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit concluded in Johannesburg on December 5 amid an almost giddy atmosphere. All sides in this relationship seemingly walked away with more than what they had anticipated.Africa provided a welcome...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.07.15Xi Jinping 'Resigns', According To Typo In Chinese State Media Report
Guardian
Four Chinese journalists have been suspended after inadvertently – and incorrectly – announcing the resignation of president.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.04.15Notes on the China I’m Leaving Behind
New York Times
I GOT together at a restaurant the other night with some Chinese and expatriate friends.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.04.15How China’s Anti-Corruption Drive Is Hurting Growth
CNBC
Chinese authorities' anti-corruption campaign has knocked between 1 percent and 1.5 percent off the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
The China Africa Project
12.02.15Terrorism Forces its Way onto the China-Africa Agenda
Terrorism and security issues will likely move close to the top of the agenda when Xi Jinping meets with 50+ African counterparts at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit. China’s vulnerability to terrorism was brazenly exposed when ISIS...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.02.15China’s Plan: First Manchester City, Then Hosting And Winning The World Cup
Guardian
Chinese consortium thinks involvement will benefit nation’s football.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.02.15China Calls Hacking of U.S. Workers’ Data a Crime, Not a State Act
New York Times
China has acknowledged that the breach of the United States Office of Personnel Management’s computer systems was the work of Chinese hackers.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.25.15China Set to Pledge More Aid to Africa Ahead of Xi's Trip
Reuters
China is set to announce new aid to African nations when President Xi Jinping visits Zimbabwe and South Africa next month.
Conversation
11.24.15The China Africa Relationship: Crossroads or Cliff?
As we approach the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Johannesburg, we try better to understand the main issues that surely will arise when Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma meet on December 4...
The NYRB China Archive
11.24.15Xi’s China: The Illusion of Change
from New York Review of Books
Xi Jinping is often described as China’s most powerful leader in decades, perhaps even since Mao. He has been credited—if sometimes grudgingly—with pursuing a vigorous foreign policy, economic reforms, and a historic crackdown on corruption.But as...
ChinaFile Recommends
11.20.15China Is Trying to Warn Taiwan Voters
Bloomberg
The possibility of conflict between China and Taiwan is dangerous to the world’s security.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.20.15Yiyi Lu: Rebuilding the Communist Party
WSJ: China Real Time Report
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s effort to clean up politics in the country is generally known as an “anticorruption campaign.”
ChinaFile Recommends
11.20.15Why 2,500-Year-Old Tale Gives Ma Hope for Chinese Democracy
Bloomberg
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said history gives him hope for political change on the Communist-ruled mainland.
Conversation
11.19.15Is China a Credible Partner in Fighting Terror?
In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said, “China is also a victim of terrorism. The fight against the ‘East Turkestan Islamic Movement’… should become an important part of the international fight against...
Viewpoint
11.17.15What Xi and Ma Really Said
The Chinese government employs hundreds of thousands of people at all administrative levels, central to local, to prescribe and monitor how news stories are presented to the public. These people tell editors of newspapers and web pages not only what...
ChinaFile Recommends
11.09.15Leaders of Taiwan and China Hold Historic Meeting
Economist
It was a brief encounter—an hour of discussions followed by a low-key dinner—but one of great historical resonance.
Media
11.06.15Xi Jinping’s Taiwan Trap
Before Chinese President Xi Jinping had a dream, his predecessor Hu Jintao had a wish: the “peaceful reunification” of China and Taiwan. In fact, all of Xi’s predecessors since Mao Zedong founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 have pined for...
Conversation
11.05.15The China-Taiwan Summit
This Saturday, for the first time since 1949, the leaders of China and Taiwan will meet face to face. Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou will meet in Singapore, not as Presidents, but—to sidestep one of many lingering areas of conflict since the Chinese...
Media
11.05.15With Historic Ma-Xi Summit, Chinese State Media Walks a Fine Line
For the first time in 66 years, the president of mainland China and the president of self-governing Taiwan will meet face to face. On November 3, Zhang Zhijun, minister in charge of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, stated that China’s Xi Jinping would...
ChinaFile Recommends
11.04.153 Things Taiwan Wants From China
Time
Here are three issues that are likely to be on the top of Ma’s agenda after seven decades without a face-to-face meeting.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.04.15Call Me Mister: Taiwan, China Presidents to Hold Historic Meeting
CNN
The leaders of Taiwan and China plan to meet in Singapore on Saturday for the first time since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949.
The China Africa Project
11.03.15What to Expect at this Year’s Mega China-Africa Summit
The sixth Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will be held in December in Johannesburg comes at a critical time in the Sino-African relationship. The combination of China’s slowing economy, a major slump in global commodity prices, and a...
Media
10.30.15Xi’s State Visits As Seen on the Cover of ‘China Daily’
The state visits of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to Washington, D.C. in September and London last week were both significant milestones in China’s long term “rejuvenation,” a key element in Xi’s vaunted notion...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.30.15China’s Communist Party Approves Five-Year Plan
Wall Street Journal
Economists will be watching to see whether it sets ambitious or moderate growth targets.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.29.15Two More Japanese Being Held in China, Says Chinese Official
Reuters
"In addition to the two who were arrested, one is being held and one is being watched at home," the official said.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.28.15Can Xi Jinping Control China’s Wave of Change?
Washington Post
“Party tightens grip on dissenting voices,” headlined the South China Morning Post on Friday.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.27.15Criticism of the UK’s New Approach to China Is Misplaced
Diplomat
Wait for some evidence before assuming that only bad can come from good relations.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.27.15Where Does Britain Draw the Line with Saudi Arabia and China?
Guardian
UK economy needs the cash flowing in, but politicians should be wary of throwing out all principle in favour of business.
Culture
10.26.15Xi Jinping on What’s Wrong with Contemporary Chinese Culture
from China Film Insider
At the Beijing Forum on Literature and Art last October, President Xi Jinping spoke to a high-level audience of arts professionals about the role of arts and culture in China. The event, along with excerpts of the October 15, 2014 speech, given in...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.23.151 Month Later: What Are the Long-Term Implications of Xi's U.S. Trip?
Diplomat
While political and security matters dominated headlines, Xi’s U.S. trip was actually driven by economics.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.23.15China Hopes to See A United EU, Xi Tells Britain on Visit
Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Britain he wants to see a united European Union.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.22.15China Golf: Communist Party Bans Club Membership
BBC
Extravagant eating and drinking, and abuse of power, are also formally banned.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.21.15This Nuclear Power Deal With China Is One of the Maddest Ever Struck
Guardian
The grand kowtow continues its humiliating progress today, but beggars can’t be choosers.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.21.15Britain 'Sucking up' to China Is a National Humiliation, Says PM's Former Adviser
Guardian
Steve Hilton denounces lavish treatment of President Xi Jinping, saying UK should consider sanctions on China ‘not rolling out red carpet’.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.20.15Xi Jinping Visit: Chinese Leader Given Ceremonial Welcome
BBC
China's President Xi Jinping is receiving a ceremonial welcome by the Queen as he begins the first full day of his visit to the UK.
Conversation
10.20.15Britain: ‘China’s Best Partner in the West’?
This week, Xi Jinping is in Great Britain for a state visit, his first since assuming leadership of China nearly three years ago. Britain’s government under David Cameron has signaled—increasingly loudly in recent months—that it hopes to usher in a...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.19.15China and UK: Signs of a New 'Special Relationship?'
CNN
Does the UK have a new "special relationship?"
Conversation
10.16.15Is There a China Model?
The most recent public event in our ChinaFile Presents series, which we held October 15 in New York, was a discussion of the philosopher Daniel A. Bell’s controversial book, The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy, co-...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.15.15China Burnishes Xi Jinping’s Legend With TV Drama of His Years in Rural Hamlet
Guardian
Chinese bloggers label 45-part drama called Liangjiahe as latest homage to omnipotent ‘Big Daddy Xi’.
Environment
10.14.15U.S.-China Announcement is the Most Significant Milestone to Date for Battling Global Climate Change
from Rocky Mountain Institute
The September 25 joint announcement by President Obama and President Xi represents the second time in two years the leaders have met to make significant climate commitments. Last year’s meeting focused on setting aggressive goals that reflect each...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.14.15ChinaFile Recommends
10.07.15Dalai Lama: China More Concerned About Future Dalai Lamas Than I Am
CNN
"I have no concern," he told Amanpour in London, adding that it is "possible" he would be the last Dalai Lama.