Michael Jordan Owns Right to His Name in Chinese Characters, Too, Court Rules

Sui-Lee Wee
New York Times
Michael Jordan has pulled out a victory in an arena long known as unfriendly to visitors: the Chinese legal system

How a Midwest Governor Rose to Become America’s Top Official in China

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
Trump administration hopes Terry Branstad’s long-standing friendship with Xi Jinping will smooth often-strained ties between the two nations

Trump Picks Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as Beijing Ambassador

Simon Denyer and Philip Rucker
Washington Post
Branstad has extensive ties to China and a personal friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping

The Great Wall: China Takes on the World with New Matt Damon Film

John Sudworth
BBC
Despite a long tradition of movie-making, and much critical acclaim for its directors overseas, China has never yet produced a truly global blockbuster

China is Outsourcing Its Pollution

Kara Sherwin
Foreign Policy
Beijing's diplomacy is increasingly green, but its international trade is getting ever more coal-black

Environment

12.06.16

The World’s Saddest Polar Bear

from chinadialogue
Pizza, “the world’s saddest polar bear,” is to be granted at least a temporary reprieve from the display case in which he lives in the Grandview shopping mall in Guangzhou, southern China. This follows a global outcry, a one-million-signature...

China’s Currency Didn’t Really Drop, Despite Jitters Over Trump

Neil Gough
New York Times
Early Tuesday it appeared the RMB had suddenly fallen more than 8%, but no deliberate devaluation took place. Instead, the culprit was a technical problem

In China, Trump-Style Infrastructure Partnerships are Used to Hide Debt

James T. Areddy
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

Xi Jinping to be ‘First Chinese President to Attend Davos Summit’

Li Jing
South China Morning Post
Trip has yet to be officially announced but preparations well underway for Chinese head of state’s visit to World Economic Forum in Switzerland

Trump’s China Tweets are Just Tough Talk

Melissa Chan
Guardian
A trade war would be damaging for the US, and the president-elect is likely to need Beijing’s help with North Korea. Wait until he’s in office

A China Economist Told Us How China Could Hurt the US in a Trade War

Business Insider
BI caught up with Gene Ma, IIF's Chief Economist, to ask him some questions about where the Chinese economy is going in the age of Trump

Depth of Field

12.06.16

From West Africa, the Czech Republic, and Home

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
In this month’s Depth of Field, Chinese photojournalists explore foreign terrain, both beyond China’s borders and within them. Independent photographer Yuyang Liu traveled the open seas to document the lives of Chinese and African workers who fish...

After the Call: Does Taiwan Have a Plan for the Trump Years?

Ankit Panda
Diplomat
What is Taiwan looking for from Donald Trump?

Silicon Valley’s Culture, Not Its Companies, Dominates in China

Paul Mozur
New York Times
Looking to break from a rigid workplace culture, Silicon Valley has captured the minds of China’s young entrepreneurs and investors

How China Could React to Trump’s Taunts: Best Case to Worst Case Scenarios

Heather Timmons and Zheping Huang
Quartz
In the wake of #TaiwanFreakout and the latest Twitter-storm, here’s a range of things Beijing could do, from the shrug-worthy to the downright terrifying

China Seizes Opening in U.S. Backyard as Trump Upends Policy

Ting Shi and John Quigley
Bloomberg
As Trump weighs plans to tear up trade deals and deport illegal migrants from Latin America, China's Xi is moving swiftly to reset relations in America’s backyard

Microsoft, Intel, IBM Push Back on China Cybersecurity Rules

Eva Dou
Wall Street Journal
Comments offer rare glimpse at tussle between Beijing and U.S. tech companies

China’s Dalian Wanda Group Faces Renewed U.S. Regulatory Scrutiny

Erich Schwartzel and Siobhan Hughes
Wall Street Journal
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer raises concerns over Chinese conglomerate’s Hollywood takeovers

Though Awash in Fakes, China Rethinks Counterfeit Hunters

Sui-Lee Wee
New York Times
As China grows and matures, and moves to protect brands and ideas, it still struggles with how to get rid of fakes. Enter Mr. Ji.

Full-Sized Replica of the Titanic Begins Taking Shape in Landlocked Southwest China

Nectar Gan
South China Morning Post
Tourist attraction aims to recreate the thrills and horror of doomed voyage

China Stands to Gain from OPEC Deal

Brian Spegele
Wall Street Journal
Output agreement could boost the country’s oil industry and reduce its reliance on Saudi crude

Reports

11.30.16

Made in China 2025

Jost Wübbeke, Mirjam Meissner, Max J. Zenglein, Jaqueline Ives, and Björn Conrad
Jost Wübbeke & Mirjam Meissner
Mercator Institute for China Studies
This report analyses China’s ambitious plan to build one of the world’s most advanced and competitive economies with the help of innovative manufacturing technologies (“smart manufacturing”). China’s industrial master plan “Made in China 2025” aims...

China Adds Curbs on Pulling Money Out of the Country

Bloomberg
New restrictions added as authorities seek to prevent a flood of capital outflows from destabilizing the financial system

S.Korea Says China is Retaliating Against Its Missile-Defense System by Taking Aim at Korean Dramas

Echo Huang
Quartz
China has turned down Korean stars’ applications to perform in the country and has not let any Korean movies screen in the mainland

Why Facebook’s China Adventure Will Need More than Censorship to Succeed

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
As social network develops tools to restrict users so China will let it in, some experts say it is ‘light years’ behind rivals already in place

Despite Climate Change Vow, China Pushes to Dig More Coal

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
Desperate to deliver coal before power stations run out, China mobilizes trains and half-mile lines of trucks

How Rwanda Attracts Chinese Money and Migrants Without the Lure of Natural Resources

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Quartz’s Africa correspondent Lily Kuo recently returned from a reporting assignment to Rwanda where she discovered a very different side of China’s engagement in Africa. Rwanda lacks many of the resources and large markets that other African states...

Conversation

11.28.16

Should Facebook Self-Censor to Enter the Chinese Market?

Kaiser Kuo, Clay Shirky & more
The social network Facebook has reportedly developed software to suppress posts from users’ feeds in targeted geographic areas, a feature created to help the giant social media network gain access to China, where it is blocked. Facebook Chief...

Castro’s Death a Reminder in China of Changed Communist Axis

Gerry Shih Associated Press
Washington Post
China and Cuba frequently nod to their shared ideological history, but relations revolve more around developing beach resorts or Chinese telecoms investments

China Cites ’The Art of War’ as Trump Signals Trade Battle

Bloomberg
You can kill 1,000 enemies, but you would also lose 800 soldiers

Animosity in a Burmese Hub Deepens as Chinese Get Richer

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Locals view Chinese as taking advantage of Mandalay’s location and resources. Chinese view locals as beneath them, slow at business and making money.

'Social' Feature Turns China’s Alipay Into a Hook-up App

Josh Chin
WSJ: China Real Time Report
Alipay update leads to suggestive content flooding the typically staid financial app

China Risks Wasting $490 Billion on New Coal Plant, Say Campaigners

AFP
Guardian
Carbon Tracker says many plants running at overcapacity but China reluctant to wean itself off coal, fearing unemployment and unrest

U.S.-China Trade Relations in the Trump Era

Paul Haenle & Claire Reade from Carnegie China
Donald Trump’s election injects greater uncertainty, and potentially increased contention, into the trade and investment relationship between the United States and China. In this podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Claire Reade, a senior associate with...

China is Poised to Benefit from Trump’s Ambiguous Africa Policy

Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden
Huffington Post
By neglecting to propose a clear approach toward the continent, the future U.S. president may end up boosting Beijing

What Does a Fried Chicken Restaurant Have to do With Prostitution? China Wants to Know

Echo Huang
Quartz
One business in China is learning that a play on words can get it in trouble with the government

China Touts its Own Trade Pact as U.S.-Backed One Withers

John Lyons, Mark Magnier, and William...
Wall Street Journal
Nations begin to coalesce around China-led trade group after Trump reiterates plan to withdraw from TPP

$100 Billion Chinese-Made City Near Singapore ’Scares the Hell Out of Everybody’

Pooja Thakur Mahrotri and En Han Choong
Bloomberg
Planeloads of buyers fly in as condos rise from the sea

German Automaker Chief Removed After ‘Racist Rant’ in China

BBC
German carmaker Daimler has apologized and removed a senior executive from his job after he made racist remarks in a row over parking

Rwanda is a Landlocked Country with Few Natural Resources. So Why is China Investing So Heavily in it?

Lily Kuo
Quartz
Rwanda doesn't fit the usual narrative of China's interest in Africa-- namely that China is only interested in the continent's resources

Will Trump’s Love of Deals Work With China?

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
A president known for deal-making could change the landscape in East Asia

Conversation

11.21.16

Will China Take the Lead on Climate Change?

Sam Geall, Barbara A. Finamore & more
At a time when the world is looking to China and the United States, the leading emitters of greenhouse gasses, to cooperate under the terms of the Paris Climate Change Agreement of 2015, will China now take the lead in fighting climate change?

As Trump Tweets about SNL and Hamilton, China’s Xi Embraces a New, Powerful Role

Zheping Huang and Heather Timmons
Quartz
Trump’s talk of increasing trade barriers and disdain for global organizations and agreements could create a more isolationist US, leaving China to fill the gap

India’s China Policy Off Target, Says Modi’s Mandarin- Speaking ‘Guided Missile’

Debasish Chowdhury
South China Morning Post
Delhi’s go-to guy for talking to Beijing is one of the few Indian leaders who openly advocate closer ties

A Retreat from TPP Would Empower China

Editorial Board
New York Times
China will take full advantage of the American shift to press its own trade vision--the Beijing-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

China’s Xi Calls for ’Smooth Transition’ in Relationship With U.S.

Jeff Mason
Reuters
During a meeting in Peru, Xi Jinping praised outgoing President Obama for strengthening ties between the two nations

Trans-Pacific Partnership Failure May be China’s Gain, Asia’s Loss

Laura He
South China Morning Post
Many Asian economies will benefit less under a China-led trade pact than they would have done under the now-doomed TPP, analysts argue

JPMorgan Chase Paying $264 Million to Settle Allegations of Nepotism in China

Jim Zarroli
NPR
The bank isn't being formally charged, but by agreeing to pay the fines, it brings a three-year investigation by the U.S. government to a close

A China-America Romance?

Economist
After the wildest political upsets this year, here’s a prediction for next: China will deem its relations with America to be entering something of a golden period

Caixin Media

11.18.16

Is the Trump Victory a Blow to Globalization?

The 2016 U.S. presidential election ended with the surprise victory of property mogul Donald J. Trump. An outsider without a political track record, Trump defied predictions by most polls, pundits, and political observers when he defeated Hillary...

China’s Controversial, Out-Sized Role in Africa’s Digital Revolution

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Africa is home to one of the fastest growing technology markets in the world. In fact, more African households own a mobile phone than have reliable electricity or clean water. The combination of a young population, quickly growing economies, and...

A Chinese Aid Project for Rwandan Farmers is More of a Gateway for Chinese Businesses

Lily Kuo
Quartz
The Chinese approach to development cooperation does not separate aid, diplomacy, and commerce

How China’s Government Helps —and Hinders— Innovation

Anil Gupta and Haiyan Wang
Harvard Business Review
Given its ideological leanings, China presents itself as a unique experiment in the power of the state to help the economy become more innovative

Is China Getting Better at Charming Southeast Asia on the South China Sea?

Bill Hayton
Diplomat
Beijing looks to be getting better at how it uses soft power in the region

U.S. Should Get Tougher on China’s Deal-Making, Panel Says

Edward Wong
New York Times
Congressional commission: Congress should exercise greater scrutiny over trade and investment practices between the United States and China

China and Germany: the Honeymoon is Over

Klaus Larres
Diplomat
A visit to China by Germany’s economics minister highlighted the beginning to a blunter approach to bilateral relations.

U.S. Returns Chinese Fugitive After 13 Years on the Run

James Areddy
Wall Street Journal
The U.S. government sent back to China a former official long wanted on corruption charges, in an act hailed by Beijing as a major diplomatic success

New Wave of Chinese Restaurants Challenge “Cheap” Stereotype

Esther Wang
NPR
A new generation of immigrant restaurateurs is aiming to offer an updated spin on the Chinese restaurant, with prices to match

U.S. Workers to Lose in China Trade War

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Some of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters would be hit if he makes good on tariff pledges

Trump, China’s Xi Set Tone of “Mutual Respect” in Phone Call

Te-ping Chen
Wall Street Journal
Mr. Trump’s campaign was marked by heated rhetoric targeting China, but in a phone call, the leaders agreed cooperation was key