Uber Slayer: How China’s Didi Beat the Ride-Hailing Superpower

Brad Stone and Lulu Yilun Chen
Bloomberg
“We felt like the People’s Liberation Army, with basic rifles, and we were bombed by airplanes and missiles.”

China’s Experiment in Djibouti

François Dubé
Diplomat
China’s role in Africa is changing from resource extractor to long-term strategic partner. Djibouti is a prime example

Road to Stagnation? China Inc Gets a Break From Lenders

Umesh Desai
Reuters
China may be in for a long period of Japan-like stagnation rather than a single event triggering a crisis

China’s Rising Threat to the U.S. Movie Industry

Richard Berman
Politico
With firms like Dalian Wanda gaining influence in the U.S., would a war movie called South China Sea ever play in one of Wanda’s theaters?

How Donald Trump Ditched U.S. Steel Workers in Favor of China

Kurt Eichenwald
Newsweek
Trump has been stiffing American steel workers on his own construction projects for years

China Marks Milestone With Yuan’s Entry Into IMF Reserve Basket

Ian Talley and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Move confers a measure of legitimacy after Beijiing’s yearslong effort to internationalize its currency; remains far from countering dollar’s status

Mixed Messages

Economist
A missed opportunity to improve the environment for foreign companies in China

589 Million Chinese Tourists Will Spend $72 Billion in Just 7 Days Celebrating “Golden Week”

Echo Huang Yinyin
Quartz
Unexpectedly, the new hot destination is Morocco

Apple Opening a $45 Million Research Hub in China to Develop Hardware, ‘Advanced’ Tech

Arjun Kharpal
CNBC
The center will be located in Beijing's version of Silicon Valley, the Zhongguancun Science Park

China’s Quest to Buy Up Global Supply of Donkeys Halted by African Nations

Katie Forster
Independent
Donkey hide is used to make Chinese remedy ejiao, believed to improve blood circulation

Peyton Manning is Looking for the Yao Ming of Football in China

Bloomberg
Former quarterback says ‘no-brainer’ for NFL to play in China

China’s Streaming Craze Launches a Billion Shooting Stars

Jacky Wong
Wall Street Journal
The owner of streaming app Inke is China’s newest unicorn thanks to a 19-fold increase in value

How China’s Progress is Killing the Instant Noodle

Adam Minter
Sydney Morning Herald
As China's economy has slowed, so too has its appetite for instant noodles

Sinica Podcast

09.27.16

Fakes, Pirates, and Shanzhai Culture

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
Fakes, knockoffs, pirate goods, counterfeits: China is notorious as the global manufacturing center of all things ersatz. But in the first decade after the People’s Republic joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, a particular kind of knockoff...

China Cities Move to Halt Housing Market Frenzy

Christian Shepherd
Financial Times
Speculators targeted as 15-month price surge persists

China’s Xiaomi Guns for Apple with Latest Premium Smartphone

Bloomberg
The Mi S5 is a luxury phone costing less than half the most expensive iPhone

Long Absent in China, Tipping Makes a Comeback at a Few Trendy Restaurants

Anthony Kuhn
NPR
Scan your server's QR code if you like your service

China’s Risk-Loving Mom & Pop Investors Abandon Local Stock Markets for Bitcoin

Zheping Huang and Joon Ian Wong
Quartz
China’s two biggest exchanges account for more than 90% of global trading.

Phillippines’ Duterte Wants to ‘Open Alliances’ With Russia, China

Manuel Mogato and Enrico dela Cruz
Reuters
Duterte turns after reaching "the point of no return" with the U.S.

Relax, China’s Banks Aren’t About to Have a Meltdown

Tom Holland
South China Morning Post
There are reasons to be worried about China’s debt, but the risk of a 2008-style crisis is not one of them.

China to Prosecute Former Top Executives for Alleged Graft

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
Next on the chopping block: former Sinopec, China Southern execs, Tibet top security official

Media

09.23.16

In China, Organic Food Is Gaining Ground

Wan Li, a young Beijing professional in her late 20s, is at her desk when her cell phone rings. She picks up. “North entrance?” She confirms. “I’ll be right out.” An electric delivery scooter has just pulled up to Wan’s office with her order of...

China Will Resume Imports of U.S. Beef After a Ban Long Seen as Political

Hannah Beech
Time
For an American industry that relies increasingly on global demand, the news is welcome

Sony and Wanda Team Up to Market Films in China

Wayne Ma and Erich Schwartzel
Wall Street Journal
Deal could boost Sony Pictures’ box-office returns, strengthen Dalian Wanda’s movie-business profile

China’s Coal Cap Will Bite

David Fickling
Bloomberg
Can the shift to more domestic output be met without blanketing China's cities in smog?

China Spends More in the World than the World Spends in China

BBC
For the first time, Chinese companies have invested more abroad than foreign companies have invested in China

Mystery of China’s ‘Ghost Uber Drivers’

Sherry Fei Ju and Lucy Hornby
Financial Times
An eruption of creepy faces on driver profiles has spooked potential passengers

Alibaba Dethrones Baidu in China’s Digital Advertising Market

Uptin Saiidi
CNBC
Mobile ads are witnessing quick growth, but not everyone is in for a win this year.

Chinese Central Bank Designates Renminbi Clearing Bank in New York

Gabriel Wildau
Financial Times
First offshore renminbi settlement bank in US fills major gap

China State Steel Merger Taps Old Theme: Bigger is Better

Chuin-Wei Yap
Wall Street Journal
Beijing revives push to consolidate heavy industry

Is China Building a Road to Ruin?

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
China beats the U.S. on infrastructure but at a heavy cost

Caixin Media

09.19.16

Chinese Spending Can Help Create Jobs in the United States

Trade does result in very real and serious job losses, while its benefits are spread more broadly over the entire U.S. economy. Yet many job losses are not a result of trade; they are actually driven by productivity gains related to rapid...

Chinese Business’ Complicated Role in Kenyan Corruption

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
One of the many simple, widely-believed narratives about the Chinese in Africa is that Chinese businesses fuel corruption across the continent. Chinese corporate corruption in Africa is well documented, from allegations of paying off corrupt...

Environment

09.15.16

A Chinese Train Could Link South America’s Atlantic and Pacific Coasts by Rail for the First Time

from chinadialogue
Official bodies from Brazil and Peru have expressed concern about the social and environmental impacts of the proposed interoceanic railway, which will connect the coast of Peru and Brazil, cutting through 621 miles of pristine rainforest.In a...

Features

09.15.16

China’s Teflon Toxin Problem

Sharon Lerner from Intercept
Since the late 1970s, the chemical industry has been at the heart of China’s dazzling growth. And as regulations increase around the world, many toxic chemicals wind up coming to China just to die a slow death. Teflon—the slippery substance used in...

Conversation

09.13.16

Can China’s Best Newspaper Survive?

Isaac Stone Fish, David Schlesinger & more
On September 9, the South China Morning Post’s Chinese-language website went dark with little explanation, leading to concerns that censorship might next spread to the newspaper’s English-language coverage. Can Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who has...

Features

09.13.16

The Destruction of Baishizhou

Eli MacKinnon
Early this spring, the Chinese character for “demolish” (“拆”) showed up in red spray paint on a strip of shops in Shenzhen’s Baishizhou neighborhood. Wang An, 41, has been selling women’s underwear from one of these shops for the last 10 years. “...

Depth of Field

09.12.16

African Migrants in Guangzhou, Forgetting, Family Planning’s Fate, and More...

Yan Cong, Ye Ming & more from Yuanjin Photo
Photographing the aftermath of catastrophic events is challenging—one that photographer Mu Li handles with creativity and grace looking back at the chemical explosion in Tianjin that damaged as many as 17,000 homes August 12, 2015. Another challenge...

China Lays New Brick in Silk Road With First Afghan Rail Freight

Eltaf Najafizada
Bloomberg
China has for years had grand investment plans for Afghanistan’s resource riches.

China Rethinks Its Alliance With Reeling Venezuela

Kejal Vyas
Wall Street Journal
Concerns prompted emergency meetings between the Chinese envoy and state companies.

Apple Holds Firm On China iPhone Premium

Doug Young
Forbes
China has become a particularly worrisome market for Apple in the last year.

Surge in Offshore Yuan Borrowing Rate Suggests China Intervention

Saumya Vaishampayan and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Move by banks in Hong Kong market, likely at behest of PBOC, seems aimed at bets against yuan.

Conversation

09.07.16

The Hong Kong Election: What Message Does it Send Beijing?

David Schlesinger, Melissa Chan & more
On September 4, Hong Kong elected a batch of its youngest and most pro-democratic lawmakers yet. Six new legislators, all under 40, won on platforms that called for Hong Kongers to decide their own fate. The youngest is 23-year-old Nathan Law, a...

Tens of Thousands of Jobs Go as China’s Biggest Banks Cut Costs

Bloomberg
The cuts suggest that employment has peaked at the firms that are the world’s biggest providers of banking jobs.

Chinese Consumers May Be Experiencing ‘iPhone Fatigue’ As Product Launch Nears

Fortune
Convincing shoppers to replace their smartphone is a tougher sell than it used to be.

Goldman Sachs: China Signaling Further Stimulus on the Way

Leslie Shaffer
CNBC
The bank pointed to China’s State Council meeting this week, which discussed plans to streamline the approval process for investment projects.

Volkswagen in Talks to Make Electric Cars in China

Rose Yu
Wall Street Journal
The German car maker has signed a memorandum of cooperation with China Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co.

Sinica Podcast

09.07.16

Yiwu, a City at the Core of Cheap Chinese Goods

Kaiser Kuo, David Moser & more from Sinica Podcast
Renowned as a trading town during the Qing dynasty, the eastern city of Yiwu again became famous for its markets after China’s economic reforms kicked in during the 1980s. Since then, the metropolis of 1.2 million people has transformed into a hub...

China’s Hunger for Steelmaking Coal Fuels Price Rally

Rhiannon Hoyle
Wall Street Journal
China is increasingly relying on coking-coal shipments from abroad due to a local shortage.

China’s Swoop on Boeing Supplier Points to Aluminum’s Future

Bloomberg
Alcoa Inc., an iconic U.S. producer for more than a century, has shuttered all but one smelter and plans to split itself in two.

China Moves to Ease Foreign Concerns on Cybersecurity Controls

Eva Dou and Rachel King
Wall Street Journal
China will allow Microsoft, Cisco, other foreign tech companies to join the influential Technical Committee 260.

FBI Files Say China Firm Pushed U.S. Experts for Nuclear Secrets

David Voreacos and David McLaughlin
Bloomberg
Summaries of the consultants’ interviews with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were filed this month.

China’s Zika Fumigation Rules Raise Worries for U.S. Exporters

Costas Paris
Wall Street Journal
Companies worry that requirement to fumigate all containers could result in costs, delays.

Is Huawei Doing Enough to Train Local Staff in Africa?

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
The Chinese telecom giant Huawei recently launched a massive publicity campaign to raise awareness in Africa about what it is doing to train local employees. The company has opened at least five training centers in different countries across the...

Caixin Media

08.22.16

What’s Next for Uber and Didi in China?

New regulations and a blockbuster merger between the industry’s largest players are reshaping the business landscape for China’s car-hailing app companies.And the landscape is widening as car-hailing companies, including Didi Chuxing Technology Co...

Tesla Drops Autopilot Label From Chinese Site after Crash

Peter Campbell
Financial Times
The move comes only days after receiving complaints over the way it markets the technology to potential owners.

Why China’s Plan to Build a New Silk Road Runs Through Singapore

Bloomberg
Cultural ties make city-state key gateway to Southeast Asia.

China Shares Hit Seven-Month High; World Yields Keep Falling

Marc Jones
Reuters
Chinese stocks helped offset news that Japan’s economic growth had ground to a halt.

China’s Coal Towns Are Literally Sinking

Scott Cendrowski
Fortune
Hundreds of thousands are being moved from regions made unsafe from coal companies.