The Real Story Behind China’s Alleged Conquest of African Farmland

Deborah Brautigam
Quartz
“A common perception is that China is supporting Chinese enterprises to acquire land abroad as part of a national food security strategy.”

China Says South China Sea Lighthouses Not Meant to Alter 'Status Quo'

Michael Martina
Reuters
China says its lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South Reef in the Spratly islands will assist navigational security.

Xi 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

10.20.15

Britain: ‘China’s Best Partner in the West’?

Isabel Hilton, Sebastian Heilmann & more
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...

Feminism With Chinese Characteristics

David Volodzko
Diplomat
China is making progress on women’s issues, but anyone trying to publicize remaining issues faces a serious backlash.

In a Region Disturbed by Ethnic Tensions, China Keeps Tight Lid on a Massacre

ANDREW JACOBS
New York Times
Armed with only knives, the assailants struck at the coal mine in the dead of night.

Prince William to Give Ivory Trade Speech as China's President Xi Arrives

BBC
The Duke of Cambridge is to deliver a speech on the illegal ivory trade for broadcast on Chinese state TV.

China and UK: Signs of a New 'Special Relationship?'

Katie Hunt
CNN
Does the UK have a new "special relationship?"

Environment

10.19.15

Can the South-North Water Transfer Project and Industry Co-Exist?

from chinadialogue
Sixty-two years after Chairman Mao first envisioned the South-North Water Transfer project, the Middle Route (SNWT-MR) formally began transferring supplies of water from Danjiangkou reservoir on the border of Hubei and Henan in December 2014.In the...

Conversation

10.16.15

Is There a China Model?

Daniel A. Bell, Timothy Garton Ash & more
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-...

Viewpoint

10.16.15

How Contagious is Taiwan’s Democracy?

Richard Bernstein
The old barriers have crumbled, the old animosities have abated, and as a result, millions of people from the authoritarian mainland of China now spend various lengths of time on democratic Taiwan. In fact, the two-way traffic is tremendous. On...

A Remote Corner of China Wants Access to the Sea. The Obstacle Is North Korea.

Anna Fifield
Washington Post
You can almost smell the sea air from here, at the point where China, Russia and North Korea meet.

China Suggests Joint South China Sea Drills With Asean

BBC
China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan has suggested drills for "maritime rescues and disaster relief".

This Is Where China’s Future Will Be Decided

Matt O'Brien
Washington Post
Lanzhou, China — The first thing you notice is the dust.

Taiwan Prepares For Turmoil As China Watches Its Elections From Afar

Martin Woollacott
Guardian
The basic question before voters in next year’s poll is whether they will still exist as a country.

Ai Weiwei Memoir Coming in Spring 2017

STAV ZIV
Newsweek
Crown Publishing Group announced that it will publish a memoir by the artist in the spring of 2017.

Culture Shock: Chinese Ministry Slammed on Not-so-Social Media

Josh Chin
WSJ: China Real Time Report
Watch the country’s culture ministry get eviscerated on social media.

Vietnam Accuses Chinese Vessel of Sinking Fishing Boat

Associated Press
Vietnam said that a Chinese vessel rammed into and sank one of its fishing boats near disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Chinese Admiral Visits Iran, Wants Closer Defense Cooperation

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China wants to deepen military ties with Iran.

Xi’s Visit to Kick Off a Golden Age of China-UK Relations

Shi Zhiqin and Lai Suetyi
Diplomat
A state visit next week is expected to spark a new era in bilateral ties.

Mao and Other Cultural Inspirations

RANDY KENNEDY
New York Times
“An army without culture is a dull-witted army,” Mao Zedong wrote, “and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy.”

China Burnishes Xi Jinping’s Legend With TV Drama of His Years in Rural Hamlet

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Chinese bloggers label 45-part drama called Liangjiahe as latest homage to omnipotent ‘Big Daddy Xi’.

Environment

10.14.15

U.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...

In China’s State News Media, What Is Said May Not Be What’s Printed

JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ
New York Times
An Australian journalist was misquoted as saying the people of Tibet had a “wonderful life.”

Lenin’s Chinese Heirs

Evan A. Feigenbaum and Damien Ma
Foreign Affairs
For Xi, Politics Comes First and Economy Second.

Survivors Tell the Camera the Hidden Tale of China's Great Famine

Jonathan Kaiman
Los Angeles Times
When Li Yaqin was 16, she ate what her family could scavenge.

'Hunting' for China at the Democratic Debate

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
Jim Webb wanted to talk China.The rest of the candidates? Not so much.

China Says Not Planning to Send Military Ships to Syria

Megha Rajagopalan and Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China said it had no plans to send military ships to Syria to fight with Russian forces.

Media

10.13.15

Chinese Censors Are Giving North Korea a P.R. Makeover

David Wertime
On October 10, Liu Yunshan, a member of the elite Politburo Standing Committee and one of the seven most powerful men in China, paid a visit to North Korea to observe a massive parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Worker’...

Japan May Halt Funds for UNESCO Over Nanjing Row With China

KIYOSHI TAKENAKA
Reuters
Japan's military aggression before and during World War Two still haunts ties between Asia's two biggest economies.

Top China Paper Says U.S., Russia Playing Cold War Game in Syria

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
The United States and Russia seemed to be using Syria as a proxy for diplomatic and military competition, as during the Cold War.

A Land China Loves and Hates

Murong Xuecun
New York Times
The Chinese hostility to America is first and foremost the result of government propaganda.

How A 16-Year-Old Found Himself Caught Up in China’s Latest Crackdown

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
He is not a lawyer, or a dissident. He is a 16-year-old with a bowl-cut fringe.

Caixin Media

10.13.15

Insider Trading Is Hindering Development of Stock Market

A series of investigations into apparent market violations emerged after the recent stock market turmoil, bringing down Zhang Yujun, an assistant chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC); Cheng Boming, general manager of CITIC...

China’s AIIB and OBOR: Ambitions and Challenges

Zhiqun Zhu
Diplomat
The two ambitious projects have become an integral part of Chinese diplomacy.

'A Brighter Future Beckons': China Tries to Get Xinjiang to Join the Party

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Yellow signs swing from lampposts urging citizens to “hold high the great banner of national unity”.

China Opens Communist Party Theme Park

Shen Lu and Maggie Hiufu Wong
CNN
Who needs Disneyland when you can have a theme park for youngsters to declare their loyalty to China's Communist Party?

Why China Doesn’t Mind Being Left Out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Allison Jackson
Global Post
In case you hadn’t heard, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a really big deal— unless you're China.

China Will Not Allow Violations of Its Territorial Waters

Adam Rose
Reuters
China said it would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation.

China Turns Firepower to Soft Power to Try to Win Tiny Taiwan-held Island

YIMOU LEE AND FAITH HUNG
Reuters
"In Kinmen, we can do what Taiwan can't, what Taiwan doesn't dare do."

U.S. to Sail Warships Near Disputed South China Sea Islands

Adam Rose
Reuters
U.S. ships would sail within 12-nautical-mile zones, that China claims as territory around islands it has built in the Spratly chain, within the next two weeks.

Wartime Sex Slaves at the Heart of UN Battle Between Japan and China

Justin McCurry
Guardian
Both countries have submitted competing nominations for inclusion in Unesco’s Memory of the World programme.

China and Europe May Team Up to Snub TPP

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
The world's largest trade deal in recent decades may wind up creating high school-esque cliques on the international stage.

Culture

10.07.15

Jia Zhangke on Finding Freedom in China on Film

Jonathan Landreth
Jia Zhangke is among the most celebrated filmmakers China has ever produced—outside of China. His 2013 film, A Touch of Sin, a weaving-together of four tales of violence ripped from modern-day newspaper headlines, won the Best Screenplay award at...

Books

10.07.15

Unmade in China

Jeremy R. Haft
If you look carefully at how things are actually made in China—from shirts to toys, apple juice to oil rigs—you see a reality that contradicts every widely-held notion about the world’s so-called economic powerhouse. From the inside looking out, China is not a manufacturing juggernaut. It’s a Lilliputian. Nor is it a killer of American jobs. It’s a huge job creator. Rising China is importing goods from America in such volume that millions of U.S. jobs are sustained through Chinese trade and investment. In Unmade in China, entrepreneur and Georgetown University business professor Jeremy R. Haft lifts the lid on the hidden world of China’s intricate supply chains. Informed by years of experience building new companies in China, Haft’s unique, insider’s view reveals a startling picture of an economy which struggles to make baby formula safely, much less a nuclear power plant. Using firm-level data and recent case studies, Unmade in China tells the story of systemic risk in Chinese manufacturing and why this is both really bad and really good news for America. —Polity Press{chop}

A Year on, Mixed Views on What Hong Kong Protests Achieved

Vincent Yu
Associated Press
"Has the Umbrella Movement accomplished anything? If so, what?"

What Does China Think of the TPP?

Shannon Tiezzi
Diplomat
China is taking a wait-and-see approach on the U.S.-led trade deal.

Dalai Lama: China More Concerned About Future Dalai Lamas Than I Am

Mick Krever
CNN
"I have no concern," he told Amanpour in London, adding that it is "possible" he would be the last Dalai Lama.

Once the Biggest Buyer, China Starts Dumping U.S. Government Debt

Min Zeng and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Shift in Treasury holdings is latest symptom of emerging-market slowdown hitting global economy.

The Chinese Government Is Cranking Up the Nationalism After Its Nobel Win

Gwynn Guilford
Quartz
In a way, the Nobel honor is a double-whammy for the Chinese government’s nationalist agenda.

Putting the Past Behind in China

Chris Horton
New York Times
The days of China’s relying on export manufacturing and infrastructure construction as drivers of economic growth are gone.

Conversation

10.06.15

What Will the TPP Mean for China?

Barry Naughton, Arthur R. Kroeber & more
On Monday, the U.S., Japan, and ten other countries concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—the largest regional trade accord in history. If approved, the agreement will set new terms for the nearly $28 trillion in trade and...

Caixin Media

10.06.15

Authorities Should Do More to Protect China’s Lawyers

A Communist Party group led by General Secretary Xi Jinping that was established to spearhead reform efforts finished a document on September 15 addressing the plight of lawyers. A day later, top judicial authorities, including the Supreme People...

U.S. Allies See Trans-Pacific Partnership as a Check on China

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal was welcomed as a win for the United States in its contest with China for clout in Asia.

U.S. Warns Against 'Egregious' Restrictions in Contested South China Seas

Lincoln Feast
Reuters
The U.S. and China have blamed each other for dangerous moves during recent incidents involving aircraft and ships.

China Is Working to Reach Its Emissions Peak Before 2030 Deadline, Analyst Says

Oliver Milman
Guardian
Qi Ye, director of public policy centre in Beijing, says China is showing ‘global leadership’ on climate change.

China’s Xi Jinping Changes the Odds in Macau

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
If there’s one skill that the U.S. gambling moguls who staked their futures here have mastered it’s calculating the odds.

HK Fined By Fifa For Fans Booing Chinese Anthem

BBC
The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) has been fined $40,000 Hong Kong dollars ($5,160; £3,400) by Fifa.

Japan's Abe Says TPP Would Have Strategic Significance If China Joined

Linda Sieg and Kaori Kaneko
Reuters
"It would contribute largely to our nation's security and Asia-Pacific regional stability, if China joined the system in the future."