With Tensions Rising, Japanese Investment in China Plummets

Dexter Roberts
Businessweek
Another consequence of the worsening Sino-Japanese relations: Japanese investment into China dropped by nearly half in the first six month of 2014, according to a new report by China’s Ministry of Commerce.

China’s Censors Take Aim at Popular Internet TV Operators That Offer Foreign Shows

Wu Nan
South China Morning Post
Seven companies told ‘unauthorized’ content will be taken down in seven days and they could see license revoked if breach is found.

Note to Cadres: Hands Off the Black Audi and Chauffeur

CHRIS BUCKLEY
New York Times
Can you take away that ultimate perk of the respectable cadre—the black car with intimidatingly tinted windows, an equally intimidating medley of official insignia, passes and a faithful driver? We’re about to find out.

Chinese Media Blast Fox News Host Bob Beckel Over ‘Chinamen’ Rant

Abid Rahman
Hollywood Reporter
“The Five” co-host’s discriminatory remarks have caused a storm of controversy and anger in China, echoing calls in the U.S. for him to be fired.

Hong Kong Rising: An Interview with Albert Ho

Perry Link & Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
The former British colony of Hong Kong reverted to China on July 1, 1997, and on every July 1 since then Hong Kong citizens have marched in the streets asking for democracy. The demonstrations on this year’s anniversary, however, were on a much...

Chinese Oil Rig Near Vietnam to Be Moved

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The China National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned company, said the billion-dollar rig, known as HD 981, would be relocated to an area around the Qiongdongnan basin, closer to Hainan Island, a southern province of China, and apparently in...

Many Asian Nations Believe That a War With China Is Looming

David Stout
Time
A majority in the Asian countries polled in a new Pew study say they fear a looming military conflict with China.

Chinese Hackers Extending Reach to Smaller U.S. Agencies, Officials Say

MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
New York Times
After years of cyberattacks on the networks of high-profile government targets like the Pentagon, Chinese hackers appear to have turned their attention to far more obscure federal agencies.

China Tells U.S. To Stay Out of South China Seas Dispute

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China told the United States on Tuesday to stay out of disputes over the South China Sea and leave countries in the region to resolve problems themselves, after Washington said it wanted a freeze on stoking tension.

China’s Campaign Against Corruption Is Huge. Will It Do Any Good?

Hannah Beech
Time
President Xi has netted more “tigers,” or top-level officials, than his predecessor Hu Jintao did during his entire decade in power.

Caixin Media

07.15.14

Silencing a Health Reformer’s Voice

Dr. Liao Xinbo is struggling to square his enormous popularity and thirst for healthcare reform with a recent demotion that, in his words, marked the culmination of his frustrated work life.Liao served as Deputy Director of the Guangdong Province...

All Aboard: China’s Railway Dream

Carrie Gracie
BBC
At Asia’s biggest rail cargo base in Chengdu in south-west China, the cranes are hard at work, swinging containers from trucks onto a freight train. The containers are filled with computers, clothes, even cars.

Chinese Banks Halt Experimental Yuan-Remittance Program

LingLing Wei
Wall Street Journal
China’s major banks have halted an experimental program, sanctioned by the country’s central bank, that helped citizens transfer large sums overseas despite government capital controls, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

China TV Anchor Known For Fatriotic Views is Held in Corruption Probe

Los Angeles Times
For years, TV news anchor Rui Chenggang has been a China booster and an icon for China’s global “soft power” push. But in a development that’s shocked the nation, Rui has been detained on suspicion of corruption, the scourge of the system he has...

China Labels iPhone a Security Threat

Eva Dou
Wall Street Journal
 Report cites researchers who say tracking app could expose 'state secrets.'

China Aims to Justify New Media Restrictions

Te-Ping Chen
Wall Street Journal
China moved to justify and explain a series of new restrictions on its media that tightened the government’s control of information in the world's No. 2 economy.

Power Shift: Hopeful Signs in China’s Legal Reform Plan

Stanley Lubman
Wall Street Journal
The Central Leading Group for Judicial Reform of the Chinese Communist Party announced the reform measures last month and an overview of a new five-year plan issued by the Supreme People’s Court on Wednesday signals a serious intention to implement...

China Touts $14.4 Billion in Foreign Aid, Half of Which Went to Africa

James T. Areddy
Wall Street Journal
Instead of focusing on support for pricey, high-profile infrastructure that is often a lightning rod for foreign critics who say it’s less necessary than basic on-the-ground needs, the report highlighted China’s spending on comparatively smaller-...

President Xi Welcomes Obama to Visit China for APEC Summit

Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he welcomes and expects talks with Barack Obama when the U.S. president visits China to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November.

Environment

07.10.14

U.S.-China Climate Cooperation More Crucial Than Ever

from chinadialogue
As the governments of the United States and China meet in Beijing this week for the Sixth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), one area worth watching closely is clean energy and climate change cooperation. While this topic may...

Tibet Resists

Jonathan Mirsky from New York Review of Books
Tsering Woeser was born in Lhasa in 1966, the daughter of a senior officer in the Chinese army. She became a passionate supporter of the Dalai Lama. When she was very young the family moved to Tibetan towns inside China proper. In school, only...

Kerry Presses China to Abide by Maritime Laws to Ease Tensions

Jane Perlez
New York Times
In a closed-door session at a high-level gathering of Chinese and American officials here on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to follow maritime law in nearby seas to reduce regional tensions.

Chinese Hackers Pursue Key Data on U.S. Workers

Michael S. Schmidt, David E. Sanger and...
New York Times
Chinese hackers in March broke into the computer networks of the United States government agency that houses the personal information of all federal employees, according to senior American officials.

Conversation

07.09.14

The U.S. and China Are At the Table: What’s At Stake?

William Adams & Zha Daojiong
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are in Beijing this week for the sixth session of the high level bilateral diplomatic exchange known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. We asked contributors what's likely...

The Untold Story of China’s Forgotten Underground Nuclear Reactor

Jeffrey Lewis
Foreign Policy
How social media and a little sleuthing turned up a Mao-era nuclear program.

Media

07.08.14

Changing the Chinese Embassy’s Address to Liu Xiaobo Plaza Is a Silly Idea

I rarely agree with the Chinese Embassy in Washington, but an amendment making its way through Congress has made me unlikely bedfellows with Beijing’s Washington diplomats.Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has sponsored an amendment to rename the...

Caixin Media

07.08.14

Hard Choices for Family Planners and Parents

The technocrats in charge of China's one-child policy have the power to force sterilizations, abortions, and intra-uterine device (IUD) implants, as well as punish uncooperative parents by denying them jobs, denying their children schooling,...

China’s Rise and Asian Tensions Send U.S. Relations Into Downward Spiral

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
Hundreds of rocky islands, islets, sandbanks, reefs and cays lie scattered across Asia’s eastern waters, unimportant-looking to the naked eye but significant enough to spark what may be the most worrying deterioration in U.S.-China relations in...

What You Need to Know About the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue

Richard C. Bush III, David Dollar,...
Since 2009, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue has offered a platform for both countries to address bilateral, regional and global challenges and opportunities, and this year’s meeting comes at a critical time to stabilize the U.S.-China...

U.S. Pushes China to Give Ground on Technology Trade Deal

Krista Hughes
Reuters
The United States on Monday urged China to give ground on a deal to eliminate duties on billions of dollars of technology products and said it would use talks in Beijing later this week to push to restart negotiations.

China’s State Media Goes Into Overdrive Over the Marco Polo Incident

Te-Ping Chen
Wall Street Journal
President Xi Jinping led other members of the leadership to the area on the western outskirts of Beijing where 77 years ago Japanese troops attacked Chinese soldiers. The 1937 skirmish led to Japan invading much of eastern China and...

From Mountains, Island, Secret Town, China’s Electronic Spy Shop Watches

James T. Areddy, Paul Mozur, and Danny...
Wall Street Journal
Using Chinese government websites, academic databases and foreign security expertise, The Wall Street Journal assembled an overview of some secret operations of China's global monitoring organization, the Third Department of the People's...

China Denies Entry to an American Scholar Who Spoke Up for a Uighur Colleague

Edward Wong
New York Times
When Elliot Sperling landed in Beijing, he found himself dragged by border officers back to the same jet that he had flown in on, despite the fact he had arrived with a valid one-year tourist visa.

China Thinks It Can Defeat America in Battle

David Axe
Week
China is wrong — and for one major reason. It apparently disregards the decisive power of America's nuclear-powered submarines.

Shadow of Brutal ’79 War Darkens Vietnam’s View of China Relations

Jane Perlez
New York Times
She was 14 when Chinese artillery fire echoed across the hills around her home in northern Vietnam, and hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers swarmed across the border.

Two Studies of Modern China: ‘Age of Ambition’ & ‘The New Emperors’

Isabel Hilton
Guardian
Evan Osnos examines a changing China through gentle reportage, while Kerry Brown provides illuminating forensic analysis of its vicious power struggles

An Online Shift in China Muffles an Open Forum

Ian Johnson
New York Times
In recent months, Chinese microblogging service Weibo has been eclipsed by the Facebook-like WeChat, which allows instant messaging within self-selected circles of followers.

Infographics

07.03.14

Spoils of the ‘Tiger’ Hunt

David M. Barreda & Yan Cong
The Chinese Communist Party announced the expulsion from its ranks of Xu Caihou, who before his retirement in 2012 was one of the highest ranking officers in the People’s Liberation Army. He also became the highest-ranking member of the Chinese...

China Bans Xinjiang Officials From Observing Ramadan Fast

BBC
Activists have accused Beijing of exaggerating the threat from Uighur separatists to justify a crackdown on the Uighurs’ religious and cultural freedoms.

‘There Are No Rules in China’

Alexa Olesen
Foreign Policy
When dissident author Murong Xuecun returns home, he says he will tell Beijing authorities they can come and get him.

Is Japan Targeting China in Next Move?

Xinhua
The Japanese government’s endorsing of a reinterpretation of its pacifist Constitution on Tuesday for the right to collective self-defense is a dangerous move that will lead to security worries for other Asian countries.

China to Let Indian Experts Monitor Brahmaputra in Tibet

Smriti Kak Ramachandran and Ananth...
Hindu
China has for the first time formally agreed to allow Indian hydrological experts to conduct study tours in Tibet to monitor the flows on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra, according to a new agreement signed here on Monday during the visit of...

Culture

07.01.14

Inside the Mind of a Chinese Hacker

Emily Parker
In May, the U.S. announced the indictment of five Chinese hackers for breaking into the computers of U.S. companies. The men went by code names like UglyGorilla and KandyGoo. A recent report revealed that the hackers, who worked for Unit 61398 of...

China’s Complicated Relationship with Golf

Jessica Marksbury and Dan Washburn
Golf
Dan Washburn, managing editor of the Asia Society and author of the new book “The Forbidden Game,” tells Jessica Marksbury that golf in China is both banned and booming.

Conversation

07.01.14

The Debate Over Confucius Institutes PART II

Gregory B. Lee, Michael Hill & more
Last week, ChinaFile published a discussion on the debate over Confucius Institutes–Chinese language and culture programs affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education—and their role on university campuses. The topic, and several of the...

Billionaire South African Family Sells Wine to China Rich

Dylan Griffiths
Bloomberg
When 45 alumni of Tsinghua University, the alma mater of China’s last two leaders, stopped for lunch at La Motte vineyard in South Africa two years ago, they ordered 1.5 million rand ($141,000) of wine to take away.

China Housing Bubble Won’t Impact Global Financial Markets, Says Treasury Secretary Lew

Kenneth Rapoza
Forbes
The Treasury Secretary said China’s housing market was not connected to the rest of the world, and was generally not over leveraged like it was in the U.S. and Europe.

Pro-Democracy Activism Not in Hong Kong’s Interest, China Warns

Zoe Li
CNN
As potentially hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens prepare to take to the streets in a now-annual display of public disapproval of Beijing’s interference in the city’s affairs, voices in China’s state-run press are warning that the protests...

Caixin Media

07.01.14

China Pulling the Plug on Foreign Mainframes

E-commerce companies and banks in China are scrapping hardware and uninstalling software for mainframe servers made by American suppliers in favor of homegrown brands said to be safe, advanced, and a lot less expensive.The movement has taken special...

Big Brother Comes Wooing

Economist
For more than six decades after the Chinese civil war, the mainland did not allow its minister-level officials openly to set foot in Taiwan. This changed on June 25th when Zhang Zhijun, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, visited the island...

Top China Military Official General Xu Caihou Accused

BBC
One of China's most senior military officials has been accused of accepting bribes and expelled from the Communist Party, state media report.

China Tries To Establish Foothold In Zambia, Tanzania

Howard French, Renee Montagne, and...
NPR
Howard French, author of China's Second Continent, talks to Steve Inskeep about why some African countries are of particular interest to Chinese leaders.

China ‘Baby Hatch’ Inundated With Abandoned, Disabled Children

Connie Young
CNN
In just 11 days, 106 children, all with disabilities or medical conditions, were dropped off at the Jinan Orphanage, according to local state media. That is more than the 85 orphans the city accepted the entire previous year.

Chinese Territorial Claims Driving Asia Closer to U.S.

Rob Taylor
Wall Street Journal
Muscle flexing by the Chinese in the South China Sea is driving Asian neighbors into a closer alliance with the U.S. and feeding regional insecurity, cautioned one of Australia's most senior government ministers.

The (Continuing) Story of Ai—From Tragedy to Farce

Paul Gladston
Randian
In recent weeks Ai Weiwei has become embroiled, yet again, in apparent controversy.

Sinica Podcast

06.27.14

Narendra Modi and Sino-Indian Relations

Kaiser Kuo & Jeremy Goldkorn from Sinica Podcast
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy grab Ananth Krishnanin, correspondent for India’s national newspaper The Hindu, and drag him into our studio for a discussion of the state of Sino-Indian relations. In particular, we’re curious why Sino-Indian...

U.S. Navy Official Says China Military Relations Have Improved ‘Modestly’

Chun Han Wong
Wall Street Journal
Relations between the U.S. and Chinese militaries have improved “modestly” in the past year, a senior U.S. Navy official said, despite discord over territorial tensions and strategic issues in the Asian-Pacific region.

China Official Makes Rare Cross-Strait Trip in Effort to Forge Ties With Taiwan

Jenny W. Hsu
Wall Street Journal
China's top cross-strait negotiator began a landmark visit to Taiwan aimed at forging ties with the Taiwanese people amid growing skepticism toward Beijing.

Congress Votes to Rename Road by Chinese Embassy After Jailed Dissident

Hannah Beech
Time
Beijing is not amused by the “provocative action,” as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo “has been convicted in accordance with the law.”