ChinaFile Recommends
09.19.17Fugitive Tycoon Guo Wengui Assailed by Businessman Who Says He Was Framed for Crimes
South China Morning Post
China’s highest profile fugitive, exiled billionaire Guo Wengui, is under attack from a former business partner who claims Guo got him framed for crimes he says he did not commit.
The China Africa Project
09.18.17
Africa Needs Infrastructure, China Wants to Build It. So What’s the Problem?
Every week seemingly brings a new announcement of a Chinese-financed mega project somewhere in Africa. Last week’s announcement of a $5.8 billion power station in Nigeria that will be financed and built by Chinese state-owned companies is typical of...
Media
09.18.17
Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan, and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century
The following is an edited transcript of a live event hosted at Asia Society in New York on September 7, 2017, and named for a new book by Richard McGregor, the former Beijing Bureau Chief of the Financial Times, “ChinaFile Presents: ‘Asia’s...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.18.17China’s State Media Blasts US Handling of North Korea Crisis
South China Morning Post
China has shown its deepening frustration over the North Korean missile test crisis, with a commentary in the state-run People’s Daily blaming the United States for hindering efforts to resolve the issue.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.18.17China to Amend Party Constitution at October Congress
Reuters
China’s ruling Communist Party is expected to amend its constitution at a key party congress next month, state media said on Monday, in a sign that President Xi Jinping aims to enshrine his guiding ideological doctrine in the charter.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.18.17China and India Water ‘Dispute’ after Border Stand-Off
BBC
China and India may have defused a potential border conflict but the stand-off seems to have led to dispute over another contentious issue: water.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.18.17China Communist Party Youth Twitter Account Prompts Abuse
BBC
Setting up a Twitter account may seem a fairly obvious thing for a political party to do, but the step has not so far worked out too well for China’s Communist Party.
Conversation
09.15.17
Bannon Says the U.S. Is at ‘Economic War with China.’ Is He Right?
Steve Bannon, whose controversial views on China remain hugely influential in the White House, is visiting Hong Kong this week to speak at a China investment conference. In August, before he left his White House position as chief strategist, Bannon...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.15.17North Korea Fires Second Ballistic Missile over Japan
BBC
The missile reached an altitude of about 770km, travelling 3,700km — higher and further than one fired over Japan late last month — before landing in the sea off Hokkaido, South Korea's military says.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.15.17Chinese Academics Prod Beijing to Consider North Korea Contingencies
Reuters
Chinese academics are publicly broaching the idea that China and the United States should share plans on how to deal with a potential conflict on the Korean Peninsula, a sign some say of how North Korea’s weapons test may be making Beijing more open...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.15.17China Used to Harvest Organs from Prisoners. Under Pressure, That Practice Is Finally Ending.
Washington Post
After years of denials, China now acknowledges that history and has declared that the practice no longer occurs — largely thanks to the perseverance of a health official who, with the quiet backing of an American transplant surgeon, turned the...
Viewpoint
09.15.17
The Unprecedented Reach of China’s Surveillance State
The Chinese Party-state is building a social credit system for collecting information about all of its citizens by police, courts, and other institutions. This enables the government to reach into society to a degree unprecedented in history...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.15.17How Strongmen Co-Opted Democracy
New York Times
A wave of strongmen rulers has been elected, many of whom have clear non-Western identities. This list includes Shinzo Abe of Japan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Narendra Modi of India, Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, as well as China’s Xi Jinping.
Viewpoint
09.15.17
There Is Only One China, And There Is Only One Taiwan
One of Beijing’s least favorite people is Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, who won a landslide election victory 18 months ago on a platform calling for more separation from China—a coded way of rejecting one of the mainland’s most sacred principles...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.14.17China's New Campaign to Instill Official Historical Narrative in Xinjiang
South China Morning Post
Yu Zhengsheng, the party’s fourth-ranking official who is in charge of religion and ethnic minorities, presided at a high-level meeting in Beijing this week to address “several historical issues” regarding the restive region, Xinhua reported.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.13.17China 'Feminist Five' Activist Handed 10-Year Travel Ban
Financial Times
One of China’s “Feminist Five” group of women who were arrested for campaigning against sexual harassment has been barred from leaving the country for a decade, in the latest example of Beijing’s ever-tightening grip on civil society.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.13.17After Toiling in Rural China, ProtéGé of Xi Jinping Joins Party's Top Tiers
New York Times
Guizhou is one of China’s poorest provinces, yet its villages of rice paddies, buffalos and mud-brick homes have long been a proving ground for rising stars in the Chinese Communist Party. The former president, Hu Jintao, once ran this mountainous...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.13.17What Would China Do If North Korea and the United States Go to War?
South China Morning Post
The US should sit down with China before pursuing a discussion with North Korea on how to solve the Korean peninsula’s nuclear crisis, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.12.17Smuggling Operations at Sea Targeted in Latest UN Sanctions against North Korea
South China Morning Post
The UN has called on member states to use “new tools” to clamp down on smuggling activities at sea under the latest sanctions against North Korea following its nuclear test last week.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.12.17China and Russia Warn the U.S. Not to Seek North Korean Regime Change
Bloomberg
In supporting a watered-down version of North Korea sanctions, China and Russia had a stern warning for the U.S.: Don’t try to overthrow Kim Jong Un’s regime.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.12.17China Jails Muslim Man for 2 Years over Islam WeChat Groups
South China Morning Post
A member of a Muslim minority group has been sentenced to two years in a Chinese prison after forming online discussions groups to teach Islam.
Sinica Podcast
09.11.17
China’s Tightening Grip on Cyberspace
from Sinica Podcast
Adam Segal returns to Sinica to comment on China’s recent cybersecurity law—where it came from, how it changed as it was being drafted, and how it may shape the flow of information in China in the future. Other issues discussed include the...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.11.17Next Stop for the Steve Bannon Insurgency: China
New York Times
Stephen K. Bannon plans to travel to Hong Kong to deliver a keynote address at an investor conference, where he will articulate his call for a much tougher American policy toward China.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.11.17Pro-Independence from China Posters Appearing on Hong Kong Campuses Stoke New Tension
Reuters
Thirteen Hong Kong universities and academic institutions accused the Chinese-ruled city’s leader of undermining freedom of expression amid a row over pro-independence banners appearing on campuses.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.08.17Tillerson Is Working with China and Russia — Very, Very Quietly
Washington Post
The Tillerson approach focuses on personal diplomacy, in direct contacts with Chinese and Russian leaders, and through private channels to North Korea. His core strategic assumption is that if the United States can subtly manage its relations with...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.08.17China and Pakistan Team up for Swipe at Trump's Afghanistan Plans
South China Morning Post
The air forces of China and Pakistan teamed up for joint training exercises, state media reported on Friday as the foreign ministers from the two countries present a united front in Beijing against Washington’s new military policy in Afghanistan.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.08.17Lacking a Point Person on China, U.S. Risks Aggravating Tensions
New York Times
The National Security Council is conducting a review of the White House’s China policy — taking into account Mr. Trump’s populist trade agenda and differences over how to curb the rogue government in North Korea. Aside from Mr. Trump himself, it...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.08.17Sweeping Change in China's Military Points to More Firepower for Xi
Reuters
China’s military is preparing a sweeping leadership reshuffle, dropping top generals, including two that sources say are under investigation for corruption. The changes would make room for President Xi Jinping to install trusted allies in key...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.07.17China Will Back Fresh U.N. Measures on North Korea over Nuclear Tests
Washington Post
China’s foreign minister said Thursday that Beijing would support further U.N.-imposed “measures” against North Korea following its largest nuclear test, but stopped short of saying whether China would back crippling economic sanctions such as halts...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.07.17Wanted Chinese Tycoon Seeks US Political Asylum
Associated Press
Chinese real estate tycoon Guo Wengui, one of the Communist Party’s most wanted exiles, has applied for political asylum in the United States.
Conversation
09.06.17
China’s Communist Party Is About to Meet. Here’s What You Should Know.
The Chinese Communist Party will hold its 19th Party Congress on October 18, marking the end of the first term of General Secretary Xi Jinping. In a leadership reshuffle, Xi is expected to promote allies to the Party’s key decision-making body, the...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.06.17South Korea Calls for Cutting North Korea’s Oil Supplies but Russia Is Reluctant
Washington Post
Amid escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula, South Korean President Moon Jae-In sought Russian backing Wednesday for calls to block critical crude oil supplies to the North Korean regime after its latest nuclear test.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.06.17Chinese Premier to Discuss Economy with Int'l Institution Chiefs
Xinhua
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will hold a roundtable meeting with leaders of six major international economic and financial institutions in Beijing next Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Wednesday.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.06.17Bad News, World: China Can’t Solve the North Korea Problem
New York Times
After each North Korean provocation, a soothing mantra echoes through the halls of government and think tanks in the United States.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.06.17China Brushes off Vietnam Protests over South China Sea Drills
Reuters
China on Wednesday dismissed Vietnamese condemnation of its military live-fire exercises in the disputed South China Sea, saying it was acting within its sovereign rights.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.05.17North Korea Nuclear Test Puts Pressure on China and Undercuts Xi
New York Times
It was supposed to be Xi Jinping’s moment to bask in global prestige, as the Chinese president hosted the leaders of some of the world’s most dynamic economies at a summit meeting just weeks before a Communist Party leadership conference.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.05.17Leaders of China and India Seek Stable Ties after Border Spat
Bloomberg
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first talks since defusing a border stand-off, with both leaders calling for stable ties between the two Asian giants.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.05.17China Subverting UN Efforts to Protect Human Rights, Says Pressure Group
South China Morning Post
A human rights group said in a report on Tuesday that China has tried to intimidate, blacklist and suppress the voices of rights advocates who operate within the UN system, calling on Beijing to stop such pressure and urging UN agencies to resist.
The NYRB China Archive
09.05.17
Beijing’s Bold New Censorship
from New York Review of Books
Authoritarians, in China and elsewhere, normally have preferred to dress their authoritarianism up in pretty clothes. Lenin called the version of dictatorship he invented in 1921 “democratic centralism,” but it became clear, especially after Stalin...
Reports
09.01.17
The Costs of International Advocacy
Human Rights Watch
Even as it engages with U.N. human rights institutions, China has worked consistently and often aggressively to silence criticism of its human rights record before U.N. bodies and has taken actions aimed at weakening some of the central mechanisms...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.31.17CPC Expected to Convene 19th National Congress on Oct. 18
Xinhua
One of China's most important political events, the key five-yearly congress will decide the new leadership line-up.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.31.17China's HNA Group Sues Exiled Chinese Businessman
Wall Street Journal
One of China’s most acquisitive companies is suing an exiled Chinese businessman for allegedly spreading what it says are falsehoods that have hurt the conglomerate’s reputation and financial interests.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.31.17Young People in China Have Started a Fashion Movement Built around Nationalism and Racial Purity
Quartz
The Han Clothing Movement, a youth-based grassroots nationalist movement built around China’s majority Han ethnic group, has emerged over the past 15 years in urban China. It imagines the numerically and culturally dominant Han—nearly 92% of China’s...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.30.17Who Blinked in the China-India Military Standoff?
Washington Post
For weeks, China’s Foreign Ministry had been vehement in its denunciations of India and insistence that New Delhi unconditionally withdraw troops that had trespassed into Chinese territory. Don’t underestimate us, China repeatedly insisted, we are...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.30.17China Can Squeeze Its Neighbors When It Wants. Ask South Korea
CNN
South Korean businesses have been suffering since early this year after the country angered the Chinese government with the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. The victims include companies in tourism and retail, but also Hyundai (HYMTF),...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.30.17Alibaba and Tencent Are Showing How Companies Can Get around Beijing's Crackdown on Foreign Deals
CNBC
The firms, among China’s most important tech giants, are overseeing the merger of two companies they back. Chinese delivery firm 58 Suyun is combining with Hong Kong logistics company GoGoVan — both have raised funds from Alibaba, and Tencent backs...
Sinica Podcast
08.30.17
U.S.-China Relations After Six Months of Trump
from Sinica Podcast
Has the last half year of turbulent U.S.-China relations and Chinese politics passed you by? Confused you? Perhaps you’d like a clear recap in plain English? If yes, then this is the podcast episode for you.
Conversation
08.29.17
Is the United States Still the Predominant Power in the Pacific?
In late August, a U.S. destroyer collided with an oil tanker—the fourth such accident for the U.S. Navy in Asia since January. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has increased troop commitments in Afghanistan, threatened to strike North Korea with “...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.29.17China Says North Korea Tensions Have Reached 'Tipping Point'
South China Morning Post
China warned that tensions on the Korean peninsula have reached a “tipping point” after North Korea on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over Japan, but said the United States and South Korea are partly to blame.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.29.17New Silk Road: Japan to Counteract China in Kazakhstan with New Asia-Europe Rail Deal
Forbes
Japan continues standing in the ring with China, exchanging blow for blow as the Asian rivals both compete and cooperate with each other in the creation of the trans-Eurasian mega-project that has been...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.29.17In China You Now Have to Provide Your Real Identity If You Want to Comment Online
Quartz
The Chinese government under president Xi Jinping is continuing to make life on the internet difficult for its potential detractors. Yesterday (Aug. 25), the country’s highest internet regulator released new rules that govern who...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.29.17India, China Agree to Pull Back Troops to Resolve Tense Border Dispute
Washington Post
India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on their border, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-armed...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.28.17Trump on China: ‘I Want Tariffs. And I Want Someone to Bring Me Some Tariffs’
MarketWatch
President Donald Trump demanded tariffs against China at a recent White House meeting, according to a new report, dismissing concerns from his “globalist” advisers.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.28.17More Turmoil for China’s Wanda as Rumors Fly
Variety
China’s Dalian Wanda issued a stern denial Monday following rumors that company chairman Wang Jianlin had been detained by authorities as he attempted to fly abroad. The unsubstantiated reports caused stocks in Wanda’s hotel group to swoon. “Rumors...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.28.17India, China Agree to Pull Back Troops to Resolve Tense Border Dispute
Washington Post
India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-...
Viewpoint
08.28.17
China Is Risking the Lives of Political Prisoners by Denying Them Medical Care
Dissident activist Chen Xi entered Xingyi Prison in Guangxi in January 2012 to serve a 10-year sentence. The previous month, he had been convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” for writing articles about human rights and democracy. This...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.28.17India, China Agree to Pull Back Troops to Resolve Tense Border Dispute
Washington Post
India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.24.17China and India Are Showing Muscle on Their Border
Economist
When the Indian subcontinent bumped into Eurasia 40m years ago, the collision produced the mighty Himalayas. The world’s two most populous nations, India and China, are still colliding across that majestic range.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.24.17China State Media Says US Will ‘Pay’ for ‘Unjust’ Sanctions
CNBC
China has come out strongly against new U.S. moves to pressure North Korea with its foreign ministry opposing the “long-arm jurisdiction” of President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that Beijing has always met international obligations in...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.24.17Balance of Power: China Extends Its Reach
Bloomberg
President Xi Jinping is spending more than $50 billion in an economic corridor in Pakistan, Afghanistan’s neighbor. The highways and gas pipelines, designed to provide China an alternative land route to the high seas, also give it an interest in...