Chinese Aid is Helping African Economies, but Not in the Places that Need it Most

Bradley Parks et al.
Washington Post
New data shows that Chinese projects are disproportionately sited in the home towns of African leaders

China Seeks Tighter Grip in Wake of a Religious Revival

Ian Johnson
New York Times
Increased regulations on religion are the latest move by President Xi to strengthen the Communist Party’s control over society and combat foreign influences.

Five Ways China Has Become More Repressive Under President Xi Jinping

Charlie Campbell
Time
According to the 2016 report by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, there has been a broad corrosion of freedoms

Is Beijing’s Growing Power Threatened by Foreign Influences? Chinese People Seem to Think So

Nectar Gan
South China Morning Post
According to a PEW Research Center survey, Chinese perceive the U.S. as a greater threat than the economic downturn, climate change, or ISIS

Indonesia Parades Air-Force Arsenal Over South China Sea

Ben Otto
Wall Street Journal
Military exercises are around country’s Natuna Islands, over waters where run-ins with Chinese fishing boats are on the rise

Pakistan Tensions Loom Over India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
Pakistan may not be officially included in this year's round of talks between India and China, but it's certainly high up on the agenda.

Conversation

10.06.16

Is the Growing Pessimism About China Warranted?

David Shambaugh, David M. Lampton & more from Washington Quarterly
There are few more consequential questions in world affairs than China’s uncertain future trajectory. Assumptions of a reformist China integrated into the international community have given way in recent years to serious concerns about the nation’s...

China: A Life in Detention

Yang Zhanqing from New York Review of Books
Every year in China, thousands of people suffer what the United Nations calls “arbitrary detention”: confinement in extra-legal facilities—including former government buildings, hotels, or mental hospitals—which are sometimes known as “black jails...

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

Taiwan President Tsai: Taiwan Won’t Succumb to China’s Pressure

Charles Hutzler and Jenny Hsu
WSJ: China Real Time Report
In an interview with WSJ, Ms.Tsai discussed her first four months in office

Thailand Bars Entry to Teenage HK Activist “at China’s Request”

Venus Wu and Cod Satrusayang
Reuters
Joshua Wong was detained in Bangkok where he had been invited to speak at universities about Hong Kong's "Umbrella Movement"

U.S., China Said to Discuss Choking Off North Korean Energy

Kambiz Foroohar and Ting Shi
Bloomberg
Talks involve restrictions on coal, iron ore and crude oil

China’s Media Challenges Western Narratives of Africa

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
The Chinese media presence across Africa has expanded dramatically over the past ten years, as Beijing has built a vast distribution network for its newspaper, radio, and TV content. China’s flagship TV network, China Central Television (CCTV),...

Conversation

10.04.16

How Does the American Election Look to Chinese?

Qiaoyi Zhuang, Liu Mingfu & more
During the first presidential debate on September 26, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump mentioned China a dozen times. They spoke about China and jobs, currency, exports, infrastructure, cyberhacking, nuclear non-proliferation, trade, and North Korea...

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

Propaganda and Censorship Remain China’s Favored Tools of Control

Cary Huang
South China Morning Post
Recent court rulings rapping people questioning the party-state’s tales about war heroes reflect leaders’ insecurity over their rule

Is Philippine President Duterte Playing the United States and China?

Raissa Robles
South China Morning Post
Is the pivot away from the U.S. and towards China real, or is Manila just trying to play the two superpowers against each other?

China Eyes Ending Western Grip on Top U.N. Jobs With Greater Control Over Blue Helmets

Column Lynch
Foreign Policy
As China steps up its commitment to U.N. peacekeeping, Beijing is said to be eyeing a leadership role — with potentially troubling human rights implications

Fate Catches Up to a Cultural Revolution Museum in China

Didi Kirsten Tatlow
New York Times
The museum was covered up and shut down in the spring, a few weeks before the 50th anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution.

A Storied Hong Kong Newspaper Feels the Heat from China

Rob Schmitz
NPR
After recently shutting down its Chinese-language website and deleting archives, the South China Morning Post announced more cuts.

China Says Countering Dalai Lama is Top Ethnic Priority in Tibet

Michael Martina
Reuters
Region's Communist Party boss vows to uproot the monk's "separatist and subversive" activities

China Plans to Teach Developing Countries and the UN About Protecting Human Rights

Echo Huang Yinyin
Quartz
Like many of Beijing’s edicts, it is being criticized as a blatant piece of propaganda

How Rocky U.S.-China Relations Benefit North Korea’s Nuclear Missiles

Minxin Pei
Fortune
Earlier this month, North Korea tested its fifth nuclear device.

Media

09.29.16

How to Fix China’s Crooked Congress

Thomas Kellogg
Nearly four years into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, Chinese citizens could be forgiven if their eyes glaze over at the news of yet another high official’s fall from grace. But even the most jaded likely could not ignore...

‘The Songs of Birds’

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
Day and night,I copy the Diamond Sutraof Prajnaparamita.My writing looks more and more square.It proves that I have not gone entirelyinsane, but the tree I drewhasn’t grown a leaf.—from “I Copy the Scriptures,” in Empty ChairsEvery month, the...

Chinese State Media Say U.S. Debate Shows Vote is ‘Lose-Lose’

Bloomberg
Party paper report calls Trump nervous, Clinton well-prepared

Li Keqiang Becomes First Chinese Premier to Visit Cuba

Catherine Putz
Diplomat
The world’s largest and smallest communist states have had stable relations for years.

Blow-By-Blow Account of the China-Singapore Spat Over South China Sea Report

Viola Zhou
South China Morning Post
Global Times report stirs up controversy

North Korea and The South China Sea: What’s Next?

Paul Haenle & Gary Roughead from Carnegie China
Given the increasingly complex security environment in the Asia-Pacific, it is critical for the United States and China to deepen cooperation on promoting regional stability. In this podcast, Paul Haenle and Admiral Gary Roughead, former Chief of...

Why the US Presidential Debate Couldn’t Ignore China

Viola Zhou and Kristin Huang
South China Morning Post
Clinton, Trump clash over cybersecurity, terrorism, trade, and nuclear threats

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.

Japan Warns China After Warplanes Were Spotted Flying Close to Disputed Islands

Feliz Solomon
Time
This comes days after Japan announced plans to step up presence in the South China Sea

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

Mother’s Killing of 4 Children Reveals Cracks in Anti-Poverty Drive

Li Rongde, Xiao Hui, Huang Ziyi, and...
Corruption, red tape has led to most vulnerable citizens receiving little help

Provincial Boss Ordered Crackdown on China's 'Democracy Village' with Eye on National Power

James Pomfret and Benjamin Kang Lim
Reuters
Wukan is Hu Chunhua's tryout for the Politburo Standing Committee

How to Counter China’s Global Propaganda Offensive

Mareike Ohlberg and Bertram Lang
New York Times
It has been a difficult year for many Western democracies — and China is rubbing it in.

China Rights Lawyer Xia Lin Jailed for 12 Years

BBC
Ai Weiwei's lawyer sentenced for 'fraud'

Conversation

09.21.16

What Should the U.S. Presidential Candidates Be Saying on China?

Winston Lord, Orville Schell & more
Barely eight weeks before the United States presidential election, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump have said surprisingly little about how they plan to address China—in areas ranging from the global economy...

Chinese Agents Enter Canada on Tourist Visas to Coerce Return of Fugitive Expats

Robert Fife
Globe and Mail
Trudeau begins negotiations for an extradition treaty with China

Hong Kong Protest Leaders Avoid Jail After Failed Court Bid

AFP
Channel NewsAsia
"Umbrella Revolution" leaders walk free from court

China, US to Step Up Cooperation to Halt North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
China’s premier and Obama make a pledge at the UN

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...

Four Years On: Where is Xi Jinping’s Anti-corruption Drive Headed?

Andrew Wedeman
China Policy Institute Blog
As the anti-corruption campaign launched by CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping approaches its fourth anniversary, the question ought to be asked: where is it going?

Obama’s Asia Legacy

Paul Haenle & Michael Green from Carnegie China
As President Obama enters his final months in office and a new administration prepares to take the helm in 2017, what will his legacy be in the Asia-Pacific? In this podcast, Paul Haenle and Michael Green, former senior director for Asian affairs at...

Media

09.14.16

The Chinese Democratic Experiment that Never Was

David Wertime
Protesters in southern China are up in arms. They feel that Beijing’s promises that they’d be able to vote for their own local leaders have been honored in the breach. They’re outraged at the show of force in the face of peaceful protest, and...

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...

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...

The South China Morning Post Has Suddenly Shut Down Its Chinese-language Website

Ilaria Maria Sala
Quartz
In one fell swoop, years of reporting from SCMP is gone.

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.

Mayor of Major Chinese Port City of Tianjin Faces Corruption Inquiry

Guardian
City’s acting Communist party chief is accused of ‘serious discipline breaches’ by investigators.

Viewpoint

09.08.16

Mao the Man, Mao the God

Sergey Radchenko
Mao Zedong was dying a slow, agonizing death. Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in July 1974, he gradually lost control of his motor functions. His gait was unsure. He slurred his speech and panted heavily. The decline was...

The People in Retreat

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
Ai Xiaoming is one of China’s leading documentary filmmakers and political activists. Since 2004, she has made more than two dozen films, many of them long, gritty documentaries that detail citizen activism or uncover whitewashed historical events...

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...

China Confirms Development of New Long-Range Bomber

Franz-Stefan Gady
Diplomat
The new long-range bomber should be capable of reaching targets as far as the “second island chain.”

International Diplomatic Incidents Bring Benefits for China

Jamil Anderlini
Financial Times
Western officials say that negotiations and joint events often feel like exercises in humiliation.

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.

China Says It Has Netted One-Third of Top Overseas Graft Suspects

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
Over the past two years, the commission has returned to China 1,915 people from more than 70 countries.