China’s South-East Asia Push Threatened by New Malaysia Regime

Ben Bland
Financial Times
Status as Belt and Road posterchild at risk as Mahathir vows to review Chinese projects.

Warning Sounded over China's 'Debtbook Diplomacy'

Helen Davidson
Guardian
Academics identify 16 countries loaned billions that they can’t afford to repay.

What Really Happens in China’s ‘Re-education’ Camps

Rian Thum
New York Times
New study provides a glimpse into the vast scale of Uighurs detention network.

China Welcomes Trump’s Help on ZTE as Trade Talks Loom

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
Both sides are using the Chinese telecom company as a pawn in a geopolitical game.

Iranian Foreign Minister Visits Russia and China to Try to Save Nuclear Deal

Ben Westcott, Sara Mazloumsaki and...
CNN
Iranian diplomat visits Moscow and Beijing following US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Chinese Uyghurs Forced to Welcome Communist Party into Their Homes

Steven Jiang
CNN
Over a million Chinese Communist officials are being dispatched to live with local families in Xinjiang. 

Recent Developments Surrounding the South China Sea

AP
Associated Press
Weekly look at the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

China: Security Guards Assault Women Attending LGBT Event

Lily Kuo
Guardian
Women wearing rainbow badges were blocked from entering Beijing’s 798 arts district by guards who punched them and then knocked them to the ground.

Why Is China Suddenly Seeking Filipino English Teachers?

Coco Liu
South China Morning Post
Beijing shifts its attitude towards workers from the Philippines.

Features

05.11.18

Central and Regional Leadership for Xinjiang Policy in Xi’s Second Term

Jessica Batke from China Leadership Monitor
After the 19th Party Congress last fall and the recent “two meetings” in March, the Party-state has now completed its quinquennial leadership turnover and announced a major restructuring of a number of Party and state entities. This institutional...

Conversation

05.11.18

Do American Companies Need to Take a Stance on Taiwan?

J. Michael Cole, Frances Kitt & more
China’s airline regulator recently sent a letter to 36 international air carriers requiring them to remove from their websites references implying that Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau are not part of China. In a surprisingly direct May 5 statement, the...

My Family Had Never Seen a Kenyan: The Chinese Making a New Life in Africa

Rajeev Gupta
BBC
“We fell in love but it was very difficult at first,” Xu Jing explains from the courtyard of the Fairmont Hotel in Nairobi.

China Draws Up a Shopping List of American Goods to Avoid Trade War

Lingling Wei and Bob Davis
Wall Street Journal
China likely will offer to import more U.S. goods during negotiations in Washington next week as the two sides see one of the best ways to avert an all-out trade war is for Beijing to buy American.

With Jail Sentences and Corporate Flameouts, China Is Tackling its Debt

Alexandra Stevenson
New York Times
A Shanghai court imprisoned a tycoon who used a mountain of debt to buy the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

China: Back to the Future

Andrew J. Nathan from New York Review of Books
In 2023, Xi Jinping will conclude his second term as China’s president. Ever since Deng Xiaoping revised the country’s constitution more than 35 years ago, two consecutive terms have been the most that a president can legally serve. But it has...

Abide in Darkness: China’s War on Religion Stalls Vatican Deal

Eva Dou and Francis X. Rocca
Wall Street Journal
A landmark agreement aimed at healing a nearly 70-year rift between Beijing and the Vatican is in limbo as the Chinese government tightens control over religion.

China and Japan Draw Closer as Asia’s Diplomatic Order Shifts

Ben Westcott
CNN
Beijing and Tokyo marked a new high point in their diplomatic relations Wednesday as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang began a three-day state visit in Japan, the first by a top Chinese leader in eight years.

How China Managed to Play Censor at a Conference on U.S. Soil

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
Foreign Policy
The Beijing-backed Confucius Institute offers much-needed money to American universities — but with strings attached.

Former CIA Officer Charged With Spying For China

Scott Neuman
NPR
An ex-CIA officer arrested in January at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport has been charged with conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of China years after FBI agents turned up notebooks containing classified information in a search of his hotel...

Leaders of China, Japan and South Korea Will Work Together on Denuclearizing North Korea

Mari Yamaguchi
Time
China, Japan and South Korea agreed Wednesday to cooperate on ending North Korea’s nuclear program and promoting free trade, two hot-button issues challenging their region.

Taiwan Blames China for Absence from U.N. Health Meeting

Jess Macy Yu
Reuters
China is disregarding the health of the people of Taiwan by blocking the island’s participation in an annual U.N. health meeting later this month, the Taiwan government said.

What Comes Next after the Panmunjom Summit?

Paul Haenle & Zhao Tong from Carnegie China
Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea at the Panmunjom Summit in April 2018, setting the stage for President Trump’s meeting with Kim in June. Just days after the summit, Paul Haenle spoke with Tong Zhao, a...

After-Shocks of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
The province of Sichuan is a microcosm of China. Its east is flat, prosperous, and densely settled by ethnic Chinese. Its mountainous west is populated by poorer minorities, but possesses resources that help make the east rich.In Sichuan, the...

Hillary Clinton Says China’s Foreign Power Grab ‘a New Global Battle’

Ben Doherty and Eleanor Ainge Roy
Guardian
China’s attempt to gain political power and influence in foreign countries is “a new global battle”, Hillary Clinton has warned.

Chinese Missiles Are Transforming the Balance of Power in the Skies

Marc Champion
Bloomberg
For a quarter century, the U.S. and its allies owned the skies, fighting wars secure in the knowledge that no opponent could compete in the air. As tensions with Russia and China surge, that’s no longer the case.

No Matter What Trump Says on Iran, China Will Probably Ignore Him

Huileng Tan
CNBC
In a matter of hours, President Donald Trump is set to announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal.

One-Time Potential Rival to China’s Xi Draws Life Sentence

Josh Chin
Wall Street Journal
A former top Communist Party official once seen as a potential successor and rival to Chinese President Xi Jinping received a life sentence on corruption charges—a punishment state media portrayed as lenient.

Kim Pays a Second Surprise Visit to China, Heightening Diplomatic Drama

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The leaders of China and North Korea met for the second time in two months on Tuesday, staying overnight in this Chinese port city as China worked to regain control in the fast-moving diplomacy over the North’s nuclear program.

Conversation

05.07.18

Can China Afford to Play Hardball with the U.S.?

Zha Daojiong & William Foster
In the midst of roiling trade tensions between the United States and China, last week Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin led a delegation of Donald Trump’s top economic advisors to Beijing. Demands were made in both directions and talks were...

U.S.-China Trade Talks End with Strong Demands, but Few Signs of a Deal

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The Beijing talks were unlikely to result in a comprehensive deal, but experts said they could still be a first step toward reaching some sort of accord.

U.S.-China Trade Talks End with Strong Demands, but Few Signs of a Deal

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The Beijing talks were unlikely to result in a comprehensive deal, but experts said they could still be a first step toward reaching some sort of accord.

No Regrets: Xi Says Marxism Still 'Totally Correct' for China

CNBC
The decision of China's ruling Communist Party to stick with the political theories of Karl Marx remains "totally correct", President Xi Jinping said ahead of the 200th anniversary of the German philosopher's birth

Chinese Lasers Injure Us Military Pilots in Africa, Pentagon Says

Ryan Browne
CNN
Chinese personnel at the country's first overseas military base in Djibouti have been using lasers to interfere with US military aircraft at a nearby American base, activity that has resulted in injuries to US pilots

Liu Xia, in Call from China, Tells of the Agony of Endless Captivity

Chris Buckley and Melissa Eddy
New York Times
“They keep forcing me to do the impossible,” Liu Xia says at end.

China’s Huge Celebrations of Karl Marx Are Not Really about Marxism

Zheping Huang
Quartz
What if Karl Marx lived long enough to see that one of his biggest fans in the world turned out to be the autocratic leader of a capitalist country where inequality and corruption prevail?

Behind Erik Prince’s China Venture

Marc Fisher, Ian Shapira and Emily...
Washington Post
The Blackwater founder has cut a lucrative security-training deal with Chinese insiders. But is it against U.S. interests?

Books

05.03.18

High-Speed Empire

Will Doig
Columbia Global Reports: The story of the world’s most audacious infrastructure project.Less than a decade ago, China did not have a single high-speed train in service. Today, it owns a network of 14,000 miles of high-speed rail, far more than the rest of the world combined. Now, China is pushing its tracks into Southeast Asia, reviving a century-old colonial fantasy of an imperial railroad stretching to Singapore, and kicking off a key piece of the One Belt One Road initiative, which has a price tag of U.S.$1 trillion and reaches inside the borders of more than 60 countries.The Pan-Asia Railway portion of One Belt One Road could transform Southeast Asia, bringing shiny Chinese cities, entire economies, and waves of migrants where none existed before. But if it doesn’t succeed, that would be a cautionary tale about whether a new superpower, with levels of global authority unimaginable just a decade ago, can pull entire regions into its orbit simply with tracks, sweat, and lots of money. Journalist Will Doig traveled to Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore to chronicle the dramatic transformations taking place—and to find out whether ordinary people have a voice in this moment of economic, political, and cultural collision.{chop}

Chinese Nobel Laureate's Widow 'Ready to Die' in House Arrest

Lily Kuo
Guardian
Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, has said she is ready to die in protest at being held under house arrest in China for more than seven years.

China Moves to Steady Ties With North Korea Before Trump-Kim Meeting

JANE PERLEZ
New York Times
As North Korea holds summit meetings with its archenemies — first South Korea, and soon the United States — China is hustling not to lose influence.

US Trade Team Arrives in Beijing for Talks, and China Media Are Cautious

CNBC
State media said China will stand up to U.S. bullying if need be, but it was better to work things out at the negotiating table.

China Tells International Airlines to Toe the Line on Taiwan

Daniel Shane
CNN
China is turning up the heat on some of the world's top airlines over how they describe Taiwan on their websites.

Laser from Chinese Base Aimed at U.S. Military Pilots in Africa’s Skies, Pentagon Charges

Gordon Lubold and Jeremy Page
Wall Street Journal
Incidents in recent weeks increase tensions, threaten Flight safety, U.S. says

Reports

05.03.18

Policy Analysis on China’s Civil Society Organizations First Quarter of 2018

China Europe Association for Civil Rights
Civil society organizations in China faced increasingly grim circumstances in the first quarter of 2018. Whether looking at the direct impact of the Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities or the Charity Law,...

Taiwan Says China Dangled $3 Billion to Grab Ally Dominican Republic

Jess Macy Yu, Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China offered the Dominican Republic a $3.1 billion package of investments and loans to get them to sever ties with Taiwan, a Taiwan official said on Tuesday, after the Caribbean nation switched allegiance to China in a diplomatic blow to the self-...

The U.S. and China Are Finally Having It Out

Thomas L. Friedman
New York Times
With the arrival in Beijing this week of America’s top trade negotiators, you might think that the U.S. and China are about to enter high-level talks to avoid a trade war and that this is a story for the business pages. Think again.

Chinese State Media Has a Message for the US Ahead of Trade Talks in Beijing

Yen Nee Lee
CNBC
Ahead of a meeting between officials from the world’s two largest economies to iron out their trade tensions, state-owned Chinese media has one message for the American delegates: Don’t expect China to give into all of your demand.

Trump Is Breaking the WTO. Will China Want to Save It?

Rachel Brewster
Washington Post
A U.S. trade team is in China this week to discuss the countries’ trade disputes and the U.S. threat of $150 billion in sanctions.

China Is Weakening Its Currency before U.S. Trade Talks Begin

Bloomberg News
Bloomberg
China weakened its daily currency fixing by more than traders and analysts had expected before high-ranking U.S. officials arrive in the country to discuss trade issues.

Taiwan Loses Diplomatic Ally as Dominican Republic Switches Ties to China

BBC
BBC
The Dominican Republic has established diplomatic relations with China, cutting ties with Taiwan

Leaders of South Korea, Japan, China to Discuss North Korea

AP
Associated Press
The annual trilateral summit since 2008 will focus on North Korea and its nuclear weapons.

White House Considers Restricting Chinese Researchers over Espionage Fears

Ana Swanson and Keith Bradsher
New York Times
U.S. may bar Chinese from sensitive research at universities and research institutes.

Peppa Pig, Subversive Symbol of the Counterculture, in China Video Site Ban

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
The latest subversive symbol in China is a small pink cartoon pig: Peppa Pig to be precise.

The Demise of Watchdog Journalism in China

Helen Gao
New York Times
As unfettered capitalism reached a fever pitch in China in the early 2000s, a boom in investigative journalism was hailed as the most salient example of growing citizen power.

The Rise of Populism and Implications for China

Paul Haenle & Thomas Carothers from Carnegie China
The rise of populism in Europe and the United States has had a pronounced impact on domestic politics and foreign policy, as seen in Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. In China, leaders are unsettled by the nationalist and anti-globalization...

Books

04.27.18

The China Mission

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
W. W. Norton & Company: As World War II came to an end, General George Marshall was renowned as the architect of Allied victory. Set to retire, he instead accepted what he thought was a final mission―this time not to win a war, but to stop one. Across the Pacific, conflict between Chinese Nationalists and Communists threatened to suck in the United States and escalate into revolution. His assignment was to broker a peace, build a Chinese democracy, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while staving off World War III.{node, 46371}In his 13 months in China, Marshall journeyed across battle-scarred landscapes, grappled with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, and plotted and argued with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his brilliant wife, often over card games or cocktails. The results at first seemed miraculous. But as they started to come apart, Marshall was faced with a wrenching choice. Its consequences would define the rest of his career, as the secretary of state who launched the Marshall Plan and set the standard for American leadership, and the shape of the Cold War and the U.S.-China relationship for decades to come. It would also help spark one of the darkest turns in American civic life, as Marshall and the mission became a first prominent target of McCarthyism, and the question of “who lost China” roiled American politics.The China Mission traces this neglected turning point and forgotten interlude in a heroic career―a story of not just diplomatic wrangling and guerrilla warfare, but also intricate spycraft and charismatic personalities. Drawing on eyewitness accounts both personal and official, it offers a richly detailed, gripping, close-up, and often surprising view of the central figures of the time―from Marshall, Mao, and Chiang to Eisenhower, Truman, and MacArthur―as they stood face-to-face and struggled to make history, with consequences and lessons that echo today.{chop}

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping for Informal Summit

Manveena Suri and Ben Westcott
CNN
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the beginning of his informal two-day relation-building summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

U.S. Considers Tightening Grip on China Ties to Corporate America

Koh Gui Qing
Reuters
Any broad effort to sever relationships between Chinese and American tech companies - even temporarily - could have dramatic effects across the industry.

China Tells Donald Trump: We Can Help Make America’s Infrastructure Great Again

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
China has offered to take part in US President Donald Trump’s US$1.5 trillion plan to repair and upgrade America’s infrastructure, saying it would complement Beijing’s own Belt and Road Initiative.

Exclusive: Chip Wars - China Closing in on Second $19 Billion Semiconductor Fund: Sources

Kane Wu, Julie Zhu, Cate Cadell
Reuters
China’s state-backed semiconductor fund is near to closing a 120 billion yuan ($18.98 billion) investment round for a second fund to support the domestic chip sector and help cut reliance on imports amid a bruising trade standoff with the United...

China Is Tightening Its Grip On Cryptocurrency To Promote Rather Than Purge It

Ralph Jennings
Forbes
China also sees advantages in allowing crypto to develop in a manageable way...