ChinaFile Recommends
04.20.18Trade Wars Don’t Faze This U.S.-China Investor
Bloomberg
The best-performing worldwide mutual fund relies on Chinese and American companies. That's not about to change.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.20.18China Challenged Australian Warships in South China Sea, Reports Say
CNN
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asserted the right of the Australian navy to travel the South China Sea, after local media reported three Australian warships were challenged by the Chinese navy earlier this month.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.20.18US Grain Ships Diverted at Sea Hours after China Imposes Grain Tariff
Guardian
Five ships carrying tonnes of sorghum change course after Beijing imposes rule requiring 178% deposit.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.20.18China Envoy Says China Will Retaliate If U.S. Insists on Trade War: Xinhua
Reuters
China’s ambassador to the United States urged the United States to abandon a cold war and zero-sum mentality.
Viewpoint
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Trump’s Incredibly Risky Taiwan Policy
So-called friends of Taiwan in the United States are putting the island at risk as never before. The Taiwan Travel Act, passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, and signed by President Trump on March 16, 2018 without reservations, could...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.19.18China’s Economic Numbers Have a Credibility Problem
Bloomberg
China’s gross domestic product grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter, smack on its pace in the preceding quarter, which was unchanged from the quarter before that.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.19.18The Chinese Communist Party Is Setting Up Cells at Universities Across America
Foreign Policy
It’s a strategy to tighten ideological control. And it’s happening around the world.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.19.18China Wages War on Apps Offering News and Jokes
Economist
At the end of last year Bytedance, one of China’s most talked-about technology firms, seemed to have the world at its feet.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.19.18Exclusive: China Looks to Speed up Chip Plans as U.S. Trade Tensions Boil - Sources
Reuters
China is looking to accelerate plans to develop its domestic semiconductor market amid a fierce trade stand-off with the United States and a U.S. ban on sales to Chinese phone maker ZTE that has underscored the country’s reliance on imported chips.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.18.18Pakistan Shuns US for Chinese High-Tech Weapons
Financial Times
In the last few months of the Obama administration, the US state department made an announcement which caused a new breach in Washington’s tumultuous relationship with Pakistan.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.18.18A Glimpse of Life along China’s Border with North Korea
Wired
When Elijah Hurwitz checked into the Hilton Garden Inn in Dandong, China, he knew his room would have an extraordinary view: The hotel sits near the banks of the Yalu River overlooking North Korea. Out the window, a caravan of trucks with North...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.18.18Chinese President Xi Jinping Will Visit Pyongyang ‘Soon,’ Official Says
CNN
Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, an official with knowledge of the discussions told CNN Wednesday.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.18.18Taiwan Accuses China of ‘Sabre Rattling’ as Naval Drill Begins
BBC
China is conducting live-fire military exercises in the Taiwan Strait amid growing tension in the region.
Conversation
04.18.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/gay-cruise-sys.jpg?itok=cGIgVu_L)
A Ban on Gay Content, Stopped in Its Tracks
On April 13, China’s major microblogging platform Sina Weibo announced that, in order to create “a sunny and harmonious” environment, it would remove videos and comics “with pornographic implications, promoting bloody violence, or related to...
Viewpoint
04.16.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/xi-plate-sys.jpg?itok=6EzsTA6V)
Has Xi Jinping Changed China? Not Really
Xi Jinping has had an eventful early spring. After he abolished presidential term limits and was unanimously elected—if it can be called an election—to serve another term in that post, Xi got the world’s attention again by holding a meeting with Kim...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.13.18One-Time Potential Rival to China’s Xi Pleads Guilty to Corruption
Wall Street Journal
A purged Communist Party politician once regarded as a future Chinese leader stood trial on corruption charges in a case seen as part of an effort by President Xi Jinping to neutralize potential political rivals.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.13.18China Wary after Trump’s U-Turn Could See US Rejoining TPP
South China Morning Post
Chinese analysts have said they are wary about the possibility that the United States will rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but shrugged off the immediate need to make policy changes.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.13.18China’s Trade Surplus with U.S. Soars in First Quarter but March Exports Falter
Reuters
China’s trade surplus with the United States surged nearly 20 percent in the first quarter, with some analysts speculating exporters were rushing out shipments to get ahead of threatened tariffs that are spurring fears of a full-blown trade war.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.13.18U.S. Considered Blacklisting Two Chinese Banks over North Korea Ties
Bloomberg
U.S. officials alarmed by public displays of Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile technology last summer considered taking the provocative step of blacklisting two of China’s biggest banks from the U.S. financial system for doing business with North...
China in the World Podcast
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Putin’s Fourth Term
from Carnegie China
Vladimir Putin was elected to his fourth term as president of Russia on March 18, 2018. His continued leadership has important implications for the international community, including China.
Conversation
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China’s Communist Party Takes (Even More) Control of the Media
China’s Communist Party made moves last month to solidify and formalize its (already substantial) control over the country’s media. China’s main state-run broadcasters are to be consolidated into a massive new “Voice of China” under the management...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.10.18U.S. Stocks Surge after China’s Xi Eases Trade Fears
Wall Street Journal
U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday, with the Dow gaining more than 400 points, as remarks from Chinese President Xi Jinping soothed concerns about a trade war that have roiled markets in recent weeks.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.10.18China’s Vast Intercontinental Building Plan Is Gaining Momentum
Bloomberg
China’s massive build program to recreate trade routes stretching from Asia to Africa and Europe is gaining momentum.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.10.18What China Gained From Hosting Kim Jong Un
Foreign Affairs
In late March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who had not stepped foot outside the hermit kingdom since taking power in 2011, traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.10.18Duterte Banks on China Ties to Repair War-Torn Philippine City
Bloomberg
China will have a chance to showcase warmer ties with the Philippines if it wins a contract to rebuild a city ravaged by Islamic State-inspired terrorists last year, a cabinet member said.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.10.18China Installed Military Jamming Equipment on Spratly Islands, U.S. Says
Wall Street Journal
China has installed equipment on two of its fortified outposts in the Spratly Islands capable of jamming communications and radar systems, a significant step in its creeping militarization of the South China Sea, U.S. officials say.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.10.18Xi Says China to Lower Trade Barriers as Beijing Files Wto Complaint against U.S.
NPR
China’s President Xi Jinping says his country will “significantly lower” import tariffs on automobiles as part of a broader move to open up its economy amid a major trade dispute with the U.S.
The China Africa Project
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China-Africa Relations in the Xi Jinping Era
For much of the past 20 years, China’s strategy in Africa could be summarized in two words: invest and extract. Today, that is no longer the case. China’s agenda in Africa, and throughout much of the global south, has broadened significantly in...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.09.18Hopes Are High for China to Announce Market Access Reforms on Tuesday
CNBC
Xi’s speech to announce market reforms could help heal U.S.-China trade frictions.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.09.18Tensions Rise over Taiwan Strait as U.S. and China Harden Positions
Washington Post
Fears grow that Taiwan will suffer the consequences of Trump-China spat.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.09.18Europe Caught in the Middle as Trump Threatens China
New York Times
Europe in dilemma as conflict escalates between its two biggest trading partners.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.09.18China Is Studying Yuan Devaluation as a Tool in Trade Spat
Bloomberg
China evaluates impact of currency depreciation among trade tensions.
Viewpoint
04.06.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/46621_sm.jpg?itok=WymPSWYi)
I Thought Studying Journalism outside of China Would Open Doors. Now I’m Not So Sure.
Six years ago as I was about to begin my undergraduate career at The University of Iowa majoring in journalism, a fellow Chinese student who’d switched her major from communications studies to business ruthlessly doubted my choice. “How on earth...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.05.18White House Sends Mixed Message on China Trade Thaw
Financial Times
Markets rally but questions remain over US willingness to talk to Beijing.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.05.18If There’s a U.S.-China Trade War, China May Have Some ‘Unconventional Weapons’
New York Times
There are ways to make life harder for American companies in China that need not be formal, or widely publicized.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.05.18Why China Could Get Hurt More from a Trade War in the Tech Sector
CNBC
China could lose more than the U.S. from trade tensions now spilling into the technology sector, according to Gavin Parry from Parry Global Group.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.04.18Facial Recognition in China Is Big Business as Local Governments Boost Surveillance
NPR
Dozens of cameras meet visitors to the Beijing headquarters of SenseTime, China’s largest artificial intelligence company. One of them determines whether the door will open for you; another tracks your movements.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.04.18US Take Note: Chinese, Russian Militaries Are Closer Than You Think, China’s Defence Minister Says
South China Morning Post
The United States should be aware of the close military ties between Beijing and Moscow, China’s defence minister said during a visit to Russia, which has been facing international isolation over the killing of a former spy in Britain.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.04.18China Strikes Back at the U.S. With Plans for Its Own Tariffs
New York Times
China hit back at the United States on Wednesday with proposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of American soybeans, cars, chemicals and other goods, in a move likely to stoke fears that the countries’ escalating confrontation could become an all-out...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.04.18China Strikes Back at the U.S. With Plans for Its Own Tariffs
New York Times
China hit back at the United States on Wednesday with proposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of American soybeans, cars, chemicals and other goods, in a move likely to stoke fears that the countries’ escalating confrontation could become an all-out...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.02.18China Announces It’s Imposing New Tariffs on 128 Us Products
CNBC
China implements additional tariffs as retaliation against increased U.S. import taxes.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.02.18Three Takeaways from Kim Jong Un’s Trip to China
Washington Post
What to learn from the secret meeting between Xi and Kim?
ChinaFile Recommends
04.02.18What’s Made Indonesian Students Forget the China Taboo?
South China Morning Post
Not that long ago, having a Chinese book was strictly prohibited in Indonesia. But now the country’s young people are attending Chinese universities by the thousands.
Viewpoint
03.31.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/kim-xi-real-sys.jpg?itok=EHD96p77)
Nixon in China, Trump in Pyongyang
On March 25, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing in an armored train for talks with Chinese Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping, the first known time he traveled outside his country since his father and predecessor died in...
Books
03.29.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/books/system/patiort-book-sys.jpg?itok=QWfohnF2)
![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/assets/images/books/covers/patriotnumberone.jpg)
Patriot Number One
Crown Publishing Group: In 2014, in a snow-covered house in Flushing, Queens, a village revolutionary from Southern China considered his options. Zhuang Liehong was the son of a fisherman, the former owner of a small tea shop, and the spark that had sent his village into an uproar—pitting residents against a corrupt local government. Under the alias Patriot Number One, he had stoked a series of pro-democracy protests, hoping to change his home for the better. Instead, sensing an impending crackdown, Zhuang and his wife, Little Yan, left their infant son with relatives and traveled to America. With few contacts and only a shaky grasp of English, they had to start from scratch.In Patriot Number One, Hilgers follows this dauntless family through a world hidden in plain sight: a byzantine network of employment agencies and language schools, of underground asylum brokers and illegal dormitories that Flushing’s Chinese community relies on for survival. As the irrepressibly opinionated Zhuang and the more pragmatic Little Yan pursue legal status and struggle to reunite with their son, we also meet others piecing together a new life in Flushing. Tang, a democracy activist who was caught up in the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, is still dedicated to his cause after more than a decade in exile. Karen, a college graduate whose mother imagined a bold American life for her, works part-time in a nail salon as she attends vocational school and refuses to look backward.With a novelist’s eye for character and detail, Hilgers captures the joys and indignities of building a life in a new country—and the stubborn allure of the American dream.{chop}
Conversation
03.28.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/kim-xi-sys.jpg?itok=3FIddH7I)
Kim Jong-un Visits Beijing
After two days of rumors, on Wednesday March 28, the official news agencies of China and North Korea announced that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un had just completed a visit to Beijing. The “unofficial visit,” as Xinhua put it, was Kim’s first...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.18‘America First’ Shouldn’t Stop the Us from Welcoming Chinese Students and Other Global Talent
South China Morning Post
Almost half a century after the “Nixon shock”, when US President Nixon unilaterally declared that the United States would abandon the dollar’s convertibility to gold and impose a 10 per cent import surcharge, the world is now being shaken by the “...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.18China Academics Divided over Australia Influence Crackdown
Financial Times
Canberra’s proposed crackdown on Chinese government influence in Australia has prompted a bitter split among academics, following claims the policy is driven by racism and is stigmatising Chinese Australians.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.18When Xi Met Kim: How China and North Korea Depicted It
New York Times
Kim Jong-un’s surprise visit to Beijing this week to meet President Xi Jinping added an element of intrigue to talks over North Korea’s nuclear program.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.18China Says North Korea’s Kim Pledged Commitment to Denuclearization
Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearization and to meet U.S. officials, China said on Wednesday after his meeting with President Xi Jinping, who promised China would uphold friendship with its isolated neighbor.
Viewpoint
03.27.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/pempeo-sys.jpg?itok=bstjbRxJ)
Secretary Pompeo’s First China Briefing
Donald Trump’s national security documents frame China as the United States’ greatest long-term threat. This declaration caps a historic shift in America’s strategic disposition toward China. From the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979,...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.27.18What Kim Jong-Un May Get in Reaching out to China
New York Times
A flurry of activity and speculation surrounding Beijing’s diplomatic quarter on Tuesday accompanied what officials described as an unusual, and highly secretive, visit by North Korean dignitaries, possibly even the country’s youthful leader, Kim...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.27.18North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un Leaves Beijing after Surprise Visit
South China Morning Post
Security returns to normal in Chinese capital as armored train pulls out.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.27.18Why Would Kim Jong Un Make a Secret Trip to China?
CNN
A surprise visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to China may indicate Pyongyang’s need for support from its closest ally ahead of upcoming summits with South Korea and the US.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.27.18China Needs More Water. So It's Building a Rain-Making Network Three Times the Size of Spain
South China Morning Post
China tests weather modification system to bring more rain to Tibet.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.26.18Putin to Visit China as Leaders Consolidate Power at Home
CNN
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China later this year, for his first meetings with senior Chinese officials since being elected for a fourth term.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.26.18The US and China Are in Talks to Try to Avoid a Trade War
CNN
The United States and China are acting tough over trade, but they’re also busy talking to try to stop the situation spiraling out of control.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.26.18North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Is Said to Be Visiting China
Bloomberg
Kim Jong Un has made a surprise visit to Beijing on his first known trip outside North Korea since taking power in 2011, three people with knowledge of the visit said.
Culture
03.23.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/maineland-sys.jpg?itok=knR1x1gb)
What Chinese High School Students Learn in America
In 2011, when a rural prep school in Maine invited New York-based director Miao Wang to screen her first film, Beijing Taxi, she was surprised to find so many Chinese students enrolled at the archetypal New England establishment. Not Chinese-...
Books
03.23.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/books/system/revolution-sys.jpg?itok=ig2sM5Y9)
![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/assets/images/books/covers/denise_ho_cover.jpg)
Curating Revolution
Cambridge University Press: How did China’s Communist revolution transform the nation’s political culture? In this rich and vivid history of the Mao period (1949-1976), Denise Y. Ho examines the relationship between its exhibitions and its political movements. Case studies from Shanghai show how revolution was curated: museum workers collected cultural and revolutionary relics; neighborhoods, schools, and work units mounted and narrated local displays; and exhibits provided ritual space for ideological lessons and political campaigns. Using archival sources, ephemera, interviews, and other materials, Ho traces the process by which exhibitions were developed, presented, and received. Examples under analysis range from the First Party Congress Site and the Shanghai Museum to the “class education” and Red Guard exhibits that accompanied the Socialist Education Movement and the Cultural Revolution. Operating in two modes—that of a state in power and that of a state in revolution—Mao era exhibitionary culture remains part of China’s revolutionary legacy.{chop}Related Reading:“The Double Helix of Chinese History and Its Powerful Leader,” Denise Y. Ho, The Japan Times, March 20, 2018“Fifty Years Later, How Is the Cultural Revolution Still Present in Life in China?,” ChinaFile Conversation, ChinaFile, April 19, 2016“The Cultural Revolution at 50 — A Q&A with Four Specialists (Part Two),” Alexander C. Cook, Los Angeles Review of Books, March 2, 2016“The Cultural Revolution at 50: A Q&A with Four Specialists (Part One),” Alexander C. Cook, Los Angeles Review of Books, February 24, 2016“Chairman Mao’s Everyman Makeover,” Denise Y. Ho and Christopher Young, The Atlantic, December 19, 2013Author’s Recommendations:The Gender of Memory, Gail Hershatter (University of California, 2014)Anyuan: Mining China’s Revolutionary Tradition, Elizabeth Perry (University of California, 2012)The Temple of Memories, Jun Jing (Cambridge University, 1996)