ChinaFile Recommends
07.11.17In China, Shoppers Buy Bad Loans Online with Their Groceries
Bloomberg
Among the sneakers, diapers, and pet food for sale on Taobao, China’s biggest e-commerce platform, is a listing that may take up a little more space in the online shopping basket.
ChinaFile Recommends
07.07.17Chinese Umbrella-Sharing Firm Remains Upbeat Despite Losing Most of Its 300,000 Brollies
South China Morning Post
Just weeks after making 300,000 brollies available to the public via a rental scheme, Sharing E Umbrella announced that most of them had gone missing, news website The Paper reported on Thursday.
ChinaFile Recommends
07.05.17US, China Divided over How to Deal with New North Korean ICBM Threat
CNN
A paradigm-changing North Korean missile test has left the United States and China split over how to deal with the aggressive rogue state.
Depth of Field
06.29.17Love, Robots, and Fireworks
from Yuanjin Photo
Included in this Depth of Field column are stories of love, community, remembrance, and the future, told through the discerning eyes of some of China’s best photojournalists. Among them, the lives of African migrants in Guangzhou, seven years inside...
ChinaFile Recommends
06.28.17China Is About to Bury Elon Musk in Batteries
Bloomberg
As Elon Musk races to finish building the world’s biggest battery factory in the Nevada desert, China is poised to leave him in the dust.
Caixin Media
06.27.17Is China Building Too Many Airports?
Over the next three years, local authorities in China are planning to build more than 900 airports for general aviation—the segment of the industry that includes crop dusting and tourism. The figure is nearly double the central government’s goal of...
ChinaFile Recommends
06.26.17China Focus: China’s New High-Speed Train Debuts on Beijing-Shanghai Route
Xinhua
China’s next generation bullet train, “Fuxing,” ran for the first time on the Beijing-Shanghai line on Monday. CR400AF departed Beijing South Station at 11:05 a.m. for Shanghai, while, at exactly the same time, CR400BF left Shanghai Hongqiao Station...
ChinaFile Recommends
06.19.17China Propels Rise of Electric Ultra-High-Performance Cars
New York Times
Want an insanely fast ride with zero emissions? Startup NIO has the car: An electric two-seater with muscular European lines and a top speed of 195 miles per hour (313 kilometers per hour). The catch: The EP9 costs nearly $1.5 million. NIO, a...
Environment
06.15.17Bike-Sharing Schemes: Flourishing or Running Riot?
from chinadialogue
Almost one hundred Chinese cities, from Beijing to Lhasa, now have bike-sharing schemes. The bikes, clad in various colors, have GPS trackers and can be unlocked simply by scanning a barcode on the frame with your phone. Some can even be reserved...
Books
06.13.17Fortune Makers
Fortune Makers analyzes and brings to light the distinctive practices of business leaders who are the future of the Chinese economy. These leaders oversee not the old state-owned enterprises, but private companies that have had to invent their way forward out of the wreckage of an economy in tatters following the Cultural Revolution.Outside of brand names such as Alibaba and Lenovo, little is known, even by the Chinese themselves, about the people present at the creation of these innovative businesses. Fortune Makers provides sharp insights into their unique styles—a distinctive blend of the entrepreneur, the street fighter, and practices developed by the Communist Party—and their distinctive ways of leading and managing their organizations that are unlike anything the West is familiar with.When Peter Drucker published Concept of the Corporation in 1946, he revealed what made large American corporations tick. Similarly, when Japanese companies emerged as a global force in the 1980s, insightful analysts explained the practices that brought Japan’s economy out of the ashes—and what managers elsewhere could learn to compete with them. Now, based on unprecedented access, Fortune Makers allows business leaders in the United States and the rest of the West to understand the essential character and style of Chinese corporate life and its dominant players, whose businesses are the foundation of the domestic Chinese market and are now making their mark globally. —PublicAffairs{chop}
ChinaFile Recommends
06.12.17Ride-Hailing Ucar Invests in China Tesla-Challenger Startup
South China Morning Post
Ucar, a ride-hailing app launched by Hong Kong-listed China Auto Rental (Car Inc), has led a 2.2 billion yuan (US$324 million) investment into a Tesla-challenger in China, making its foray into automobile manufacturing.
ChinaFile Recommends
06.08.17Trump Lies. China Thrives.
New York Times
We underestimate China — and attribute all of its surge in growth to unfair trade practices — at our peril. China has been fast and smart at adopting new technologies, particularly the mobile internet.
Sinica Podcast
06.07.17Kai-Fu Lee on Artificial Intelligence in China
from Sinica Podcast
Kai-Fu Lee is one of the most prominent figures in Chinese technology. He founded China’s noted early-stage venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures after launching and heading up Google’s China operations during their years of growth from 2005 to...
ChinaFile Recommends
06.02.17Google Is Already Late to China’s AI Revolution
Wired
“Some of the major Chinese companies are some of the most sophisticated deep learning and data companies in the world.”
Conversation
06.01.17Can China Supplant the U.S. in Europe?
From May 31 to June 2, Premier Li Keqiang will visit Germany and Belgium, to “further deepen and enrich China’s relations with the European Union (EU) at a time of increasing global uncertainty,” according to an article in China’s state newswire...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.24.17Microsoft Just Built a Special Version of Windows for China
Fortune
China’s government officials now have a custom version of Windows. Microsoft said Tuesday that its new Windows 10 China Government Edition is ready for Chinese government agencies to use.
Reports
05.24.17China’s Social Credit System: A Big-Data Enabled Approach to Market Regulation with Broad Implications for Doing Business in China
Mirjam Meissner
Mercator Institute for China Studies
Under the catchphrase “Social Credit System,” China is currently implementing a new and highly innovative approach to monitoring, rating, and regulating the behavior of market participants. The Social Credit System will have significant impact on...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.17.17China Is Reluctant to Blame North Korea, Its Ally, for Cyberattack
New York Times
China analysts say Beijing will hesitate before directly casting blame on North Korea even if evidence directly ties the North to the attack. Beijing is more likely to single out other actors, particularly the United States, experts say.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.17.17China Is Reluctant to Blame North Korea, Its Ally, for Cyberattack
New York Times
China analysts say Beijing will hesitate before directly casting blame on North Korea even if evidence directly ties the North to the attack. Beijing is more likely to single out other actors, particularly the United States, experts say.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.17.17Chinese Aviation Finally Takes off with Help from the West
Financial Times
The latest vehicle for China’s aviation dream, the Comac C919, has just completed its first test flight after Beijing decided to take a different path: buying parts from European and U.S. aviation companies rather than stealing their technology.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.15.17Tens of Thousands of Chinese Firms, Institutes Affected in WannaCry Global Cyberattack
South China Morning Post
Tens of thousands of Chinese companies and institutions—including several major firms in Hong Kong—have been crippled by a global cyberattack as people returned to work on Monday.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.11.17China Focus: Construction of Boeing’s First Overseas 737 Factory Starts in China
Xinhua
Construction of Boeing’s first overseas facility as part of its 737 production system started Thursday in the east China port city of Zhoushan. The construction will consist of two parts -- a Boeing 737 completion center and the delivery center. It...
Conversation
05.09.17Can China’s Approach to Internet Control Spread around the World?
Earlier this month, citing concerns over “cyber sovereignty,” China’s Internet regulators announced new restrictions on the country’s already tightly controlled Internet—further curbing online news reporting and putting Party-appointed editors in...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.03.17China’s Answer to Airbus, Boeing Due to Take off on Friday
South China Morning Post
After a three year delay the long-awaited maiden flight of China’s 158-seat C919 passenger aircraft is scheduled for Friday, the latest step by the country to break the duopoly of Western giants Airbus and Boeing.
Books
05.02.17China’s Mobile Economy
China’s Mobile Economy: Opportunities in the Largest and Fastest Information Consumption Boom is a cutting-edge text that spotlights the digital transformation in China. Organized into three major areas of the digital economy within China, this ground-breaking book explores the surge in e-commerce of consumer goods, the way in which multi-screen and mobile Internet use has increased in popularity, and the cultural emphasis on the mobile Internet as a source of lifestyle- and entertainment-based content. Targeted at the global business community, this lucid and engaging text guides business leaders, investors, investment banking professionals, corporate advisors, and consultants in grasping the challenges and opportunities created by China’s emerging mobile economy, and its debut on the global stage.The year of 2014-15 marks the most important inflection point in the history of the Internet in China. Almost overnight, the world’s largest digitally-connected middle class went both mobile and multi-screen (smart phone, tablets, laptops, and more), with huge implications for how consumers behave and what companies need to do to successfully compete. As next-generation mobile devices and services take off, China’s strength in this arena will transform it from a global “trend follower” to a “trend setter.”Understand what the digital transformation in China is, and impact on global capital markets, foreign investors, consumer companies, and the global economy as a whole.Explore the e-commerce consumption boom in the context of the Chinese market.Understand the implications of the multi-screen age and mobile Internet for China’s consumersSee how mobile Internet use, its focus on lifestyle and entertainment is aligned with today’s Chinese culture.Learn about the mobile entertainment habits of China’s millennial generation and the corresponding new advertisement approaches.The development of China’s mobile economy is one of the most important trends that will reshape the future of business, technology, and society both in China and the world. China's Mobile Economy introduces you to the digital transformation in China, and explains how this transformation has the potential to transform both China and the global consumer landscape. —John Wiley & Sons, Inc.{chop}
ChinaFile Recommends
04.20.17Why China’s New Cargo Space Ship Is So Important
Diplomat
China’s first indigenously built Tianzhou cargo ship, which is being launched between April 20 and 24, is a major accomplishment.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.07.17Why Ford’s Electric Push in China Might Get Grounded
Wall Street Journal
On Thursday Ford Motor announced its China-focused electric-car strategy, including new vehicles. Ford’s Chief Executive Mark Fields said the “time is right” for his company to beef up in China. It is playing catch-up, though.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.07.17China Tech Investment Flying under the Radar, Pentagon Warns
New York Times
China is investing in Silicon Valley start-ups with military applications at such a rapid rate that the United States government needs tougher controls to stem the transfer of some of America’s most promising technologies, a Pentagon report says.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.06.17How Trump Can Help Save Coal—with China’s Help
Politico
Last week, President Donald Trump declared that he would bring back coal jobs, directing the EPA to roll back the Clean Power Plan and other regulations on coal producers.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.17American Airlines Buys Stake in China Southern Airlines
CNBC
American Airlines has agreed to pay $200 million for a stake in China Southern Airlines, the biggest of China’s three major state-owned carriers, in a bid for a bigger share of the country's growing travel market.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.17China’s Secret Plan to Crush SpaceX and the US Space Program
CNBC
China’s breakneck economic expansion may be flagging, but the country's ambitions in space show no signs of slowing down.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.28.17China’s Tencent Bought A 5 Percent Stake in Tesla
Re/code
Tencent, a Chinese internet giant, is also an investor in Chinese ride-hail player Didi Chuxing.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.22.17Airbnb’s Rivals in China Hold Hands in a Nervous New Market
New York Times
Airbnb sees big promise in China, where travel spending reached nearly $500 billion in 2015 thanks to a new generation of domestic tourists. On Wednesday in Shanghai, Airbnb unveiled a new Chinese name—Aibiying, which means “welcome each other with...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.21.17China’s High-Tech Tool to Fight Toilet Paper Bandits
New York Times
The toilet paper thieves of the Temple of Heaven Park were an elusive bunch.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.14.17Is Google Another Step Closer to Being Unblocked in China?
CNBC
Google is still in talks with Beijing over its plans to return to the mainland Chinese market
ChinaFile Recommends
03.13.17Ford to Build New Lincoln SUV in China by 2019
Detroit Free Press
Ford and its joint ventures in 2016 sold a record 1.27 million vehicles in China, though the company’s imported vehicle volume for 2016 was down overall from 2015.
Conversation
03.09.17Is THAAD the Start of a U.S.-China Arms Race?
In late February, U.S. President Donald Trump called for adding $54 billion to the U.S. military budget—an increase of roughly 10 percent. And in early March, despite outcry from Beijing, the United States began deploying the Terminal High-Altitude...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.09.17China Developing Manned Space Mission to the Moon: State Media
CNBC
China is building a manned spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the moon as well as near-Earth orbit flight, according to Chinese state media./
ChinaFile Recommends
02.28.17China Reacts with Anger, Threats After South Korean Missile Defense Decision
Reuters
Chinese state media have reacted with anger and boycott threats after the board of an affiliate of South Korea’s Lotte Group approved a land swap with the government that allows authorities to deploy a U.S. missile defense system
ChinaFile Recommends
02.28.17Trump Is Not Anti-China, Lenovo CEO Says
CNBC
U.S. President Donald Trump is “not anti-China” but any move away from globalization by the White House could be a concern to businesses across the world, the chief executive Lenovo told CNBC on Tuesday.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.21.17China’s ‘New Silk Road’ Is Derailed in Sri Lanka by Political Chaos and Violent Protests
Forbes
It is now looking as if Sri Lanka’s biggest partner in the Hambantota endeavor, China, is pulling back from what seems to have become an all out fiasco
ChinaFile Recommends
02.21.17Conversation
02.16.17Can China Become a Leader of Innovation?
China’s ambitious high-tech strategy is raising alarm in industrialized nations. From American and South Korean chipmakers to German car and machine manufacturers, some industry leaders expect the imminent arrival of strong Chinese competitors. Does...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.16.17China’s Artificial Intelligence Boom
Atlantic
The country’s universities and tech giants are starting to surpass American ones when it comes to researching and implementing AI.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.14.17Chinese People Are Buying All Kinds of Desperate Remedies to Protect Themselves from Smog
Time
Air purifiers, meanwhile, are becoming cheaper and more efficient. Chinese tech firm Xiaomi leads the way with its Mi Air Purifier Pro, boasting a dual-fan, dual-motor system with ”high-precision laser sensor.”
ChinaFile Recommends
02.13.17How Chinese Internet Giant Baidu Uses AI and Machine Learning
Forbes
Baidu is currently considered to be pack leader amongst the Chinese internet giants as they race to develop and deploy machine and deep learning technology.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.10.17Plan for $10 Billion Chip Plant Shows China’s Growing Pull
New York Times
On Friday, the California-based chip maker GlobalFoundries announced a $10 billion project in China, showing how the center of gravity continues to shift across the Pacific.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.08.17‘Irrational’ Coal Plants May Hamper China’s Climate Change Efforts
New York Times
A certain coal plant near the rugged Kazakhstan border and others like it undermine China’s aim of being a global leader on efforts to limit climate change.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.07.17Using Stealth, and Drones, to Document a Fading Hong Kong
New York Times
If history was any guide, the explorers said, the building the drone was filming—a 1952 theater with unusual roof supports—would eventually be demolished because it is not on Hong Kong’s list of declared monuments.
Reports
02.07.17U.S. Policy Toward China
Asia Society
The Task Force on U.S.-China Policy generated the following report and set of recommendations to assist the 45th U.S. presidential administration in formulating a China strategy that will protect and further U.S. national interests. This report...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.05.17China’s Intelligent Weaponry Gets Smarter
New York Times
The Pentagon’s plan to bring A.I. to the military is taking shape as Chinese researchers assert themselves in the nascent technology field.
Viewpoint
02.02.17The Art of a China Deal
By his own admission, President Donald J. Trump is a brilliant businessman, a master negotiator, an exceptional deal maker, somebody who always wins. When it comes to China, he is prepared to do just that—win. “I’ve read hundreds of books about...
ChinaFile Recommends
01.29.17Apple iPhone Toppled from No. 1 Spot in China for the First Time in 5 Years Making Firm ‘Vulnerable’: Research
CNBC
Apple’s iPhone has failed to clinch the title for the top selling smartphone in China for the first time since 2012, making the U.S. technology giant “vulnerable” in the world‘s second-largest economy
ChinaFile Recommends
01.26.17Chinese Send Fake Trump Tweets as Jokes, New Year Wishes
Associated Press
In China, Twitter is blocked but fake tweets by @realdonaldtrump look set to become the latest internet sensation.
Books
01.23.17China as an Innovation Nation
This volume assesses China’s transition to innovation-nation status in terms of social conditions, industry characteristics, and economic impacts over the past three decades, also providing insights into future developments.Defining innovation as the process that generates a higher quality, lower cost product than was previously available, the introductory chapter conceptualizes the theory of an innovation nation and the lessons from Japan and the United States. It outlines the key governance, employment, and investment institutions that China must build for such transition to occur, and examines China’s challenges and strategies to innovate in the era of global production systems. Two succeeding chapters explain the evolving roles of the Chinese state in innovation, and the new landscape of venture capital finance. The remaining chapters provide studies of major industries, which contain analyses of the evolving roles of investment by government agencies and business interests in the process. Included in these studies are traditional industries such as mechanical engineering, railroads, and automobiles; rapidly evolving and internationally highly integrated industries such as information-and-communication-technology (ICT); and newly emerging sectors such as wind and solar energy.Written by leading academics in the field, studies in this volume reveal Chinese innovation as diverse across industries and enterprises and fluid over time. In each sector, we observe continued co-evolution of state policy, market demand, and technology development. The strategies and structures of individual companies and industrial ecosystems are changing rapidly. The sum total of the studies is a great step forward in our understanding of the industrial foundations of China’s attempt to become an innovation nation. —Oxford University Press{chop}
ChinaFile Recommends
01.19.17China Builds World’s Biggest Solar Farm in Journey to Become Green Superpower
Guardian
Vast plant in Qinghai province is part of China’s determination to transform itself from climate change villain to a green energy colossus
ChinaFile Recommends
01.17.17Google Play and iOS Apps Demand Surges in India and China
BBC
The two leading app stores both experienced a tilt towards Asia in 2016, according to an annual study.
ChinaFile Recommends
01.11.17The Humble Ballpoint Pen Has Become a New Symbol of China’s Innovation Economy
Quartz
China has grown by leaps and bounds during its quest for greater domestic innovation, but one of its most recent accomplishments is in an area that’s considerably more basic: ballpoint pens.