Conversation
03.15.24
Time up for TikTok?
On March 13, in a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could result in TikTok’s being unable to do business in the U.S. What does the rapid passage of the bill in the House say about the state...
Features
09.28.23
Holding Sway
In most parts of the world, the United Front Work Department is known—if at all—as a secretive Chinese Communist Party organ conducting influence operations abroad. But in Gonghe Village, the local UFWD ponied up nearly one million renminbi in 2022...
Notes from ChinaFile
05.15.23
‘Beijing’s Global Media Offensive’
Over the past several years, there has been an active debate about Chinese influence overseas. Amidst allegations that Beijing has influenced foreign elections and politicians, state newswire Xinhua has expanded into one of the largest news agencies...
Conversation
11.04.19
How Should Universities Respond to China’s Growing Presence on Their Campuses?
How should universities encourage respectful dialogue on contentious issues involving China, while at the same time fostering an environment free of intimidation, harassment, and violence? And how should university administrators and governments...
Books
10.04.19
The New Art of War
Brick Tower Press: The challenge is this: How can America’s fractured democracy and diverse society respond to a centrally orchestrated strategy from China that ultimately may challenge its interests and values?Some Chinese-Americans and Chinese residents—perhaps only a relative handful—have cooperated in obtaining technology for China. And many Chinese nationals who obtained years of experience working at American companies have returned to China to help competitors there.{chop}
Conversation
09.13.19
Why Is the FBI Investigating Americans Who Study in China?
Over the last two years, the FBI has questioned at least five U.S. citizens who have studied at Yenching Academy, a Master’s degree program hosted by Peking University. The purpose of the interviews, according to NPR, is to “ascertain whether they...
China in the World Podcast
01.15.19
China’s Shift to a More Assertive Foreign Policy
from Carnegie China
Shi points to two important turning points in China’s shift to a more assertive foreign policy: the 2008 global financial crisis, which made it clear that China’s economic development was an important engine for global growth; and Xi Jinping’s rise...
Viewpoint
12.21.18
A Look Back at China in 2018
In 2018, the outlook for China regarding its politics, economy, and relationship with the United States darkened considerably. The removal of presidential term limits and Xi Jinping’s interactions with the Trump administration prompted rare...
Viewpoint
10.23.18
With an Influx of Blue Helmets and Cash, China’s Role in African Security Grows More Pervasive
China’s growing engagement with African countries got a publicity boost on September 3 and 4 with the latest Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit. The triennial event brought leaders and officials from 53 African countries and the...
Conversation
10.12.18
Is America Overreacting to the Threat of Chinese Influence?
American civil and political discourse has seen a growing number of reports about worrying Chinese governmental influence in the United States. Most recently, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence decried the “malign influence” of China in the United...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.08.18China Tightens Grip on Foreign University Ventures
Financial Times
The directive, which took effect last year but whose existence is being revealed for the first time by the Financial Times, mandates foreign education institutions to include a clause that supports the establishment of a party organisation in any...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.07.18How Taming the Mekong Could Give China Unprecedented Power
Bloomberg
The deadly collapse of one of the dozen or so dams dotted along the Mekong River and its tributaries has highlighted the rapid development of a waterway that is increasingly important strategically for China and its neighbors.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.06.18Australia’s China Reset
It’s no secret that Professor Francis Fukuyama got it wrong in his classic “End of History” treatise, published in the dying days of the Cold War. More interesting is why he got it wrong. His conclusion that the Western model of...
ChinaFile Recommends
08.01.18China’s Plan to Win Friends and Influence Includes Ski Slopes and Spas
New York Times
In Thailand, a theater rigged with hydraulic seats will give moviegoers the sensation of flight. In Australia, an indoor ski slope is going up near the beaches of the Gold Coast. In the Czech Republic, a spa with Chinese medicine is under...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.15.18China’s South-East Asia Push Threatened by New Malaysia Regime
Financial Times
Status as Belt and Road posterchild at risk as Mahathir vows to review Chinese projects.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.15.18Warning Sounded over China's 'Debtbook Diplomacy'
Guardian
Academics identify 16 countries loaned billions that they can’t afford to repay.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.05.18Anti-China Tilt in Australia Is Shortsighted
Bloomberg
In Australia, Chinese investment is small, but feels large.
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.
Viewpoint
03.27.18
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
03.13.18A Malaysian Insta-City Becomes a Flash Point for Chinese Colonialism — and Capital Flight
New York Times
A futuristic city funded by China is rising from the sea off Malaysian coast.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.13.18Honeywell, Other U.S. Companies Look to Benefit from China's Gigantic 'Belt and Road' Initiative
CNBC
Over 15 U.S. companies called the program an opportunity for business growth.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.13.18China Sets up New Foreign Aid Agency to Better Project Influence Abroad
Washington Post
The communist government establishes a new agency to coordinate its foreign aid program.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.13.18Alibaba's ‘Digital Free Trade Zone’ Has Some Worried about China Links to Malaysia
CNBC
Alibaba e-commerce platform in Malaysia raises concerns over impact on local firms.
Conversation
02.01.18
Should Pacific Island Nations Be Wary of Chinese Influence?
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s three-day visit to China, from January 31 to February 2, has amplified ongoing debates in Europe about the costs and benefits of engagement with China and of Chinese investment. Attention to China’s role in...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.19.17West Grows Wary of China’s Influence Game
Financial Times
“Aodaliya renmin zhan qi lai! The Australian people have stood up,” the country’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in mangled Mandarin — a deliberate echo of Mao’s declaration in 1949 that the Chinese people had stood up.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.19.17China Set to Move into United States’ Backyard with National Development Plan for Grenada
South China Morning Post
China is helping the government of Grenada prepare a national development plan 34 years after the Caribbean island nation was invaded by US-led forces due to concerns in Washington that its government was too close to the Soviet and Cuban communist...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.12.17Australian Lawmaker to Resign amid Global Allegations of Chinese Meddling
Washington Post
Relations between Australia and China have nosedived in the past week, since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government moved to ban foreign political donations, citing “disturbing reports about Chinese influence” in Australian politics.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.11.17China's Top Paper Says Australian Media Reports Are Racist
Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week he took reports very seriously that China’s Communist Party had sought to interfere in his country.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.13.17Behind the Scenes, Communist Strategist Presses China’s Rise
New York Times
He was a brilliant student during the dark days of China’s Cultural Revolution. He visited America, and left unimpressed with democracy. Plucked from academia, he climbed the ladder of Beijing’s brutal politics.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.08.17Trump’s Granddaughter Plays Diplomat Once More as She Sings for ‘Grandpa’ Xi Jinping
South China Morning Post
She might be only five years old, but Arabella Kushner played her diplomatic role perfectly again on Wednesday as she helped ease the interaction between two of the world’s most powerful men – Chinese President Xi Jinping and her grandfather, Donald.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.07.17Ex-Spy on What His CIA Experience Taught Him about China
NPR
Randy Phillips spent 28 years with the CIA, most recently serving as the chief CIA representative in China. He talks about what leverage the U.S. has when it comes to managing China's ambitions.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.26.17Taiwan President Calls for Thaw in Ties with Mainland China
South China Morning Post
Taiwan and mainland China need to drop historical baggage to seek a breakthrough in cross-straits relations, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said in her first public comments since the Communist Party unveiled a new leadership line-up.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.26.17China’s Communist Party Has Come of Age – the West Should Wake Up
Guardian
The Chinese Communist party congress displayed all the qualities beloved by Leninist institutions over the ages, of deep secrecy mixed with stern pageantry, leveraged in the service of reinforcing their leaders’ inviolate right to rule.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.26.17Inside China’s Secret ‘Magic Weapon’ for Worldwide Influence
Financial Times
On the Google map of Beijing there is an empty quarter, an urban block next to the Communist party’s leadership compound in which few of the buildings are named. At street level, the aura of anonymity is confirmed. Uniformed guards stand by grand...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.25.17China Has the World’s Biggest Military Force. Now Xi Jinping Wants It to Be the Best
South China Morning Post
The Chinese military will embark on a massive hardware upgrade and top personnel shake-up under President Xi Jinping’s orders for the PLA to become a world-class fighting force in the next three decades.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.19.17China Warns US to Drop Its Bias after Tillerson’s ‘Blunt’ Message
South China Morning Post
Beijing warned the United States to drop its bias against China after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington wanted to “dramatically deepen” ties with New Delhi to counter China’s influence in Asia.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.19.17China’s "Rogue Aid" to Africa Isn't as Much or as Controversial as We Thought
Quartz
A decade ago, a New York Times columnist coined the term “rogue aid” to describe China’s financial assistance in the developing world: nontransparent, nondemocratic, and above all self-interested. Since then, the label has stuck.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.18.17China’s Challenges Abroad: How Do You Solve a Problem Like North Korea?
Forbes
The importance of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th party congress to the future of Xi Jinping’s leadership and the direction of China has paralyzed policy debates on many issues, including North Korea. The paralysis has persisted despite the...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.12.17Xi Jinping Has More Clout Than Donald Trump. The World Should Be Wary
Economist
American presidents have a habit of describing their Chinese counterparts in terms of awe. A fawning Richard Nixon said to Mao Zedong that the chairman’s writings had “changed the world”. To Jimmy Carter, Deng Xiaoping was a string of flattering...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.13.17The Rise and Rise of China's Xiaomi in India
Forbes
A couple of years ago in 2015, MIT Technology Review ranked Xiaomi number 2 on their list of 50 Smartest Companies -- a list that also had companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft who were rated far below the Chinese smartphone and smart home...