The New York Times Hires Michael Forsythe

Kristen Hare
New York Times
Forsythe left Bloomberg after writing an article that threatened the Publication's presence in China. 

Caixin Media

01.13.14

Leading the Battle for Reform

The turn of the year brought news that President Xi Jinping will take the helm of the new leading group for overall reform.This group is a key part of China’s reform drive. As soon as its formation was announced at the Third Plenum of the Communist...

Moon Landing ‘100pc Made in China,’ says Xi Jinping

Patrick Boehler
South China Morning Post
Contrary to Xi's claims, scientists have noted that the design of the moon rover has borrowed heavily from previous Soviet and American versions. 

Conversation

01.06.14

Will Xi Jinping Bring a Positive New Day to China?

Paul Mooney, Andrew J. Nathan & more
Chinese President Xi Jinping, just over a year in office, recently made a rare appearance in public in a Beijing restaurant, buying a cheap lunch and paying for it himself. Shortly thereafter, President Xi delivered a brief televised New Year...

How Andy Warhol Explains China’s Attitudes Toward Mao

Julian Gewirtz
Atlantic
The sheer number of Warhol’s screen prints of Mao’s face—at once persistent and reinvented—that captures, with unusual clarity, the attitude of China’s leaders today toward Mao, coloring and recoloring this legacy within an enduring outline.&...

On Chairman Mao’s Birthday, a Conflicting Legacy for Xi Jinping

Jeremy Page
Wall Street Journal
Mr. Xi and the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee–the top decision-making body—bowed three times at the mausoleum holding Mao’s body in a glass sarcophagus on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, state media said. Mr. Xi then addressed a...

Other

12.23.13

[Transcript] One Year Later, China’s New Leaders

J. Stapleton Roy, Susan Shirk & more
Nearly a year to the day after seven new leaders ascended to their posts on the Standing Committee of China’s Politburo, the Asia Society held a public conversation with The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos; Dr. Susan Shirk of the University of California,...

Conversation

12.17.13

Why Is China Purging Its Former Top Security Chief, Zhou Yongkang?

Pin Ho & Richard McGregor
Pin Ho:[Zhou Yongkang’s downfall] is the second chapter of the “Bo Xilai Drama”—a drama begun at the 18th Party Congress. The Party’s power transition has been secret and has lacked convincing procedure. This [lack of transparency] has triggered...

China’s Corruption Purge: The Fall of Zhou Yongkang

Wenguang Huang and Ho Pin
Daily Beast
New reports confirm that Zhou Yongkang, China’s third most powerful politician, is under investigation for murder, corruption, and plotting to overthrow the government.

Sinica Podcast

12.10.13

Joe Biden and the ADIZ Fracas

Kaiser Kuo & Peter Ford
On the weekend of November 23, Beijing announced the establishment of a new Air Defense Identification Zone. Covering a large swath of the East China Sea, the move was intended to assert China’s control over disputed islands in the region, and...

Biden Urges Restraint by China in Airspace Dispute

Mark Landler
New York Times
Chinese leaders pushed back at visiting Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday over what they assert is their right to control a wide swath of airspace in the bitterly contested East China Sea. But the Chinese also indicated that they had...

Conversation

12.03.13

What Posture Should Joe Biden Adopt Toward A Newly Muscular China?

Susan Shirk
Susan Shirk:United States Vice President Joseph Biden is the American political figure who has spent the most time with Xi Jinping and has the deepest understanding of Xi as an individual. Before Xi’s selection as P.R.C. president and C.C.P. general...

Xi, in ‘Godfather’ Mold, Looks Assertive and Even Imperial

Christopher Buckley
New York Times
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has admitted to watching “The Godfather,” and this week he proved he could be a shrewd student of one of that film’s themes: the art of amassing and applying power in a small, secretive circle of men.

Conversation

11.19.13

What Will the Beginning of the End of the One-Child Policy Bring?

Leta Hong Fincher, Vincent Ni & more
Leta Hong Fincher:The Communist Party’s announcement that it will loosen the one-child policy is, of course, welcome news. Married couples will be allowed to have two children if only one of the spouses is an only child, meaning that millions more...

Viewpoint

11.18.13

Xi Jinping Refills an Old Prescription

Orville Schell
The reforms called for by the Third Plenum of the Eighteenth Party Congress have been, like so much else in China over the past few decades, part of an ongoing Chinese quest for national unity, wealth, and power. But, for those of us steeped in...

China Unveils Boldest Reforms in Decades, Shows Xi in Command

Kevin Yao and Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China has relaxed its longstanding one-child policy and further freed up the markets in order to put the world's second-largest economy on a more stable footing.

Features

11.08.13

Document 9: A ChinaFile Translation

This weekend, China’s leaders gather in Beijing for meetings widely expected to determine the shape of China’s economy, as well as the nation’s progress, over the next decade. What exactly the outcome of this Third Plenum of the Eighteenth Party...

Viewpoint

11.08.13

China, One Year Later

J. Stapleton Roy, Susan Shirk & more
In November 2012, seven men were appointed to the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s supreme governing body. At the time, economic headwinds, nationalist protests, and the Bo Xilai scandal presented huge challenges for the regime. Would the...

Viewpoint

11.07.13

Deciphering Xi Jinping’s Dream

Ouyang Bin & Roderick MacFarquhar
On November 9, the Chinese Communist Party will host its Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee. This conference will be a key to deciphering the ruling philosophy of the new Chinese leadership, who will run the country for the...

Viewpoint

11.01.13

What the Heck is China’s ‘Third Plenum’ and Why Should You Care?

Barry Naughton
China’s economy is already two-thirds the size of the economy of the U.S., and it’s been growing five times as fast. But now, China’s economy is beginning to slow and is facing a raft of difficult problems.  If China’s leaders don’t address...

In China, ‘Everyone is Guilty of Corruption’

Lijia Zhang
CNN
Much as I appreciate our president’s determination in his fight against corruption, his battle feels like an attempt to “put out a big fire with a glass of water,” given how corruption has reached every corner of our society. 

China Venerates a Revolutionary, the Father of Its New Leader

Chris Buckley
New York Times
The Communist Party has devoted official meetings, books, a six-episode television documentary, a garish children’s performance and postage stamps to mark a century since the birth of Xi Zhongxun, a veteran revolutionary and Xi Jinping’s father...

Old Dreams for a New China

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
Ever since China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, first uttered the phrase “China Dream” last year, people in China and abroad have been scrambling to decipher its meaning. Many nations have “dreams”; in Canada, the country’s most prominent popular...

The Real Threat to U.S. National Security

Richard Haass
Politico
President Obama’s cancelled trip to Asia makes a mockery of the “pivot” or rebalancing to that part of the world and away from the Middle East, which was the big strategic theme of Obama’s foreign policy. The result is that small countries in the...

Obama’s Absence Leaves China as Dominant Force at Asia-Pacific Meeting

Jane Perlez and Joe Cochrane
New York Times
Secretary of State John Kerry replaced President Obama at the opening of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, leaving China’s president, Xi Jinping, as the dominant leader at a economic gathering.

Conversation

10.07.13

Why Is Xi Jinping Promoting Self-Criticism?

Stephen C. Angle & Taisu Zhang
Critics both within and without China have suggested that Xi Jinping’s promotion of self-criticism by Communist Party cadres has at least two motives: it promotes the appearance of concern with lax discipline while avoiding deeper reform, and it...

China Launches Charm Offensive as Obama Cancels Asia Trip

Callum MacLeod
USA Today
President Obama’s decision to shorten, then ultimately cancel, a trip to Asia this weekend may be good news for his Chinese counterpart, who is striving to charm a region unnerved by China’s aggressive stance over territory. 

Conversation

09.17.13

What’s Behind China’s Recent Internet Crackdown?

Xiao Qiang, John Garnaut & more
Last weekend, Charles Xue Manzi, a Chinese American multi-millionaire investor and opinion leader on one of China’s most popular microblogs, appeared in handcuffs in an interview aired on China Central Television (CCTV). Xue is just the most visible...

Political Maneuvering: The Plot Thickens

Economist
Xi Jinping has been taking down crooked officials in an attempt to consolidate power and make good on a promise to clean up the Party. But what does it mean now he’s set his sights on former chief of domestic security and one-time oilman...

China Corruption Probe Reflects Struggle

Deutsche Welle
Analysts argue the investigation, which involves four other top executives of state-owned enterprises, is an attempt by Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to assert their authority over powerful S.O.E.’s. 

Conversation

09.09.13

What Are Chinese Attitudes Toward a U.S. Strike in Syria?

Chen Weihua, Vincent Ni & more
Chen Weihua:Chinese truly believe that there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis. On the contrary, a U.S. air strike would only worsen the situation there. Chinese have seen many failures of U.S. intervention in the Middle East in the past...

Deng Xiaoping’s Lessons for Today’s China

Bloomberg
The earthy Deng, father of reform-era China, favored a Chinese phrase to describe the current anti-corruption maneuvers being undertaken at Xi Jinping’s behest: killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. 

Activist’s List of Chinese Political Arrests

Patrick Boehler
South China Morning Post
Wen Yunchao, who has been monitoring arrests and convictions in this year in China from New York City, insists his records show a growing trend of repression under Xi Jinping.  

China’s New Leaders Exert Control Over Oil Company

Associated Press
The crackdown on China’s biggest company — also the second-largest oil company in the world — signals the new administration’s determination to exert control over the powerful sector, said Cheng Li, a Brookings Institution scholar. 

Conversation

09.05.13

To Reform or Not Reform?—Echoes of the Late Qing Dynasty

Orville Schell, John Delury & more
Orville Schell:It is true that China is no longer beset by threats of foreign incursion nor is it a laggard in the world of economic development and trade. But being there and being steeped in an atmosphere of seemingly endless political and...

Political Rebalancing: Tilting Backwards

J.M.
Economist
The speed with which Mr Xi has moved to establish his conservative ideological credentials, having at first struck a somewhat more liberal tone, has still been a surprise to some observers.  

China Takes Aim at Western Ideas

Chris Buckley
New York Times
Communist Party cadres have filled meeting halls around China to hear a somber, secretive warning issued by senior leaders. Power could escape their grip, they have been told, unless the party eradicates seven subversive currents coursing through...

Viewpoint

08.22.13

How Bo Xilai Split the Party and Divided the People

Ouyang Bin from Chinese Law Prof Blog
After the 1989 Tiananmen Incident, Chinese political struggles became milder and more mundane. Members of the Politburo and politicians of higher rank rarely were toppled (except for Chen Liangyu in 2006) and ideology seldom triggered significant...

Conversation

08.21.13

Is Xi Jinping Redder Than Bo Xilai Or Vice Versa?

Michael Anti & Shai Oster
Michael Anti:Competing for Redness: The Scarlet Bo vs the Vermilion Xi?Bo Xilai, the fallen Chinese princeling famous for leading a “Red Songs” communist campaign in southwest China's megacity Chongqing, is on trial today, live-Twittered from...

Xi Jinping’s Overlooked Revelation on China’s Maritime Disputes

M. Taylor Fravel
Diplomat
Although unnoticed by foreign analysts, Xi Jinping recently signaled a desire to dial back tensions in the South and East China Seas.

Japan Looking for Ways to Restart Top-Level Meetings with China

Asahi Shimbun
Japan and China have not held high-level meetings since the Japanese government placed the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea under national ownership in September 2012.

China Orders Ban on New Government Buildings

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The new directive, which bans the construction of government buildings for the next five years, showed clear signs of being a continuation of the anticorruption campaign, describing the ban as “important for building a clean government” and...

Conversation

07.25.13

The Bo Xilai Trial: What’s It Really About?

Jerome A. Cohen, Andrew J. Nathan & more
China has charged disgraced senior politician Bo Xilai with bribery, abuse of power and corruption, paving the way for a potentially divisive trial. But what’s at stake goes beyond the fate of one allegedly corrupt official: Is it really a fight...

China Must Deepen Reforms to Meet Economic Challenges

Reuters
The new leadership has signalled it is prepared to tolerate slower growth to move the economy away from export-led growth and towards one driven by domestic demand, with 7 percent annual expansion seen as the bottom line.  

Why It’s News That China’s President Stood In The Rain With His Pants Rolled Up

Lily Kuo
Quartz
Xi—who has promised to tackle government corruption and lavish spending by officials—is trying to counter an image of elitism in dress, plain speech, and a few gestures of openness rarely seen at the upper rungs of China’s communist party.

A Reformist Chinese Leader? Stop Fooling Yourself

Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Time
Headline after headline - about the intractability of corruption, the death of a watermelon vendor or a petitioner's desperate attempt to draw attention to this plight by detonating an explosive device at a Beijing...

Conversation

07.18.13

Xu Zhiyong Arrested: How Serious Can Beijing Be About Political Reform?

Donald Clarke, Andrew J. Nathan & more
Donald Clarke:When I heard that Xu Zhiyong had just been detained, my first thought was, “Again?” This seems to be something the authorities do every time they get nervous, a kind of political Alka Seltzer to settle an upset constitution. I searched...

Media

07.15.13

A Rite of Passage to Nowhere

Ying Zhu & Frances Hisgen
Tiny Times, a Chinese feature film set in contemporary Shanghai, made headline news on its opening day in late June by knocking the Hollywood blockbuster Man of Steel from its perch atop the domestic box-office and breaking the opening-day record...

Beijing Unveils Fresh Campaign to Promote "Chinese Dream" Abroad

South China Morning Post
The Communist Party's propaganda chief has unveiled a new plan for the broad realisation and promotion of the "Chinese dream" abroad, a campaign championed by party general secretary Xi Jinping.

Conversation

07.09.13

What Is the “Chinese Dream” Really All About?

Stein Ringen, Jeremy Goldkorn & more
Stein Ringen:I’m coming to the view that the ‘Chinese Dream’ is a signal from the leadership of great import that has much to say about the nature of the Chinese state. It is striking, in my opinion, how effectively and rapidly the system swung into...

China Second Quarter GDP to Test Reformers’ Stomach for Slower Growth

Langi Chiang and Koh Gui Qing
Reuters
China's resolve to revamp its economy for the long-term good will be tested this month when a slew of data show growth is grinding towards a 23-year low, with no recovery in sight.

Xi's Call for "Mass Line" Answered by Actions

Xinhua
On June 18, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said that the "mass line" is the lifeline of the Party and the CPC's upcoming year-long campaign will be a "thorough cleanup" of undesirable work styles...

The Chimerica Dream

Pepe Escobar
TomDispatch
Whatever the confusions and difficulties the Chinese leadership faces, Beijing seems to understand the realities behind Washington’s strategic intentions. One wonders whether the reverse applies.

China’s Jailed Nobel’s Wife Writes Open Letter to Chinese Leader to Protest Brother’s Sentence

Washington Post
In the letter, Liu Xiaobo’s wife Liu Xia said the sentencing was unfair and urged Xi to govern China in a way that respects the rights of individuals and avoids “ruthless suppression based on violence.”  

U.S. and China Pledge New Model of Cooperation

Jackie Calmes and Steven Lee Myers
New York Times
The two presidents appeared eager to redefine the relationship in a way that would allow their countries to overcome their economic, political and diplomatic differences, rather than letting new — or old — crises derail progress. 

Xi Jinping Appears More Maoist Than Reformer So Far

Barbara Demick
Los Angeles Times
During his first months in power, Xi has proven himself more hard-line than his recent predecessors. He has tightened censorship in academia and the media, and spearheaded China’s territorial assertions in the South China and East China...

Most View China as a Friend

Tal Kopan
Politico
According to a Gallup poll on Thursday, 55 percent of respondents thought China was either an ally or friendly nation. A total of 40 percent viewed China unfavorably.

Cui Tiankai, China’s Envoy to the U.S., Aims to Allay Tensions

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Cui Tiankai, the country’s ambassador in Washington, is its chief behind-the-scenes facilitator for the meeting that will bring together Mr. Xi and President Obama at Sunnylands starting June 7. 

Conversation

06.11.13

What’s the Best Way to Advance Human Rights in the U.S.-China Relationship?

Nicholas Bequelin, Sharon Hom & more
Nicholas Bequelin:The best way to advance human rights in the U.S.-China relationship is first and foremost to recognize that the engine of human rights progress in China today is the Chinese citizenry itself. Such progress is neither the product of...

Xi’s Not Ready

Michael Auslin
Foreign Policy
The U.S. needs to free itself from the idea that finding the soft spot in a foreign leader antagonistic towards it improves bilateral relationships. Summits like this one should be reserved for friends and allies.