Trump’s Quick Wins on China Trade Won’t Wipe out the Deficit

Jethro Mullen
CNN
The U.S. and China have given themselves 100 days to make progress on the thorny issue of trade.

Why 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.

China 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.

How Trump Can Solve His Chinese Puzzle

Gideon Rachman
New York Times
Getting tough with China is a central part of Donald Trump’s plan to “make America great again.” During the election campaign, he claimed that China was “raping” American industry.

Trump’s Team Has No Idea What It’s Doing On China

Foreign Policy
Donald Trump is, by his own admission, not terribly analytical or deliberative.

All Mapped Out: How China’s Charting Its Course as a Superpower

Daily Beast
In February, the French daily Le Monde published a map reportedly circulated by the Chinese military. It showed the People’s Republic in the center of the globe with all else shrinking away toward the edges: “The world turned upside down for anyone...

How Trump Can Help Save Coal—with China’s Help

Paul Bledsoe
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.

Jared Kushner Is One of Trump's Top Advisers on China

Eric Levitz
New York Magazine
When President Trump meets with his Chinese counterpart at Mar-a-Lago this weekend, he will not have the assistant secretaries of State and Defense for East Asia at his side — because his administration has failed to hire anyone for either of those...

Viewpoint

04.05.17

Xi Is Ready for the Summit. Trump Can’t Possibly Be. So What Should He Do?

Robert Daly
At the summit in Mar-a-Lago, U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to alter deeply-rooted Chinese policies despite having no China strategy. China’s Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping hopes that by making deals on secondary matters important to Trump...

Is Trump Wise to Take on China over Trade?

BBC
Trade will be one of two key issues on the agenda, along with North Korea. But what’s the problem—and what can Trump do about it?

U.S.-China Trade Scorecard: Advantage China

Roger Yu
USA Today
When President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, he will remind his guest that China runs the largest trade surplus with the United States.

China’s Emergence as Top U.S. Oil Buyer Highlights Economic Ties

Lucy Hornby
Financial Times
China was the top foreign buyer of U.S. crude in February, according to data that show the growing interdependence of the world’s big energy-consuming nations at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Why China’s Got Beef with U.S. Beef

Bruce Einhorn
Bloomberg
Beef may be on the table when the U.S. president and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discuss trade during this week’s summit at Trump’s Florida resort.

Viewpoint

04.05.17

No Winners or Losers, Please

Paul Gewirtz
Who will be the winner of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit? My answer: That’s a dangerous—and wrongheaded—question to focus on. Yes, we want the U.S. to win, but the U.S.-China relationship must be played and judged as a long game.The present situation...

Books

04.05.17

China’s Crony Capitalism

Minxin Pei
When Deng Xiaoping launched China on the path to economic reform in the late 1970s, he vowed to build “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” More than three decades later, China’s efforts to modernize have yielded something very different from the working people’s paradise Deng envisioned: an incipient kleptocracy, characterized by endemic corruption, soaring income inequality, and growing social tensions. China’s Crony Capitalism traces the origins of China’s present-day troubles to the series of incomplete reforms from the post-Tiananmen era that decentralized the control of public property without clarifying its ownership.Beginning in the 1990s, changes in the control and ownership rights of state-owned assets allowed well-connected government officials and businessmen to amass huge fortunes through the systematic looting of state-owned property—in particular land, natural resources, and assets in state-run enterprises. Mustering compelling evidence from over two hundred corruption cases involving government and law enforcement officials, private businessmen, and organized crime members, Minxin Pei shows how collusion among elites has spawned an illicit market for power inside the party-state, in which bribes and official appointments are surreptitiously but routinely traded. This system of crony capitalism has created a legacy of criminality and entrenched privilege that will make any movement toward democracy difficult and disorderly.Rejecting conventional platitudes about the resilience of Chinese Communist Party rule, Pei gathers unambiguous evidence that beneath China’s facade of ever-expanding prosperity and power lies a Leninist state in an advanced stage of decay. —Harvard University Press{chop}

As Trump-Xi Summit Looms, Evidence of Strained Ties on China-North Korea Border

Sue-Lin Wong and Joseph Campbell
Reuters
What was planned in 2011 as a 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) development intended to showcase economic engagement between the two countries has stalled in recent months.

Trump’s Gifts to China

Roger Cohen
New York Times
The United States meets China this week in a position of weakness.

As He Gets Ready to Meet Trump in Florida, China’s Xi Jinping Has a Lot to Worry about

Jonathan Kaiman
Los Angeles Times
The meeting could set the tone for the next several years of U.S.-China relations, and allow the two leaders to square each other up on issues including North Korea and global trade.

Trump’s Bad Deal with China

Charles Edel and Mira Rapp-Hooper
Politico
The early signs suggest Xi Jinping will run the table at Mar-a-Lago.

Conversation

04.04.17

What Should We Expect When Trump and Xi Meet in Florida?

David Dollar, Jeremy Goldkorn & more
On April 6-7, U.S. President Donald Trump will host Xi Jinping in their first face-to-face meeting when China’s President arrives at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The meeting comes early in Trump’s presidency, after a campaign in which he frequently...

Xiongan District Becomes Hot Property in China

BBC
A sleepy district in Hebei province has suddenly become the center of China’s latest property craze and the talk of the country.

Trump Ready to Tackle North Korea Alone—FT Exclusive

Lionel Barber, Demetri Sevastopulo, and...
Financial Times
Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. will take unilateral action to eliminate the nuclear threat from North Korea unless China increases pressure on the regime in Pyongyang.

China Plan to Create New Shenzhen Spurs Speculative Rampage

Lisa Pham and Jenny Yu
Bloomberg
Within 24 hours of Saturday’s announcement that the government would create the Xiongan area in Hebei province—in the same spirit that Shenzhen and Shanghai’s Pudong was built—hordes of prospective buyers had thronged to the region.

The Big Unanswered Question ahead of Trump’s First China Meeting

Max Ehrenfreund
Washington Post
After a campaign defined in large part by a pledge to turn the nation’s trade agenda on its head, President Trump has opened his presidency with a series of modest, more cautious steps

If U.S. Trade with China Is So Unfair, Why Is GM the Best-Selling Car There?

Tim Fernholz
Quartz
Ahead of a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Donald Trump’s White House has made clear that it isn’t happy with China’s high tariffs on imported American automobiles.

Viewpoint

04.03.17

What Does the Future Hold for Business between the U.S. and China under Trump?

Ker Gibbs
We are now well into the first 100 days of the Trump administration. His supporters expect major changes in the China relationship. They voted for a man who promised to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods and slap China with the currency...

China Spends Billions in Egypt to Woo the Middle East

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s recent state visit to Beijing is the latest evidence that China is maneuvering to play a bigger role in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. The two countries reportedly signed deals worth upwards of $65 billion during...

Trump Will Host China’s President in Florida on April 6

Bill Chappell
NPR
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit President Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., next week, for talks that will likely range from economic to security issues. The first meeting between the two leaders will stretch from April 6-7.

Chinese Capital Constraints Send Shock through Global M&A

Don Weinland and Javier Espinoza
Financial Times
Outbound deals hit lowest level since 2014 after cash clampdown

China Calls for Explanation After Paris Police Shoot Dead Chinese Man

Ben Blanchard, Simon Carraud and John...
Reuters
French police said on Tuesday they opened an inquiry after a Chinese man was shot dead by police at his Paris home, triggering rioting in the French capital by members of the Chinese community and a sharp reaction from Beijing.

Australian Vote on Extradition Treaty With China Is Canceled

Amien Cave
New York Times
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull canceled a parliamentary vote to ratify an extradition treaty with China on Tuesday after opposition lawmakers said they would not support it

American 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.

China’s Secret Plan to Crush SpaceX and the US Space Program

Clay Dillow
CNBC
China’s breakneck economic expansion may be flagging, but the country's ambitions in space show no signs of slowing down.

China’s Tencent Bought A 5 Percent Stake in Tesla

Johana Bhuiyan
Re/code
Tencent, a Chinese internet giant, is also an investor in Chinese ride-hail player Didi Chuxing.

China’s HNA in Talks to Buy Controlling Stake in Forbes: Sources

CNBC
Acquisitive Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is in talks to buy a controlling stake in the owner of the publisher of Forbes magazine, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters

China Plans Fresh Crackdown on Tangshan Steel Production

Emily Feng
Financial Times
China is planning a new crackdown on steel production in the north-eastern city of Tangshan in a bid to prevent false reporting of mill closures by local governments reluctant to obey shutdown orders.

China State Firms Eye Land around Panama Canal: Waterway Authority

Brenda Goh
Reuters
Chinese state firms have expressed an interest to develop land around the Panama Canal, the chief executive of the vital trade thoroughfare said, underlining China’s outward push into infrastructure via railways and ports around the world.

In Rare Move, Chinese Think Tank Criticizes Tepid Pace of Reform

Chris Buckley
New York Times
These withering findings on China’s reforms come from a startling place: from within the government itself.

New Zealand and China Plan to Expand Free-Trade Deal

Nick Perry
Seattle Times
New Zealand and China announced Monday they would open talks soon to expand a successful free-trade deal in place for nearly a decade.

China to Plant ‘Green Necklace’ of Trees Around Beijing to Fight Smog

New York Times
The pollution from the factories is responsible for much of the smog in Beijing, a city of more than 22 million, and other parts of northern China.

Nation Leads Asia in Growth Vitality

China Daily
Despite setbacks to regional economic integration, China maintained a 6.7 percent growth rate last year and contributed 33.2 percent to global economic growth, ranking the highest among all world economies.

As China’s Li Visits Down Under, Trump on Australian PM Turnbull’s Mind

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to keep his relationship with the U.S. in close focus as China’s Li Keqiang becomes the first Premier in eleven years to visit Down Under.

Why China Stoking up Anger over South Korea Missile System Is Doomed to Fail

Josh Ye
South China Morning Post
Encouraging boycotts of South Korean goods won’t stop Seoul deploying the defence shield, but will sour an economically valuable relationship, observers say

China Steps up Battle against Property Bubble

Gabriel Wildau
Financial Times
Big cities escalate efforts to curb the soaring prices that are stoking anger

China Just Held Its National People’s Congress. Here Are Three Key Points.

Lynette Ong
Washington Post
For decades, China’s “Two Sessions” (lianghui) each spring have offered a glimpse into the policies and priorities of China’s Communist Party (CCP).

China May Set New Rules to Curb ‘Irrational’ Outbound Investment This Year

Fortune
China this year may publish rules on outbound investment by Chinese firms that would spell out the sectors in which investing is encouraged and those where it is restricted, state media reported on Tuesday.

South Korea Complains to WTO about China over THAAD

BBC
South Korea has appealed to the World Trade Organization to determine if the Chinese government is treating South Korean companies unfairly.

China’s Taxes on Imported Cars Feed Trade Tensions with U.S.

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
A Jeep Wrangler can cost $30,000 more in China than in the United States—and the reasons illustrate a growing point of tension between the two countries.

China Is Reportedly Getting Ready to Hit back against Any of Trump’s Trade Penalties

Fortune
China’s government has been seeking advice from its think-tanks and policy advisers on how to counter potential trade penalties from U.S. President Donald Trump, getting ready for the worst, even as they hope for business-like negotiations.

Rex Tillerson and Xi Jinping Meet in China and Emphasize Cooperation

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and President Xi Jinping of China cast aside their differences on Sunday with a public display of cooperation, sidestepping areas of disagreement even as North Korea made another defiant statement by showing off a...

The Real Reason China Won’t Exert Economic Pressure on North Korea

Tom Holland
South China Morning Post
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson thinks that if only he can enlist Beijing’s support, sanctions will compel Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear arsenal—here’s why he’s wrong

China Raising Pressure on Taiwan, Gently

Ralph Jennings
Voice of America
China is slowly tightening its grip on self-ruled Taiwan to make it break a nearly year-old political deadlock, but it’s avoiding any tough measures that it can’t reverse if relations improve, analysts say.

Sinica Podcast

03.17.17

Big Daddy Dough: Hip-hop and Macroeconomics in China

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
By day, Andrew Dougherty is a macroeconomist who manages a China research team for Capital Group, one of the world’s largest actively managed mutual funds. By night, he is Big Daddy Dough, creator of an album of parody hip-hop songs that explain...

Books

03.16.17

Hollywood Made in China

Aynne Kokas
China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 ignited a race to capture new global media audiences. Hollywood moguls began courting Chinese investors to create entertainment on an international scale—from behemoth theme parks to blockbuster films. Hollywood Made in China examines these new collaborations, where the distinctions between Hollywood’s “dream factory” and Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream” of global influence become increasingly blurred. With insightful policy analysis, ethnographic research, and interviews with CEOs, directors, and film workers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Los Angeles, Aynne Kokas offers an unflinching look at China’s new role in the global media industries. A window into the partnerships with Chinese corporations that now shape Hollywood, this book will captivate anyone who consumes commercial media in the twenty-first century. —University of California Press{chop}

People’s Bank of China Raises Borrowing Costs in Step with Fed

Bloomberg
China’s central bank raised borrowing costs as a stable economy and factory reflation give it scope to follow the Federal Reserve in tightening policy.

Here’s Who Will Benefit from the Beijing-Seoul Fallout

Huileng Tan
CNBC
Currently, South Korea’s decision to allow the U.S. to deploy an advanced missile defense system on the peninsula has culminated in a series of retaliatory measures from Beijing. South Korean firms have already started investing in the fast-growing...

Clean Energy Could Spark a Trade War between the U.S. and China

Nick Stockton
Wired
In the past few years, China has surpassed the U.S. in electric vehicle sales, renewable energy capacity, and recently announced it was investing $365 billion to keep the momentum going. That investment puts China in a prime position to lead the...

China to Trump: We Don’t Want a Trade War—but If There Is One, You’d Lose

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
China’s premier told the United States on Wednesday: We don’t want a trade war with you, but if one breaks out, your companies would bear the brunt.

As Attitudes Change, Chinese Lawmakers Seek Better Protection for Rhinos and Other Endangered Animals

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
Slowly but surely, Chinese attitudes toward wildlife conservation are changing.

Is Google Another Step Closer to Being Unblocked in China?

Nectar Gan
CNBC
Google is still in talks with Beijing over its plans to return to the mainland Chinese market