Meeting With Taiwan Reflects Limits of China’s Checkbook

AUSTIN RAMZY
New York Times
For the past eight years, the Chinese government has showered its former enemies in Taiwan with economic gifts.

Media

11.06.15

‘A Brutality Born of Helplessness’

Alexa Olesen
When China finally scrapped its one-child policy after more than three decades of brutality, almost no one lamented its passing. But Paul R. Ehlich, a Stanford-educated biologist and author of the 1968 fear-baiting classic The Population Bomb, was...

The China-Russia-Mongolia Trilateral Gains Steam

Bochen Han
Diplomat
The Asian trilateral no one talks about is seeing some interesting new developments.

Viewpoint

11.05.15

The Problem With the China Model

Andrew J. Nathan
The ideological competition between democracy and authoritarianism was supposed to have died with the Cold War. But it has returned with a vengeance, powered above all by the rise of China. Now comes a book by a respected scholar that purports to...

3 Things Taiwan Wants From China

Mark Rivett-Carnac
Time
Here are three issues that are likely to be on the top of Ma’s agenda after seven decades without a face-to-face meeting.

How Smartphones are Solving One of China’s Biggest Mysteries

Ana Swanson
Washington Post
For decades, China has been engaged in a building boom of a scale that is hard to wrap your mind around.

What to Expect at this Year’s Mega China-Africa Summit

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
The sixth Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will be held in December in Johannesburg comes at a critical time in the Sino-African relationship. The combination of China’s slowing economy, a major slump in global commodity prices, and a...

Ailing Europe Looking for 'Chinese Medicine'

Michael Ivanovitch
CNBC
The Chinese have never seen so many European leaders beating their path to Beijing.

Conversation

11.02.15

How Far Have China’s Economic Reforms Come over the Past Year?

Houze Song & Arthur R. Kroeber
As the Chinese Communist Party leadership wrapped up its Fifth Plenum, the meeting at which the Party’s leadership set the Five Year Plan that will shape economic policy through 2020, what progress has been made on the “comprehensive deepening” of...

China’s Communist Party Approves Five-Year Plan

Mark Magnier
Wall Street Journal
Economists will be watching to see whether it sets ambitious or moderate growth targets.

Li Floats New China Five-Year Growth Minimum of Around 6.5%

Bloomberg
China’s goal of a “moderately prosperous society” refers to policy makers’ plan to double per-capita income by 2020 from 2010 levels.

Can Xi Jinping Control China’s Wave of Change?

David Ignatius
Washington Post
“Party tightens grip on dissenting voices,” headlined the South China Morning Post on Friday.

Features

10.27.15

Rich Man, Pu’er Man

Christina Larson
“These men always have machetes,” shouts the driver. Through trees along an unpaved road, he spots a ramshackle hut, slows down, and warns his passengers: this is a checkpoint. It’s the only way to enforce rules in this part of the jungle, at the...

Criticism of the UK’s New Approach to China Is Misplaced

Rebecca Fabrizi
Diplomat
Wait for some evidence before assuming that only bad can come from good relations.

America’s Society Is Wealthier Than China’s – And It Doesn’t Matter

Christopher A. McNally and Denny Roy
Diplomat
The large gap in private wealth has limited significance.

Where Does Britain Draw the Line with Saudi Arabia and China?

Michael White
Guardian
UK economy needs the cash flowing in, but politicians should be wary of throwing out all principle in favour of business.

In the Race for Africa, India and China Aren’t All That Different

Lily Kuo
Quartz
During the third India-Africa Summit, Indian officials are working hard to differentiate their country from China.

Psychedelic Video Sings Praises of China's Five Year-Plan

Agence France-Presse
"If you wanna know what China's gonna do, best pay attention to the shisanwu."

Sinica Podcast

10.27.15

Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia

Kaiser Kuo & David Moser from Sinica Podcast
The West has spent decades pleading with China to become a responsible stakeholder in the global community, but what happens now that China is starting to take a more proactive role internationally? In this podcast, Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are...

Not Enough Women in China? Let Men Share a Wife, an Economist Suggests

DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
New York Times
“No one is forcing anyone to accept ‘one wife, many husbands!’ ”

India Is Spending Billions to Populate a Remote Area Claimed by China

Natalie Obiko Pearson
Bloomberg
"If China is developing on their side of the territory, we should develop on our side."

How Hungry Is China for the World's Food?

John W. Schoen
CNBC
China's transformation from an agrarian economy remains a work in progress.

Xi’s Visit to Britain Highlights Broader Shift in Concerns About China

STEVEN ERLANGER
New York Times
The visit to Britain by Xi Jinping is underscoring how European nations are de-emphasizing human rights and security concerns.

China Hopes to See A United EU, Xi Tells Britain on Visit

SARAH YOUNG AND BEN BLANCHARD
Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Britain he wants to see a united European Union.

China Plans 2020 Deadline for Dismantling Capital Controls

Bloomberg
Top officials in the Communist Party will discuss pledging to “make the yuan convertible under the capital account".

Many in the West Fear Chinese ‘Aid’ to Africa. They’re Wrong. Here’s Why.

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Brad Parks...
Washington Post
Western pundits have a narrative about China’s activities in Africa.

This Nuclear Power Deal With China Is One of the Maddest Ever Struck

Polly Toynbee
Guardian
The grand kowtow continues its humiliating progress today, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Britain 'Sucking up' to China Is a National Humiliation, Says PM's Former Adviser

Patrick Wintour
Guardian
Steve Hilton denounces lavish treatment of President Xi Jinping, saying UK should consider sanctions on China ‘not rolling out red carpet’.

Caixin Media

10.20.15

Moving 2 Million People for Beijing’s Urban Reset

Nearly 2 million Beijing residents will be moved to the city’s outlying districts from the center by 2020 as part of a massive urban revamp designed to better control people, traffic, and smog.The movers include up to 1 million government workers...

The Real Story Behind China’s Alleged Conquest of African Farmland

Deborah Brautigam
Quartz
“A common perception is that China is supporting Chinese enterprises to acquire land abroad as part of a national food security strategy.”

China Says South China Sea Lighthouses Not Meant to Alter 'Status Quo'

Michael Martina
Reuters
China says its lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South Reef in the Spratly islands will assist navigational security.

Xi Jinping Visit: Chinese Leader Given Ceremonial Welcome

BBC
China's President Xi Jinping is receiving a ceremonial welcome by the Queen as he begins the first full day of his visit to the UK.

China and UK: Signs of a New 'Special Relationship?'

Katie Hunt
CNN
Does the UK have a new "special relationship?"

Conversation

10.16.15

Is There a China Model?

Daniel A. Bell, Timothy Garton Ash & more
The most recent public event in our ChinaFile Presents series, which we held October 15 in New York, was a discussion of the philosopher Daniel A. Bell’s controversial book, The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy, co-...

A Remote Corner of China Wants Access to the Sea. The Obstacle Is North Korea.

Anna Fifield
Washington Post
You can almost smell the sea air from here, at the point where China, Russia and North Korea meet.

China to Build $5 Billion High-Speed Rail Line in Indonesia

Rieka Rahadiana
Bloomberg
China Railway International Co. Ltd and a consortium of Indonesian state companies will build the rail line from Jakarta to Bandung.

This Is Where China’s Future Will Be Decided

Matt O'Brien
Washington Post
Lanzhou, China — The first thing you notice is the dust.

Chinese Admiral Visits Iran, Wants Closer Defense Cooperation

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China wants to deepen military ties with Iran.

Xi’s Visit to Kick Off a Golden Age of China-UK Relations

Shi Zhiqin and Lai Suetyi
Diplomat
A state visit next week is expected to spark a new era in bilateral ties.

Lenin’s Chinese Heirs

Evan A. Feigenbaum and Damien Ma
Foreign Affairs
For Xi, Politics Comes First and Economy Second.

China’s Middle Class Has Overtaken the U.S.’s to Become the World’s Largest

Zheping Huang
Quartz
China has crossed another economic threshold.

Media

10.13.15

Chinese Censors Are Giving North Korea a P.R. Makeover

David Wertime
On October 10, Liu Yunshan, a member of the elite Politburo Standing Committee and one of the seven most powerful men in China, paid a visit to North Korea to observe a massive parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Worker’...

Caixin Media

10.13.15

Insider Trading Is Hindering Development of Stock Market

A series of investigations into apparent market violations emerged after the recent stock market turmoil, bringing down Zhang Yujun, an assistant chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC); Cheng Boming, general manager of CITIC...

China’s AIIB and OBOR: Ambitions and Challenges

Zhiqun Zhu
Diplomat
The two ambitious projects have become an integral part of Chinese diplomacy.

Why China Doesn’t Mind Being Left Out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Allison Jackson
Global Post
In case you hadn’t heard, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a really big deal— unless you're China.

China Turns Firepower to Soft Power to Try to Win Tiny Taiwan-held Island

YIMOU LEE AND FAITH HUNG
Reuters
"In Kinmen, we can do what Taiwan can't, what Taiwan doesn't dare do."

China and Europe May Team Up to Snub TPP

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
The world's largest trade deal in recent decades may wind up creating high school-esque cliques on the international stage.

Books

10.07.15

Unmade in China

Jeremy R. Haft
If you look carefully at how things are actually made in China—from shirts to toys, apple juice to oil rigs—you see a reality that contradicts every widely-held notion about the world’s so-called economic powerhouse. From the inside looking out, China is not a manufacturing juggernaut. It’s a Lilliputian. Nor is it a killer of American jobs. It’s a huge job creator. Rising China is importing goods from America in such volume that millions of U.S. jobs are sustained through Chinese trade and investment. In Unmade in China, entrepreneur and Georgetown University business professor Jeremy R. Haft lifts the lid on the hidden world of China’s intricate supply chains. Informed by years of experience building new companies in China, Haft’s unique, insider’s view reveals a startling picture of an economy which struggles to make baby formula safely, much less a nuclear power plant. Using firm-level data and recent case studies, Unmade in China tells the story of systemic risk in Chinese manufacturing and why this is both really bad and really good news for America. —Polity Press{chop}

What Does China Think of the TPP?

Shannon Tiezzi
Diplomat
China is taking a wait-and-see approach on the U.S.-led trade deal.

Once the Biggest Buyer, China Starts Dumping U.S. Government Debt

Min Zeng and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Shift in Treasury holdings is latest symptom of emerging-market slowdown hitting global economy.

Putting the Past Behind in China

Chris Horton
New York Times
The days of China’s relying on export manufacturing and infrastructure construction as drivers of economic growth are gone.

Conversation

10.06.15

What Will the TPP Mean for China?

Barry Naughton, Arthur R. Kroeber & more
On Monday, the U.S., Japan, and ten other countries concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—the largest regional trade accord in history. If approved, the agreement will set new terms for the nearly $28 trillion in trade and...

U.S. Allies See Trans-Pacific Partnership as a Check on China

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal was welcomed as a win for the United States in its contest with China for clout in Asia.

How hard does China work?

Tom Phillips
Guardian
A look at the realities of working life in China, following Jeremy Hunt’s suggestion that Britons need to work as hard as the Chinese.

Japan's Abe Says TPP Would Have Strategic Significance If China Joined

Linda Sieg and Kaori Kaneko
Reuters
"It would contribute largely to our nation's security and Asia-Pacific regional stability, if China joined the system in the future."

China’s Middle-Class Dreams in Peril

Mark Magnier and Laurie Burkitt
Wall Street Journal
Smaller cities on the cusp of China’s transformation toward consumer-driven growth struggle to overcome ill effects of previous economic model.

Trans-Pacific Trade Deal a Setback for China

Mark Magnier and Mitsuru Obe
Wall Street Journal
TPP marks a victory for Japan and other U.S. allies in the battle with China over shaping the future of global commerce.

Are the Good Times Over for China and Africa?

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
One of the prevailing media narratives of China’s recent economic turmoil is the effect that it could have on emerging markets, particularly in Africa. Now that the Chinese economy is showing real signs of slowing, the story goes, Beijing will soon...

Troubles for the ‘China Model’

DANIEL A. BELL
Wall Street Journal
Meritocracy has worked for Beijing, but to survive, the system needs more openness.