The China NGO Project recently published the latest figures for Foreign NGO representative office registrations and temporary activity filings, including information through the end of September 2019. The pace of new registrations continues to hover around five per month, while the number of new temporary activities initiated in September showed a slight dip over July and August.
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted—and then quickly deleted—a post supporting the protests in Hong Kong. The tweet generated an immediate outcry. The Chinese Basketball Association announced it was suspending cooperation with the Rockets. The NBA issued a statement in English supporting freedom of expression, and a statement in Chinese condemning Morey. And Joseph Tsai, the billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Nets and a cofounder of the Chinese tech giant Alibaba, posted an open letter on Facebook claiming the tweet “is so damaging to the relationship with our fans in China” and that “the hurt that this incident has caused will take a long time to repair.”
Public Affairs: China—America’s most important competitor—is at a turning point. With economic growth slowing, Chinese people face inequality and uncertainty as their leaders tighten control at home and project power abroad.
NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt describes how he created a free taxi service—offering rides in exchange for illuminating conversation—to go beyond the headlines and get to know a wide range of colorful, compelling characters representative of the new China. They include folks like “Beer,” a slippery salesman who tries to sell Langfitt a used car; Rocky, a farm boy turned Shanghai lawyer; and Chen, who runs an underground Christian church and moves his family to America in search of a better, freer life.
“The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China, by Frank Langfitt,” Tom Hancock, Financial Times, (July 1, 2019)
“‘The Shanghai Free Taxi’ Delves Deep Into China’s Troubles,” Gabino Iglesias, NPR, (June 16, 2019)
Jonathan Sullivan is Director of China Programs at the University of Nottingham’s Asia Research Institute. He is Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations and co-founder of the China Soccer Observatory. He researches Chinese politics, Internet, and pop culture.
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.
In a single week in September, the two Pacific nations of Kiribati and the Solomon Islands both switched their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing, reducing the number of countries that still recognize Taiwan to 14 (and the Vatican). Growing international support for the view that Beijing controls Taiwan, a People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) foreign ministry spokesman recently said, “is unstoppable.”
China Briefing hosts a wealth of business intelligence on legal, tax, and operational issues in China from a practical perspective. Published 10 times a year, China Briefing Magazine aims to provide easily understandable, easily accessible, and up to date business information pertinent to the foreign investor in China. Founded in 1999, China Briefing enjoys a devoted following developed over a decade of providing practical technical information to business executives and investors.
Like it or not, the U.S. and China are in the process of “decoupling.” The two countries find themselves drifting dangerously back into a state of growing distrust, and even antagonism. Both sides have their narratives and grievances that prevent them from being able to engage in the kind of flexible “give a little and get a little” diplomacy that might arrest the downward spiral.
