Conversation
12.02.22![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/54426_sm2.jpg?itok=qpuCrMXD)
Jiang Zemin, 1926-2022
Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin died on Wednesday at the age of 96, shortly after anger about the zero-COVID policy had boiled over into a wave of protest last weekend. Jiang took the country through the boom years of the 1990s, a time now...
The NYRB China Archive
09.20.22![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/54366_sm.jpg?itok=4mWhP1lW)
China: Back to Authoritarianism
from New York Review of Books
Over the past decade, Xi has become a transformational figure on a par with the two other giants of Chinese Communist Party rule: Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Like them, he has reversed earlier policies, in Xi’s case the relative openness that his...
The NYRB China Archive
01.18.18![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/xi-standing-committee-sys.jpg?itok=dtCbSZDa)
The Red Emperor
from New York Review of Books
This fall, the Nineteenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.) gave proof that during his five years as general secretary Xi Jinping has become the most powerful leader of China since Mao Zedong died in 1976. Most observers, Chinese and...
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08.24.17Did Kim Jong-Un Kill His Uncle and Brother over ‘Coup Plot Involving China’?
Telegraph
Sources told the newspaper that Kim Jong-Un’s uncle, Mr. Jang Song Thaek, proposed a plot to overthrow Mr. Kim, with Beijing's assistance, and to replace him with his oldest half-brother, Kim Jong-nam.
Sinica Podcast
05.26.17![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/timesquare_china-small.jpg?itok=3lIWU5hm)
Chinese Power in the Age of Donald Trump
from Sinica Podcast
When Joseph Nye, Jr., first used the phrase “soft power” in his 1990 book Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power, China did not factor much into his calculus of world order: It had relatively little military and economic power, and...
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05.15.17Commentary: Why North Korea Is Turning into a Headache for China and Xi Jinping
Channel NewsAsia
Chinese President Xi Jinping has found himself in a peculiar predicament over the North Korean nuclear issue. Although Xi is widely believed to be far more popular as a global leader than his immediate predecessor, President Hu Jintao, he is...
Conversation
08.05.15![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/gettyimages-478350466.jpg?itok=exbBsin3)
Should the U.S. Extradite Chinese Wanted by Beijing?
This week, The New York Times reported that Chinese officials have asked the U.S. government to help in apprehending Ling Wancheng, a wealthy Chinese business man and the brother of one of the highest-level officials to have been targeted in Xi...
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08.03.15China Seeks Businessman Said to Have Fled to U.S., Further Straining Ties
New York Times
Ling Wancheng is the younger brother of Ling Jihua, who for years held a post akin to that of the White House chief of staff.
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07.20.15One-Time Aide to China’s Ex-President Accused of Corruption
CNN
Party investigators accuse Ling Jihua, 58, once aide to former President Hu Jintao, of accepting bribes and illegally obtaining party and state secrets.
Two Way Street
05.12.15![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/170170629.jpg?itok=0PJFvMvF)
Share and Be Nice
from Two Way Street
Having followed the progress of the People’s Republic of China for more than half a century, it is disquieting to now find the atmosphere between Americans and Chinese so stubbornly cool. Indeed, in certain key ways there was a greater sense of...
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03.23.15Singapore Former PM Meets with Chinese Leaders
People’s Daily Online
Pepople's Daily photo archive of the late Lee Kwan Yew's meetings with five of China's top leaders.
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10.24.14Net Closes on Ling Jihua, One-Time Top Aide to Ex-President Hu Jintao
South China Morning Post
Hu has been conspicuously silent over the investigation.
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02.08.14China Tells Spain to Prevent Tibet-Related Lawsuits
Reuters
Two Tibetan support groups and a monk with Spanish nationality brought a case in Spain against former Chinese president Jiang Zemin and ex-prime minister Li Peng in 2006 over allegations they committed genocide in Tibet.
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03.15.13China’s New President Nods To Public Concerns, But Defends Power At Top
New York Times
“I think that [Xi] is attracted to the idea of a kind of enlightened dictatorship, or neo-authoritarianism,” says magazine editor Li Weidong. “He rejects fundamental political reform, but he wants a cleaner, more efficient government that...
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02.15.13Vows of Change in China Belie Private Warning
New York Times
Xi Jinping told party insiders during a visit to Guangdong Province in December, China must still heed the “deeply profound” lessons of the former Soviet Union.
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01.28.13Xi Jinping’s Opposition to Political Reforms Laid out in Leaked Internal Speech
South China Morning Post
Beijing-based writer Gao Yu’s writing on a speech Xi Jinping made during his “southern tour” in December, suggests Xi, who blames those not “man enough” to do what had to be done to save the Soviet Communist Party from itself, has even...
Viewpoint
01.15.13![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/139108423.jpg?itok=GkgrMDXg)
Will Xi Jinping Differ from His Predecessors?
As part of our continuing series on China’s recent leadership transition, Arthur Ross Fellow Ouyang Bin sat down with political scientist Andrew Nathan, who published his latest book, China’s Search for Security, in September.In the three videos...
The NYRB China Archive
12.20.12![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/156431744.jpg?itok=4-jWs7QP)
The New Chinese Gang of Seven
from New York Review of Books
In traditional Chinese religion, a fashi, or ritual master, will recite a set of phrases to turn an ordinary space into a sacred area where the gods can descend to receive prayers and rejuvenate the community. The ceremony can last days, with breaks...
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12.04.12How Crash Cover-Up Altered China’s Succession
New York Times
The outlines of the affair surfaced months ago, but it is now becoming clearer that the crash and the botched cover-up had more momentous consequences, altering the course of the Chinese Communist Party’s once-in-a-decade...
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12.03.12Top 10 Myths About China in 2012
New Yorker
This year may prove to be a pivot point, when the myths that China and the world had adopted about the politics and economics of the People’s Republic began to erode.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.27.12Ten Ways to Investigate Transition in China
New York Times
How can students learn what kind of place China is today? The Learning Network and The New York Times gathered 10 different ways of looking at the country.
Media
11.27.12![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/565f6193gw1dz5138le6lj.jpg?itok=__ylvavZ)
Spotted on Weibo: Chinese Leaders Share a Human Moment
An active Beijing-based micro-blogger named Dongdong Wang recently tweeted this image on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter: {vertical_photo_right}At first glance, it doesn’t look like much: Outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao (left) and outgoing...
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11.20.12Why Is China Censoring a Fake Photo of its Leaders Doing 'Gangnam Style'?
Washington Post
A doctored photo of China's top officials doing a popular South Korean dance went viral 'til Chinese censors pulled it down.
Viewpoint
11.14.12![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/155749552.jpg?itok=QwamlvC3)
Are You Happier Than You Were Ten Years Ago?
“Many Chinese feel that they have not participated in the economic benefits of an economy that has been growing very rapidly,” says Michael Evans, a vice chairman of the Goldman Sachs Group and head of growth markets for the Wall Street...
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11.11.12China, at Party Congress, Touts its Cultural Advances
New York Times
Party guidance is the "soul” of China's moves to privitize and promote industries that can spread soft power abroad.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.08.12Party Report Suggests Old Guard is Strong
China Media Project
My preliminary conclusion: conservative forces within the Party are still very powerful. According to the line marked out by the political report to the 18th National Congress, there is very little prospect that substantive moves will be made on...
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11.08.12On Way Out, China’s Leader Offers Praise for the Status Quo
New York Times
Capping 10 careful years at the helm of the Communist Party, China’s top leader is stepping into history with a series of rear-guard actions. The leader, Hu Jintao, 69, is scheduled to step down as the party’s general...
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11.08.12China's Communist Party Congress Opens with a Warning
Christian Science Monitor
Outgoing President Hu Jintao warned that the Communist Party faces 'collapse' if it fails to clean up corruption.
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11.08.12China Prepares for Party Congress
New York Times
Hu Jintao told party-picked that China faces a period of major change and “complicated domestic and international circumstances."
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10.21.12Many Urge China’s Next Leader to Liberalize
New York Times
After it was leaked that Xi Jinping, the man anointed to be the next Communist Party chief of China, had met in private with a well-known supporter of political liberalization, the capital’s elite began to buzz about the import of...
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10.10.12China Gets Back to Work
New York Times
After China's Golden Week holiday, a round-up of important recent stories on economy and politics.
ChinaFile Recommends
09.14.12Reading Deep Red
China Media Project
On the question of political reform, there is one important terminology in particular we should remain alert to if we hope to read, between the lines as it were, the larger political climate of the 18th National Congress: the “Four Basic Principles...
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09.08.12The Ten Grave Problems Facing China
China Story
‘The Ten Grave Problems’ 十大文问题 forms the second section of a three-part feuilleton or ‘pamphlet’ (in its earlier rabble-rousing sense) by Deng Yuwen 邓聿文 titled ‘The Political Legacy of Hu-Wen’ 胡温的政治遗产. It appeared online in&...
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09.04.12Doesn’t Matter If the Ferrari Is Black or Red
Economist
Salacious rumours had started swirling on the internet within hours of the spectacular crash in March: another Ferrari in Beijing, another Chinese leader’s son. But which leader? Months later the answer appears to be emerging into view,...
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09.03.12Editor at Communist Party Mouthpiece Blasts Leaders
South China Morning Post
A senior editor of Study Times, a Communist Party mouthpiece, has launched a blistering broadside at the country's outgoing leaders, who are about to step down in a once-a-decade shake-up, accusing them of stalling long-overdue political reform...
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09.03.12China Faces New Scandal Over Crash of a Ferrari
New York Times
China’s carefully scripted leadership transition appears to have suffered another glitch: a fatal car crash involving a Ferrari, a privileged son and two women.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.16.12Black Box by the Sea
Economist
This week China’s Communist Party announced the election of the 2,270 delegates who will gather later this year in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People for the 18th National Party Congress. They will be tasked with determining a new roster of top...
Sinica Podcast
08.10.12![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/91126217.jpg?itok=jttdnEp7)
The Chairman
from Sinica Podcast
Ten years after his elevation to General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao remains almost as much of an enigma now as he was on first taking power. What do we know about the man beyond his reputation as a somewhat robotic...
Sinica Podcast
01.21.11![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/108159976.jpg?itok=ZtoAKNGj)
Hu Jintao and the Washington Summit
from Sinica Podcast
As part of our ongoing efforts to secure the hottest scoops for you, our Sinica team originally planned to storm Hu Jintao’s flight to Washington and record a live podcast with everyone’s favorite chairman during his flight across the Pacific. Sadly...
Sinica Podcast
04.26.10![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/108180617.jpg?itok=_WOcTFvr)
A Tom Friedman Exclusive
from Sinica Podcast
As you’re probably aware, earlier this month Hu Jintao hotfooted it to Washington to attend a nuclear security summit and discuss potential United Nations sanctions against Iran.While the rest of the Internet was sleeping on this story, we at Sinica...
The NYRB China Archive
11.19.09China: The Fragile Superpower
from New York Review of Books
Some China watchers believe that China’s dramatically rising prosperity will inevitably make the country more open and democratic. President Barack Obama’s highly-scripted trip this week provided little to support that claim. As The Washington Post...
The NYRB China Archive
10.10.02China’s New Rulers: What They Want
from New York Review of Books
Following are the members of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, whose election is expected in November 2002, listed by their rank according to protocol, with their main Party and future state positions. Ages are given as of...
The NYRB China Archive
09.26.02China’s New Rulers: The Path to Power
from New York Review of Books
Following are the members of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, whose election is expected in November 2002, listed by their rank according to protocol, with their main Party and future state positions. Ages are given as of...