China’s Latest Ally in Its Crackdown on Religion: The Pope

Zheping Huang
Quartz
This week, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Pope Francis missed each other on their back-to-back visits to the United States.

China Says Arrests Two Japanese for Spying

Linda Sieg and Kaori Kaneko
Reuters
Japan's Asahi newspaper said one man was taken into custody in China's northeast province of Liaoning near the border with North Korea and the other in the eastern province of Zhejiang near a military facility.

On U.S. Visit, China’s Xi Jinping Tries to Have It Both Ways

ANDREW BROWNE
WSJ: China Real Time Report
Xi Jinping often seemed caught between two audiences—his skeptical hosts who needed gentle reassurance and the crowd back home who admire his firm rule and tough nationalism.

China's Xi Says To Prioritize Energy Cooperation With Iran

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
"(We) must prioritize energy and financial cooperation."

Media

09.28.15

What’s China’s Mood Under Xi? New Data Gives a Glimpse

David Wertime
China, under the presidency of Xi Jinping, has invited a number of breathless pronouncements about the state of the country. Chinese media regularly conjure the “Chinese Dream,” one of Xi’s favored phrases, which means whatever readers want it to...

Caixin Media

09.28.15

Xi and Obama Should Make a BIT Breakthrough

President Xi Jinping has begun his first state visit to the United States to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in what state councilor and former foreign minister Yang Jiechi has called “a pivotal meeting at a critical time.”Xi arrived in the United...

China Angered By Hillary Clinton Tweet on Women's Rights

Tessa Wong
BBC
China has reacted furiously at Hillary Clinton's recent comments about China's record on women's rights.

Six Questions for Chinese President Xi Jinping

Steven Mufson
Washington Post
Chinese President Xi Jinping does not usually conduct open news conferences, but when in America, do as the Americans do.

China’s First Lady Tones Down Star Power

LAURIE BURKITT And TE-PING CHEN
Wall Street Journal
On U.S. visit, Peng Liyuan must balance charity pursuits to not steal focus from Xi.

Obama, the Pope, and the President of China Are Teaming Up to Save the World

James West
Mother Jones
Something big and strange is happening in the United States this week.

Enacting Cap-and-Trade Will Present Challenges Under China’s System

CHRIS BUCKLEY
New York Times
White House officials have lauded President Xi Jinping's anticipated promise of a national market for China in greenhouse gas quotas.

Cultural Revolution Shaped Xi Jinping, From Schoolboy to Survivor

CHRIS BUCKLEY and DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
New York Times
When the pandemonium of the Cultural Revolution erupted, he was a 13-year-old who loved classical Chinese poetry. Two years later, adrift in a city torn apart by warring Red Guards, Xi Jinping had hardened into a combative street survivor.

Cultural Revolution Shaped Xi Jinping, From Schoolboy to Survivor

CHRIS BUCKLEY and DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
New York Times
Visiting the United States this week, Mr. Xi, 62, has presented himself as a polished statesman.

Two Very Different Men Visit D.C.: China’s Leader And His Teenage Nemesis

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
Xi Jinping will get a state dinner and a 21-gun salute while Joshua Wong is in town to talk about Hong Kong’s fight for self-determination.

China Dissident's Wife Rejects Invite to State Department

MATTHEW PENNINGTON
Associated Press
The United States has warned that the toughest crackdown in years on Chinese activists threatens to cloud the high-profile visit by Xi.

Missing From The U.S.-China Tech Summit Class Photo: Uber, Google, And Women

Josh Horwitz
Quartz
Business leaders from some of the biggest global names in technology gathered in Seattle for a meeting with Xi Jinping.

China to the U.S.: Return Our Fugitives

Sophia Yan
CNN
China has launched campaigns dubbed "Operation Foxhunt" and "Operation Skynet," aimed at returning suspected criminals from abroad to stand trial at home.

China's Xi Promises Better Investment Climate, Cyber War Deal Seen

MICHAEL MARTINA, ERIC M. JOHNSON AND...
Reuters
Seeking to warm bilateral ties and project a sunny climate for U.S. business, Xi Jinping vowed to cut restrictions on foreign investment.

Conflict Flavors Obama’s Meeting With Chinese Leader

David Sanger and Julie Hirschfeld Davis
New York Times
This week’s meeting between President Obama and Mr. Xi is fraught with points of conflict, and its unspoken subtext is whether the president will confront the Chinese directly, deliberately causing friction in the relationship in hopes of drawing...

Why Tibet Could Be the Best Opportunity for Xi Jinping

Matteo Mecacci and Bhuchung Tsering
Huffington Post
The state visit is a growing alarm about China's less than peaceful rise, and provides a rare opportunity for Obama to give an important message on Tibet.

Rights Protesters, China Supporters Greet President Xi in Seattle

Reuters
About 100 people protesting against human rights abuses in China greeted President Xi Jinping in Seattle.

China's Xi Tells Foreign NGOs to Obey the Law

Agence France-Presse
Foreign organisations in China should "obey Chinese law".

He Said What? China's Xi Jinping Makes 'House of Cards' Joke

Andrew Stevens
CNN
Xi Jinping did something unusual, almost unheard of, for a Chinese President: He cracked a joke. In public.

Conversation

09.22.15

Xi Jinping’s Message to America

Taisu Zhang, Graham Webster & more
China’s President Xi Jinping addressed an audience of more than 700 American businesspeople in Seattle on Tuesday evening on the first stop on his first state visit to the United States. Regular ChinaFile Contributors who watched the speech offer...

Conversation

09.22.15

Can the U.S. & China Make Peace in Cyberspace?

Charlie Smith, Rogier Creemers & more
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the United States today on his first state visit. Xi will address a group of American business leadersin Seattle. High on their list of concerns about trade with China is cyber hacking, cyber espionage and...

U.S. to China: Quit Cyber Spying

Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton
Reuters
Xi said China's government does not engage in the theft of commercial secrets and does not support Chinese companies that do so.

Who Is Xi Jinping?

New York Times
President Xi Jinping of China is to arrive in the United States on Tuesday for a state visit at a crucial crossroads in the Sino-American relationship.

China Seeks 'New Model' for Relations with U.S.

Carrie Gracie
BBC
Despite the enormous range and complexity of the US-China relationship, it is becoming ever harder to manage. 

This Explains Why China Is Taking So Long to Reform Its Economic System

Yang Jiang
Washington Post
The new leadership is turning back to old measures to stimulate growth.

Neil Gaiman Joins Authors in Urging Chinese President to Release Jailed Writers

Alison Flood
Guardian
More than 40 authors have written to Xi Jinping, expressing ‘concern about the deteriorating state of free expression in China’.

U.S. and China Seek Arms Deal for Cyberspace

David E. Sanger
New York Times
The United States and China are secretly negotiating what could become the first arms control accord for cyberspace, embracing a commitment by each country that it will not be the first to use cyberweapons to cripple the other’s...

Western Media ‘Welcome’ in China, Xi Tells Murdoch

Agence France-Presse
South China Morning Post
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Rupert Murdoch that Western media organisations are “welcome” in China, despite the continued blocking of numerous foreign websites for their reporting on the country. “(We) welcome foreign media and...

Xi Goes to Washington: 4 Problems for the U.S. and China

Charles Riley
CNN
Already, there's drama, drama, drama.

Chinese State Visits Are Always Hard: A Historical Perspective

Jeffrey A. Bader
Brookings Institution
Visits to Washington always seem to come at uniquely difficult times.

Conversation

09.16.15

What Would New Breakthroughs on Climate Change Mean for the U.S.-China Relationship?

Junjie Zhang, Joanna Lewis & more
With just over a week to go before Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his first State Visit to the United States, there is much evidence to suggest that bilateral action to fight climate change is an area most ripe for meaningful Sino-U.S...

The Missing Piece of US-China Relations: Trust

Michael Tai
Diplomat
“U.S. antipathy to China is rooted in angst about its rise and the prospect of American decline.”

Obama and China: Trying to Play Well With A Close Frenemy

David Nakamura
Washington Post
Obama plans to welcome Xi with the highest level of diplomatic pageantry for a foreign leader.

U.S. Won’t Impose Sanctions on Chinese Companies Before Xi Visit

Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post
Senior U.S. and Chinese officials reached “substantial agreement” on several cybersecurity issues.

China Frees Activist Academic Before Xi Trip to United States

SUI-LEE WEE
Reuters
Guo Yushan, founder of a think-tank that did research on business regulations, reform and civil society is released recently.

Conversation

09.08.15

Advice for Xi Jinping

Nathan Gardels, Daniel H. Rosen & more
Later this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Washington for a state visit with President Obama. This week, a group of China experts from America traveled to Beijing to offer their advice to Chinese officials on how to conduct the...

Caixin Media

09.08.15

Amnesty As a Stepping Stone to Rule of Law

A recent amnesty declaration affecting convicted criminals deemed no threat to society was a poignant reminder of China’s tradition of prudent punishment, support for human rights, and progress toward of rule of law.The recent decision by the...

South Africa’s Inexplicable Love Affair with China

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
While the recent economic turmoil in China is prompting a number of African countries to reconsider their growing economic dependence on the People’s Republic of China, not so in South Africa. Both the government and the ruling African National...

Seoul to Begin Discussions with Beijing on Unification

Kang Seung-woo
Korea Times
Park Gyun-hye said that Kim Jong-un is expected to take provocative actions in the future and it is important to deter them.

Media

09.03.15

Who Is Xi Jinping? Introducing the Asia Society Podcast

Eric Fish from Asia Blog
Three years after Xi Jinping took control of China’s Communist Party and assumed the country’s leadership, he has emerged as one of the world’s most powerful people. But his tenure has also raised uncomfortable questions. Is he a reformer bent on...

China to Trim Military by 300,000

Charles Hutzler
Wall Street Journal
One of the world's largest militaries undergoes reforms to make it more effective.

Conversation

09.02.15

What Is China’s Big Parade All About?

Pamela Kyle Crossley, Richard Bernstein & more
On September 3, China will mark the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory over Japan with a massive parade involving thousands of Chinese troops and an arsenal of tanks, planes, and missiles in a tightly choreographed march across Tiananmen...

Rethinking the Obama-Xi Summit

Joseph Bosco
Diplomat
How the U.S. might use the summit for a new “new model of great power relations.”

U.S. Developing Sanctions Against China over Cyberthefts

Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post
Obama is developing unprecedented economic sanctions against Chinese who have benefited from government cybertheft of U.S. trade secrets.

For China, a Plunge and a Reckoning

Orville Schell
Wall Street Journal
Anyone trying to design an event to bring Xi Jinping’s China back to Earth couldn’t have engineered something much more elegant than the turmoil in China’s financial markets and the resulting global aftershocks. The upheaval is traumatic for China’s...

U.S., China Stress Positives Ahead of Xi Trip

Megha Rajagopalan
Reuters
The world's two largest economies have mutual interests, like trying to rein in North Korea's nuclear program, sevear deep disagreements exist.

A Mainstay of Presidential Campaigning: China-bashing

Chick Reed
CBS News
Presidential candidates Trump, Walker, Rubio, Clinton and others are making politcal hay out of pitting the U.S. against China.

Donald Trump: No State Dinner—Only Big Mac—for China’s President

Jeremy Diamond
CNN
If elected, Trump vowed to eschew the lavish dinner Xi Jinping will get in Washington from President Obama.

Scott Walker Calls on Obama to Cancel Chinese State Visit

Zeke J. Miller
Time
Amid rising tension, a Republican calls to end a diplomatic courtesy.

Japan Refuses to Take Part in China’s ‘Victory Day’ Event to Mark End of War

Justin McCurry in Tokyo and Tom...
Guardian
Shinzo Abe has decided against visiting Beijing for the event, partly to protest against China’s regional military build-up.

Features

08.20.15

Is China About to Plunge the World Into Recession?

David Wertime
On Aug. 18, China’s stock market plummeted by a vertigo-inducing 6.2 percent in one day of trading, part of a months-long decline that’s erased over $3 trillion worth of market value from the country’s equity markets. That followed last week’s...

Reports

08.18.15

The Politburo’s Predicament

Freedom House
Drawing on an analysis of hundreds of official documents, censorship directives, and human rights reports, as well as some 30 expert interviews, the study finds that the overall degree of repression has increased under the new leadership. Of 17...

Conversation

08.18.15

How Should the U.S. Conduct the Xi Jinping State Visit?

Evan A. Feigenbaum, Arthur Waldron & more
As tensions increase between China and the United States over the value of the yuan, human rights violations, alleged cyber attacks, and disputed maritime territories, among other issues, how should the Obama administration conduct the upcoming...

China: The Superpower of Mr. Xi

Roderick MacFarquhar from New York Review of Books
In the almost one-hundred-year existence of the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.), its current general secretary, Xi Jinping, is only the second leader clearly chosen by his peers. The first was Mao Zedong. Both men beat out the competition, and thus...