Viewpoint
01.31.18
The U.K. Needs to Rethink Its Engagement with China
As British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives in Beijing today, where is the U.K.’s relationship with China heading? Despite a complex history, U.K.-China relations have remained a relative bright spot in China’s engagement with the West in recent...
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01.30.18China’s Retired Anti-Graft Tsar Wang Qishan Holds on to Top Legislature Spot to Stay in the Political Game
South China Morning Post
Wang is set to take on the vice-presidency but his power will depend on what Xi Jinping needs him to do, analyst says.
ChinaFile Recommends
01.26.18‘Globalism with Chinese Characteristics’ Is on Display in Davos. but It's Not Everything It Seems
CNBC
President Xi Jinping wasn't present at this year's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, but the impact of his speech championing globalization at last year's gathering lingered.
Conversation
01.24.18
Is China Really a ‘Threat’ to the U.S.?
In a move presaging tougher policies towards China, the Department of Defense’s National Defense Strategy announced that the “revisionist powers” China and Russia are the “central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security.” And on January 22, Donald...
Viewpoint
01.19.18
China’s Leaders Are Poised to Strike a Blow to Its Legal System
President Xi Jinping has escalated China’s war on corruption with a proposed new law that would expand the reach of the Party in an unprecedented manner. Under current law, two formally separate entities deal with cases of corruption: A Party...
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01.19.18China to Enshrine Xi's Thought into State Constitution Amid National 'Fervor'
Reuters
China’s ruling Communist Party will enshrine President Xi Jinping’s political thought into the country’s constitution, state media said on Friday, further solidifying his power following its addition last year to the party constitution.
Infographics
01.19.18
China According to Trump
Keeping up with the Trump administration’s statements on China and U.S.-China relations can be hard work. ChinaFile has just made it easier. Our new interactive database contains a growing collection of quotations from the President and senior...
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01.18.18How China’s Military Is Girding for Battle, and What It Means for Neighbours
South China Morning Post
Wei Shiji “died instantly” while trying to defuse a landmine in a dense forest in China’s Fujian province this month, while two comrades, Li Shoushun and Liu Shangdong, “survived the war”.
The NYRB China Archive
01.18.18
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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01.16.18Xi Jinping Calls on Donald Trump to Revive Economic Dialogue Programme
South China Morning Post
The call comes as Washington ramps up talk of taking tough action against Beijing, including punitive tariffs, sanctions and even a trade war.
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01.11.18China’s inexorable rise is helped by Trump’s retreat
Washington Post
The first stop on French President Emmanuel Macron's trip to China this week was, curiously, not Beijing.
Conversation
01.10.18
Trump on China in 2018: Lover or Hater?
On December 28, 2017, Donald Trump told The New York Times “I like very much” China’s Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping, adding, “He treated me better than anybody’s ever been treated in the history of China.” In the same interview, Trump also...
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01.08.18France’s Macron Visits China to Talk Fairer Trade and the Future
Washington Post
As French President Emmanuel Macron began his three-day visit to China on Monday, he arrived with a bold message. “Europe is back,” he said.
The NYRB China Archive
01.06.18
‘The Biggest Taboo’
from New York Review of Books
One of China’s most influential artists is forty-eight-year-old Qiu Zhijie. A native of southern China’s Fujian province, Qiu studied art in the eastern city of Hangzhou before moving to Beijing in 1994 to pursue a career as a contemporary artist...
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01.04.18Http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/Macron-Heading-China-Strengthen-Economic-Ties-52133070
ABC
French President Emmanuel Macron will head to China next week to strengthen commercial ties with the world's second-largest economy.
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12.27.17China to Look at Changing Its Constitution
Financial Times
China’s Communist party will meet next month to deliberate revisions to the country’s state constitution that would mark the document’s first amendments since 2004.
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12.21.17Donald Trump 'Ignores Facts': Chinese Military Hits Back at Claim It Is Trying to Challenge US Interests
South China Morning Post
The Chinese military has rejected US President Donald Trump’s accusation that it is a challenge to American’s national security, according to a statement released late on Wednesday night.
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12.20.17China to USA: 'Stop Deliberately Distorting' Our Global Strategy
CNBC
China hit back at the U.S. after it branded the East Asian giant a competitor, accusing it of distorting the country's intentions and adopting a "Cold War" mentality.
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12.20.17China Shrugs off Debt Worries as Xi Takes Firmer Economic Grip
New York Times
It’s Xi Jinping’s economy now, and he isn’t too worried about debt.
Conversation
12.19.17
Trump’s National Security Strategy and China
On December 18, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced the United States’ new national security strategy. He called China a “strategic competitor,” and, along with Russia, called it a “revisionist power.” Those two nations, Trump said, are...
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12.14.17Xi Jinping Says War Must Never Be Allowed on Korean Peninsula as South's President Tries to Mend Relations on Visit to China
South China Morning Post
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that wars on the Korean peninsula are never acceptable, adding that China would continue to support dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang.
Conversation
12.13.17
Is Chinese Investment Good for Workers?
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a $1 trillion plan to deepen economic relations between itself and up to 60 other countries worldwide through large investments in infrastructure, construction, and other projects. Many commentators have...
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12.13.17China Marks Nanking Massacre's 80th Anniversary
ABC
Chinese officials struck a tempered tone on the 80th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre on Wednesday, saying China would “look forward” and deepen friendship with its neighbor Japan despite historical misgivings.
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12.06.17Trump Wasn’t Soft with Xi Jinping on Trade Gap, Says US Ambassador to China
CNBC
The U.S. ambassador to China has defended President Donald Trump’s stance towards the Asian nation during his recent visit, amid criticism that the U.S president was too soft on trade imbalances between the two superpowers.
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12.04.17China Gets 300 Political Parties to Endorse Xi as Peacemaker
Bloomberg
The signatures of almost 300 foreign political leaders on a document praising Chinese President Xi Jinping’s contribution to world peace has provided him valuable ammunition to counter arguments by those who fear the country’s rising international...
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12.01.17China Sends Its Top Actors and Directors Back to Socialism School
Washington Post
Culture is the soul of the nation, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared in a key speech last month. And like Chairman Mao Zedong before him, Xi believes that Chinese culture must serve socialism and the Communist Party.
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12.01.17'North Korea Is the Biggest Threat to All Humankind.' U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad Talks to TIME
Time
Tucked between northeastern Beijing’s third and fourth ring-roads, the U.S. Embassy in China is a squat complex of silver-gray buildings, with the ambassador’s office on the fourth floor.
11.30.17
Social Organizations and the 19th Party Congress
Neither the 19th Party Congress political report (issued in October 2017) nor the 18th Party Congress political report (issued in November 2012) actually use the term “non-governmental organization” (非政府组织), nor do they specifically address...
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11.29.17Trump Pledges New Wave of 'Major Sanctions' on North Korea After Call with China's Xi
Washington Post
President Trump pledged Wednesday that “additional major sanctions” would be imposed on North Korea after Pyongyang's latest intercontinental missile test. Trump’s statement followed a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping,...
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11.29.17In China, Fears That New Anticorruption Agency Will Be Above the Law
New York Times
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is pushing to establish a new anticorruption agency with sweeping powers to sidestep the courts and lock up anyone on the government payroll for months without access to a lawyer — a plan that has met surprisingly vocal...
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11.28.17Obama to Meet with Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi on Visits to China, India and France
Washington Post
The tour comes just two weeks after President Trump held a summit with Xi in Beijing and days after Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, a White House adviser, participated in a global economic summit in Hyderabad, India.
Conversation
11.27.17
What Does Mugabe’s Resignation Mean for China?
On November 15, soldiers placed the 93-year-old Robert Mugabe under house arrest. Mugabe had ruled Zimbabwe since the country gained independence in 1980. On November 21, he resigned after 37 years in power. China, Zimbabwe’s largest foreign...
Viewpoint
11.22.17
The Accomplice in Chief
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump declared victory following his 12-day Asia trip. On the campaign trail, Trump had repeatedly promised to stop making nice with his country’s adversaries; now, thanks to his efforts, he proclaimed, “America is...
Viewpoint
11.17.17
China and the United States Are Equals. Now What?
Donald Trump’s Asia trip was historic in one respect: it belatedly focused American attention on the competition between the United States and China for global primacy. China has risen, the era of uncontested American leadership has ended, and any...
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11.17.17Trump's First Asia-Pacific Tour: The View From Taiwan
Diplomat
What implications did Trump’s trip have for the U.S.-China-Taiwan triangle?
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11.17.17China Could Sell Trump the Brooklyn Bridge
New York Times
There is a saying — “When you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there” — and it perfectly sums up the contrast between China’s President Xi Jinping and President Trump.
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11.17.17"A Man Who Makes Things Happen": Chinese State Media's 8,000-Word Profile on Xi Jinping
Quartz
Chinese president Xi Jinping officially became the most powerful leader in China since Mao Zedong at a recently concluded Communist Party congress. Now, you can read all about why Xi is so great in a lengthy profile published today...
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11.16.17Donald Trump Tells UCLA Trio to Thank Xi Jinping for Releasing Them from China
South China Morning Post
US President Donald Trump has exhorted three suspended UCLA basketball players to thank Chinese President Xi Jinping for their freedom following a shoplifting incident while they were in China.
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11.16.17Donald Trump Tells UCLA Trio to Thank Xi Jinping for Releasing Them from China
South China Morning Post
U.S. President Donald Trump has exhorted three suspended UCLA basketball players to thank Chinese President Xi Jinping for their freedom following a shoplifting incident while they were in China.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.16.17China Appears to Have Crossed Trump on North Korea
Business Insider
After a 12-day trip to Asia in which President Donald Trump stressed his friendship and mutual understanding with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing appears to have crossed Trump on a key issue: North Korea.
Media
11.15.17
What Happened When Trump Met Xi?
An edited transcript of “ChinaFile Presents: What Happened When Trump Met Xi?” a discussion of Donald Trump’s five-country trip to Asia with Daniel Russel, Bonnie Glaser, and Orville Schell, moderated by Susan Jakes. The panel took place at Asia...
Conversation
11.14.17
Was the Trump-Xi Summit in Beijing a Hit or a Miss?
On November 8 and 9, Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping and Donald Trump held their first Beijing-based summit, a year after Trump’s surprise victory and just weeks after the predictable announcement Xi would serve a second term. During the visit...
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11.13.17Behind the Scenes, Communist Strategist Presses China’s Rise
New York Times
He was a brilliant student during the dark days of China’s Cultural Revolution. He visited America, and left unimpressed with democracy. Plucked from academia, he climbed the ladder of Beijing’s brutal politics.
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11.13.17Trump Humbled in China as Beijing Visit Underlines the New World Order in Asia
South China Morning Post
Of the stops on Donald Trump’s five-country trip to Asia, the one that stands out is Beijing. After all, China is considered America’s biggest regional rival, and often the object of the president’s non-stop tirades.
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11.10.17The Diplomatic Dishes China Picked to Keep Donald Trump Happy at a State Banquet
South China Morning Post
Safety-first menu for big set piece dinner shows Beijing was taking no risks when hosting a man who is not known for his adventurous palate
Viewpoint
11.10.17
Bathed in the Xi Jinping Bromance
Sitting in a grand salon of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square and awaiting the official arrival ceremony of President Trump was to be taken back to that period of Sino-Soviet amity when Stalin was Mao’s “big brother” and the Chinese...
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11.10.17Trump's Visit to China Provides a Propaganda Bonanza
New York Times
#TrumpHasArrived! The Chinese news media broke out the hashtags this week as soon as Air Force One landed in Beijing, delivering both President Trump and an irresistible propaganda opportunity for President Xi Jinping of China.
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11.10.17While We Obsess over Trump, China Is Making History
Washington Post
While news and analysis in the United States continue to be obsessed with President Trump’s daily antics and insults, halfway around the world, something truly historic just happened
ChinaFile Recommends
11.09.17Donald Trump and Xi Jinping's Grand Gestures Can't Paper over Diplomatic Divide
South China Morning Post
China and the United States announced a record-breaking “gift pack” of a quarter of a trillion US dollars worth of business deals as the presidents of the two nations wrapped up their talks on Thursday.
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11.09.17Trump Touts 'Great Chemistry' with China's Xi as Leaders Agree to Closer Ties
NPR
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping say they have agreed to work together on the denuclearization of North Korea and closer cooperation on trade.
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11.09.17Trump Is Ceding Global Leadership to China
New York Times
Amid the pomp that President Xi Jinping of China is bestowing upon his visiting American counterpart, President Trump, it’s hard not to see two leaders — and two countries — heading in very different directions.
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11.08.17China’s Xi Fetes Trump on First Day of Beijing Trip
Reuters
With lavish pageantry and an uncharacteristic personal flourish, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday rolled out a red carpet welcome for U.S President Donald Trump at the Forbidden City, the ancient home of China’s emperors.
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11.08.17Trump, in China, Seeks Help Over a Nuclear North Korea
New York Times
President Trump arrived in China on Wednesday, primed to ask his host, President Xi Jinping, to step up Chinese pressure on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. But Mr. Trump’s latest foray into personal diplomacy may end in...
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11.08.17Trump’s Granddaughter Plays Diplomat Once More as She Sings for ‘Grandpa’ Xi Jinping
South China Morning Post
She might be only five years old, but Arabella Kushner played her diplomatic role perfectly again on Wednesday as she helped ease the interaction between two of the world’s most powerful men – Chinese President Xi Jinping and her grandfather, Donald.
Viewpoint
11.08.17
Will Trump’s ‘Flattery Machine’ Work on Xi Jinping?
Before winging off to Beijing, Trump managed to convince his staff and Korean President Moon to take him to the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Many of his aides were said to have been wary about the idea, fearing he might make some kind of provocative...
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11.07.17Big Stakes in Beijing: A Triumphant Xi vs. A Chastised Trump
Washington Post
When China rolls out the red carpet for Donald Trump, the grandeur of its welcome for the larger-than-life American president will mask a sobering reality.
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11.07.17Wooing Trump, Xi Jinping Seeks Great Power Status for China
New York Times
Chinese leaders have long sought to present themselves as equals to American presidents. Xi Jinping has wanted something more: a special relationship that sets China apart, as the other great power in an emerging bipolar world.
Viewpoint
11.06.17
On the Road with Trump in Asia: Day One, Tokyo
Many are fearful that Xi Jinping’s ability to awe his visitors with over-the-top manifestations of pomp and ceremony will turn Donald Trump to Jell-o. But having watched Trump arrive in Japan yesterday on the first leg of his five-country trip, it’s...
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11.03.17China and Vietnam, Best ‘Frenemies’ Forever
Forbes
You know those boyfriend-girlfriend relationships that break up, get back together, and break up again? Maybe the two viscerally don’t get along but need each other for some indispensable reason. That pattern describes ties between China and Vietnam...
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11.03.17China Disputes Trump’s Claim of Flood of Chinese Fentanyl into US
South China Morning Post
Beijing says there is not enough evidence to support allegations that most of the illicit drug involved in the epidemic is made on its soil.