ChinaFile Recommends
07.12.16Beetle Is Named in Honor of Xi Jinping, But China Aims To Squash The News
New York Times
China censors the beetle that “fights corruption” like President Xi Jinping....
Conversation
06.24.16
Is Europe Prepared to Deal with the China Challenge?
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a grand tour of the western end of the “New Silk Road,” in visits to Serbia and Poland this week before he returns to Beijing via Uzbekistan, a more eastern outpost on China’s expanding 21st Century trade route. Xi...
ChinaFile Recommends
06.24.16The British Brexit Vote Is Awful News for China
Quartz
Behind Xi’s opposition to the UK leaving is China’s difficult trade situation with the European Union.
Sinica Podcast
06.20.16
Arthur Kroeber vs. the Conventional Wisdom
In this episode of Sinica, we present an in-depth interview with Arthur Kroeber, the founding partner and head of research for Gavekal Dragonomics, an independent global economic research firm, and the editor-in-chief of its journal, China Economic...
Viewpoint
05.26.16
China and the End of Reform
Is the Chinese Communist Party putting an end to the decades-long process of China’s opening to the outside world? Is the era of liberal reform over? Consider the latest piece of evidence: on April 28, the Standing Committee of the National People’s...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.26.16China's 'Feud' over Economic Reform Reveals Depth of Xi Jinping's Secret State
Guardian
Speculation is rife that Xi wants to curb debt-fuelled growth before it destroys the economy and oust premier Li Keqiang.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.25.16China’s Leader Wears Many Hats, but Only One Jacket
New York Times
Of the many mysteries about China’s president, the most evident may be the navy blue, zippered windbreaker that he wears like a second skin.
Viewpoint
05.24.16
“It’s Time for Us To Set a New Political Agenda for Hong Kong”
Last month, midway through a whirlwind tour of United States universities, Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong took a break for a crab cake and mac-and-cheese lunch at a Manhattan brasserie. Wong, 19, came to international prominence during the...
Media
05.12.16
The End of China’s Economic Miracle? A Discussion with ‘Financial Times’ Writers
On April 20, 2016, a panel of Financial Times correspondents and editors with China experience, joined by financier and occasional FT columnist George Soros, discussed rural-to-urban migration, wage growth, real estate ups and downs, the increasing...
The NYRB China Archive
05.12.16
Who Is Xi?
from New York Review of Books
More than halfway through his five-year term as president of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party—expected to be the first of at least two—Xi Jinping’s widening crackdown on civil society and promotion of a cult of personality...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.10.16China's Xi Congratulates North Korea's Kim on New Title
Associated Press
Xi Congratulates Kim Jong Un on being chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, underscoring traditional ties between the communist neighbors despite recent strains.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.04.16China's Xi Jinping Denies House of Cards Power Struggle but Attacks 'Conspirators'
Guardian
Chinese president warns of ‘cabals and cliques’ within Communist party and promises ‘resolute response to eliminate the problem.'
ChinaFile Recommends
05.03.16'Big Daddy Xi' No More? Chinese President's Nickname Nixed
Guardian
Propaganda officials warn state media off using moniker after push to portray leader as man of the people appears to backfire.
Conversation
05.01.16
Xi Jinping’s New Military Position
Late last week, China’s news media were filled with images of President and Party General Secretary Xi Jinping touring the joint battle command center of the Central Military Commission, dressed for the occasion in combat fatigues. The occasion for...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.26.16President Xi Jinping’s Most Dangerous Venture Yet: Remaking China’s Military
Wall Street Journal
The Chinese leader’s plan to revamp the armed forces, a milestone in the nation’s emergence from isolationism, faces hurdles at home.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.21.16China's Xi Jinping Takes Commander in Chief Military Title
BBC
Correspondents say that the move will be interpreted by some as a propaganda message that he is now in absolute control.
Conversation
04.19.16
Fifty Years Later, How Is the Cultural Revolution Still Present in Life in China?
Fifty years ago this May 16, Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a chaotic, terrifying, and often deadly decade-long campaign to “purify” C.C.P. ideology and reassert his political dominance...
Books
04.18.16

China’s Future
China’s future arguably is the most consequential question in global affairs. Having enjoyed unprecedented levels of growth, China is at a critical juncture in the development of its economy, society, polity, national security, and international relations. The direction the nation takes at this turning point will determine whether it stalls or continues to develop and prosper.Will China be successful in implementing a new wave of transformational reforms that could last decades and make it the world’s leading superpower? Or will its leaders shy away from the drastic changes required because the regime’s power is at risk? If so, will that lead to prolonged stagnation or even regime collapse? Might China move down a more liberal or even democratic path? Or will China instead emerge as a hard, authoritarian, and aggressive superstate?In this new book, David Shambaugh argues that these potential pathways are all possibilities—but they depend on key decisions yet to be made by China’s leaders, different pressures from within Chinese society, as well as actions taken by other nations. Assessing these scenarios and their implications, he offers a thoughtful and clear study of China’s future for all those seeking to understand the country’s likely trajectory over the coming decade and beyond. —Polity Press{chop}
ChinaFile Recommends
04.07.16China Steps up Panama Papers Censorship after Leaders' Relatives Named
Guardian
It's dangerous for higher leaders regarding internal party credibility as much as the broader public.
Conversation
04.06.16
China in the Panama Papers
The overseas wealth of several relatives of senior Chinese leaders has come to light in an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) report, part of the analysis by a group of media outlets of more than 11 million documents leaked...
The NYRB China Archive
04.04.16
Crackdown in China: Worse and Worse
from New York Review of Books
“As a liberal, I no longer feel I have a future in China,” a prominent Chinese think tank head in the process of moving abroad recently lamented in private. Such refrains are all too familiar these days as educated Chinese professionals express...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.25.16China ‘Detained 20 over Xi Resignation Letter’
BBC
The letter focuses on what it says is Xi's “gathering of all power” in his own hands and restrictions on freedom of speech.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.25.16Chinese Activist in N.Y. Says Beijing Officials 'Abducted' His Parents and Brother
Los Angeles Times
An influential Communist Party critic with more than 220,000 Twitter followers said authorities detained his family in Guangdong.
Features
03.21.16
A Thousand Yes-Men Cannot Equal One Honest Advisor
Several cadre leaders have been punished for breaking the law, and nearly all of them have said: There isn’t enough internal supervision and no one warned me; if there’d been someone there whispering in my ear, I wouldn’t have committed such grave...
Conversation
03.21.16
Cracks in Xi Jinping’s Fortress?
Two remarkable documents emerged from China last week—the essay “A Thousand Yes-Men Cannot Equal One Honest Advisor,” which appeared on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and an open letter calling for Xi Jinping’s...
Sinica Podcast
03.16.16
Everything Old is New Again
from Sinica Podcast
Members of the Politburo are rarely praised for their dancing skills, but consider Xi Jinping’s almost flawless execution of the political two-step: first casting himself as the voice of liberal moderation in the face of Bo Xilai’s mass propaganda,...
Media
03.15.16
Taiwan’s New Direction
from Asia Blog
In January, Taiwan’s voters handed the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a landslide victory, giving it control of both the parliament and presidency for the first time ever. The victory came at the expense of the...
Conversation
03.15.16
What’s Driving the Current Storm of Chinese Censorship?
The latest lightning flashes on China’s shifting media horizon this month took the form of the banishment from social media of a real estate tycoon who voiced support for constructive criticism, the firing of an editor at a newspaper that appeared...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.07.16In Xi Jinping’s Tears, a Message for China’s People
New York Times
It’s all right to cry, even when you’re the leader of the world’s most populous nation.
Media
03.04.16
China’s Coming Ideological Wars
For most Chinese, the 1990s were a period of intense material pragmatism. Economic development was the paramount social and political concern, while the various state ideologies that had guided policy during the initial decades of the People’s...
Conversation
03.04.16
Xi Jinping: A Cult of Personality?
By some accounts, Chinese Presdient Xi Jinping is the most powerful leader the country has had since Mao Zedong. One arrow in his quiver that echoes Mao’s armory is Xi’s embrace of popular song, listened to these days not on the radio or...
ChinaFile Recommends
03.03.16China’s Xi Jinping Puts Loyalty to the Test at Congress
Wall Street Journal
President focuses on party discipline, as corruption crackdown has unsettled Chinese officials.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.24.16From Xi to Shining Xi: China's Propaganda Machine Goes into Overdrive
CNN
Cringeworthy poems, viral videos and animated raps—some of the tools President Xi uses in guiding media coverage.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.24.16A Misty-Eyed Ode to China's Leader from a Deputy Editor
BBC
A poem written by deputy editor at Xinhua in tribute to President Xi has gone viral, although that should not be taken as a sign of literary merits.
Conversation
02.23.16
How Long Can China’s Internet Thrive if the Rest of the World Gets Shut Out?
Last week, Chinese authorities announced that as of March 10, foreign-invested companies would not be allowed to publish anything on the Chinese Internet unless they have obtained government permission to publish with a Chinese partner. What does...
Conversation
02.18.16
‘Rule by Fear?’
In the just over three years since Xi Jinping assumed leadership of China, observers and scholars of the country have increasingly coalesced around the idea that Xi’s term in office has coincided with a shift in the tone, if not the practice, of...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.16.16How Xi Jinping Sees the World ... and Why
Brookings Institution
Large national transformations are more often the product of historical forces than the writ of one powerful leader.
Conversation
02.09.16
What New Approach Should the U.S. and China Take to North Korea?
On Sunday, North Korea launched a long range rocket many see as a test of its capability to launch a missile attack against the U.S., defying both American and Chinese pressure not do so. Republican U.S. presidential candidates argued Washington...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.04.16Xi Jinping Assuming New Status as China’s ‘Core’ Leader
New York Times
A new push to praise him as China’s “core” leader, a term resonant with the formidable stature once held by Deng Xiaoping, suggests that his steely quest for dominance is not over.
Caixin Media
02.01.16
Tough Times call for Tougher Reform Push
Beijing has has done a good job in terms of industrializing the country but will face unprecedented challenges when dealing with a service-driven economy.
Reports
02.01.16
Xi Jinping on the Global Stage
Council on Foreign Relations
Xi Jinping is the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, and with his sweeping actions and ambitious directives he has fundamentally altered the process by which China’s domestic and foreign policy is formulated and implemented. Xi’s...
Media
01.29.16
‘The New Yorker’ on China
Following is an edited transcript of a live event hosted at Asia Society New York on December 17, 2015, “ChinaFile Presents: The New Yorker On China.” (The full video appears above.) The evening, introduced by Asia Society President Josette Sheeran...
The China Africa Project
01.19.16
Africa Feels the Chill of China’s Cooling Economy
It hasn’t even been a month since Chinese president Xi Jinping was in South Africa for the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) confab where he unveiled a massive $60 billion financial package. Oh how those were innocent, halcyon days...
Media
01.07.16
Assessing China’s Plan to Build Internet Power
When the Chinese Communist Party targeted clean energy in its 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010), the resulting investment spree upended the global clean energy market almost overnight. Now, as China approaches its 13th Five Year Plan, a new policy...
Conversation
01.06.16
The North Korean Bomb Test—What's Next?
On Wednesday, North Korea claimed that it had tested a hydrogen bomb, bringing to four the number of nuclear weapons it has set off on its own territory since 2006. The act drew international condemnation, prompting us to ask: What’s different this...
Media
01.05.16
China’s Top 5 Censored Posts in 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping rounded off 2015 by posting his first message on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, in the form of a new year’s greeting to the People’s Liberation Army. His post received 52,000 comments, mostly fawning messages of...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.25.15China and Russia’s Orwellian attacks on Internet freedom
Washington Post
Xi Jinping’s recent speech suggests that China won’t give up nudging global Internet governance toward the “sovereignty” model.
Conversation
12.23.15
China in 2016
What should China watchers be watching most closely in China in 2016? What developments would be the most meaningful? What predictions can be made sensibly?
ChinaFile Recommends
12.17.15Will China’s Censorship Spread?
Wall Street Journal
Since last year, China has been promoting its notion of ‘Internet sovereignty’ for global Internet governance.
The China Africa Project
12.16.15
‘China is Doing More to Protect Elephants than Africa [Is]’
For the first time in years, there is positive news to report in the fight to save Africa’s elephants from extinction. A new study by Save the Elephants revealed that the price of ivory in China has halved over the past 18 months, indicating that...
The China Africa Project
12.08.15
FOCAC 6: A China-Africa Lovefest
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit concluded in Johannesburg on December 5 amid an almost giddy atmosphere. All sides in this relationship seemingly walked away with more than what they had anticipated.Africa provided a welcome...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.07.15Xi Jinping 'Resigns', According To Typo In Chinese State Media Report
Guardian
Four Chinese journalists have been suspended after inadvertently – and incorrectly – announcing the resignation of president.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.04.15Notes on the China I’m Leaving Behind
New York Times
I GOT together at a restaurant the other night with some Chinese and expatriate friends.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.04.15How China’s Anti-Corruption Drive Is Hurting Growth
CNBC
Chinese authorities' anti-corruption campaign has knocked between 1 percent and 1.5 percent off the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
The China Africa Project
12.02.15
Terrorism Forces its Way onto the China-Africa Agenda
Terrorism and security issues will likely move close to the top of the agenda when Xi Jinping meets with 50+ African counterparts at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit. China’s vulnerability to terrorism was brazenly exposed when ISIS...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.02.15China’s Plan: First Manchester City, Then Hosting And Winning The World Cup
Guardian
Chinese consortium thinks involvement will benefit nation’s football.
ChinaFile Recommends
12.02.15China Calls Hacking of U.S. Workers’ Data a Crime, Not a State Act
New York Times
China has acknowledged that the breach of the United States Office of Personnel Management’s computer systems was the work of Chinese hackers.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.25.15China Set to Pledge More Aid to Africa Ahead of Xi's Trip
Reuters
China is set to announce new aid to African nations when President Xi Jinping visits Zimbabwe and South Africa next month.
Conversation
11.24.15
The China Africa Relationship: Crossroads or Cliff?
As we approach the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Johannesburg, we try better to understand the main issues that surely will arise when Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma meet on December 4...