Pyramid Schemes Cause Huge Social Harm in China

Economist
The authorities call them “business cults”. Tens of millions of people are ensnared in these pyramid schemes that use cult-like techniques to brainwash their targets and bilk them out of their money.

China’s Plans for Creating New International Courts Are Raising Fears of Bias

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
Multi-jurisdictional dealings between Chinese entities and their emerging market counterparts can pose immense regulatory challenges, especially in the realms of financing and execution.

How WeChat Came to Rule China

Shannon Liao
Verge
China’s most popular messaging app, WeChat, has always had a close relationship with the Chinese government. The app has been subsidized by the government since its creation in 2011, and it’s an accepted reality that officials censor and monitor...

Pyramid Schemes Cause Huge Social Harm in China

The authorities call them “business cults”. Tens of millions of people are ensnared in these pyramid schemes that use cult-like techniques to brainwash their targets and bilk them out of their money.

Britain’s May Discusses Trade Barriers with China’s Xi

Erika Kinetz and Christopher Bodeen
Washington Post
British Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday she discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping the importance of removing barriers to commerce, especially for British food, drink and financial services, as the two countries move toward a future...

Conversation

02.01.18

Should Pacific Island Nations Be Wary of Chinese Influence?

Jenny Hayward-Jones, Graeme Smith & more
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s three-day visit to China, from January 31 to February 2, has amplified ongoing debates in Europe about the costs and benefits of engagement with China and of Chinese investment. Attention to China’s role in...

China Creates Nuclear Powerhouse

Wayne Ma
Wall Street Journal
China is putting two of its largest nuclear-power firms back together as it seeks to bolster its state-owned enterprises and create a corporate powerhouse that can better compete for contracts in other countries.

U.S. Firms in China Fear Fallout from Tit-For-Tat Trade War

Wendy Wu
South China Morning Post
American business group says Beijing could target sectors to send a political message across the Pacific.

How Trump’s Vulgar Comments Towards Africa Play Right into China’s Hands

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Somali-British freelance journalist Ismail Einahse joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his recent opinion column, “Trump’s Insults Will Nudge African Nations Closer To China.” The article, published on NPR.org, reflects a contentious debate going on...

Chinese Wind Turbine Firm Found Guilty of Stealing U.S. Secrets

Sherisse Pham
CNN
A top Chinese wind turbine maker has been found guilty in the U.S. of stealing trade secrets -- an act that “nearly destroyed” an American tech firm, according to prosecutors.

Online Sales of Illegal Opioids from China Surge in U.S.

Ron Nixon
New York Times
Nearly $800 million worth of fentanyl pills were illegally sold to online customers in the United States over two years by Chinese distributors who took advantage of internet anonymity and an explosive growth in e-commerce, according to a Senate...

How China Is Winning Back More Graduates from Foreign Universities Than Ever Before

Luke Kelly
Forbes
Where it was once inevitable that those who left to study at prestigious foreign universities would remain on distant shores for years, China’s graduates are now answering the call of home more than ever before -- and many are turning down lucrative...

Chinese Contractors Grab Lion’s Share of Silk Road Projects

James Kynge
Financial Times
China’s pledge to the world is that it will create a “community with a shared future for mankind”. But that sharing is no more than an afterthought as it rolls out an ambitious programme to build transport infrastructure across Eurasia, a study...

US-China Biotech Startup XtalPi Lands $15m from Google, Tencent and Sequoia

Jon Russell
TechCrunch
Google continues to increase its presence in China after it joined Sequoia China and Tencent in a $15 million investment for XtalPi, a U.S.-China biotech firm that uses artificial intelligence and computing to accelerate the development of new drugs.

China Stocks at Risk of Outpacing Fundamentals

Gabriel Wildau and Emma Dunkley
Financial Times
As the Chinese stock market’s disastrous 2015 boom-and-bust fades from memory, investors are in a mood to buy. Chinese stocks both on the mainland and in Hong Kong outperformed the S&P 500 last year, as economic growth accelerated for the...

China to Roll out Fresh Market-Opening Measures This Year, Official Says

Reuters Staff
Reuters
China will roll out fresh market-opening measures this year that could exceed “international expectations”, a top Communist Party official said in Davos on Wednesday.

China Has Plenty of Options to Retaliate against U.S. Tariffs

Bloomberg News
Bloomberg
U.S. President Donald Trump may soon get a lesson about tangling with China on trade: Beijing can punch back.

Alibaba’s Jack Ma Thinks He Knows How to Save China's ‘Left-Behind Children’ — He’s Asking Other Entrepreneurs to Buy In

Karen Gilchrist
CNBC
The founder and executive chairman of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba said that investing in rural boarding schools could provide a solution for China’s “left-behind children” and ensure a more prosperous future for the next generation.

Why China and Latin America Are Discussing Trade Now

Lucia Newman
Al Jazeera
Foreign ministers from Latin America and China are meeting in Chile for a two-day summit focusing on trade, which is becoming crucial for the growth of both.

China’s Vpn Crackdown Is about Money as Much as Censorship

Lucy Hornby
Financial Times
For years, Beijing has played a cat-and-mouse game with anyone trying to breach its Great Firewall of internet censorship. Recently, however, it has switched gears from high-tech censorship to old-fashioned shakedown, as the Ministry of Industry and...

The Island Paradise That Could Be China’s Next Strategic Transport Hub

Justina Crabtree
CNBC
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded his annual trip to Africa on Tuesday with a visit to the tiny island nation of Sao Tome and Principe, off the continent's western gulf.

China’s Sports Industry Is Allegedly Growing Faster Than the National Economy

August Rick
Forbes
The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics announced official data on the growth of China’s sport’s industry for 2016 on Saturday, showing a total output of 1.9 trillion yuan ($295 billion), and an 11.1% growth that outpaced the recovering national...

China Escalates Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Trading

Bloomberg
China is escalating its clampdown on cryptocurrency trading, targeting online platforms and mobile apps that offer exchange-like services, according to people familiar with the matter.

China Disrupts Global Companies’ Web Access as Censorship Bites

Yuan Yang and Lucy Hornby
Financial Times
Groups fear being forced to use expensive VPN software surveilled by Beijing.

China’s Shutdown of Bitcoin Miners Isn’t Just about Electricity

Sara Hsu
Forbes
The most critical aspect about cryptocurrency for China to address is criminal activity.

Google Says ‘No Changes’ to Mapping Platform in China after Report

Reuters
CNBC
Google denied a media report that claimed the tech giant was re-launching its mapping functions in China, where many of its services are blocked.

Africa Is Changing China as Much as China Is Changing Africa

Lily Kuo
Quartz
In African countries, increasingly you find Chinese people who never meant to stay as long as they have. But now, they say they can’t go home, because being in Africa has changed them.

Trump Is Reportedly Targeting China in Aggressive Trade Crackdown

Sam Meredith
CNBC
President Donald Trump will unveil plans for an aggressive trade crackdown over the coming weeks, according to a report by Politico.

France’s Macron Visits China to Talk Fairer Trade and the Future

Rick Noack and James McAuley
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.

Bitcoin Miners Are Shifting outside China amid State Clampdown

Bloomberg
As China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies broadens to bitcoin miners, some of the industry’s biggest players are shifting operations overseas.

China and the US ‘Are about to Ride a Bumpy Journey,’ State News Agency Says

Huileng Tan
CNBC
China warned of a “bumpy journey” in trade with the U.S. and “retaliatory measures” a day after Washington blocked MoneyGram's proposed sale to a financial services firm affiliated with Chinese tech giant Alibaba.

Beijing to Build $2 Billion AI Research Park: Xinhua

Reuters
Beijing is planning to build a 13.8 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) artificial intelligence development park in the city’s west, the official Xinhua news agency reported, as China pushes ahead to fulfill its ambition to become a world leader in AI by...

The China Trade War Has Already Begun: CEO Daily for January 4, 2018

Alan Murray and Tom Huddleston Jr.
Fortune
Gordon Orr, director emeritus of McKinsey and long-time China hand, wrote recently that many Chinese investors now “simply assume that they could not get approval for investment in the United States, and so won’t try.” 

Http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/Macron-Heading-China-Strengthen-Economic-Ties-52133070

Samuel Petrequin
ABC
French President Emmanuel Macron will head to China next week to strengthen commercial ties with the world's second-largest economy.

China Land Grab on Lake Baikal Raises Russian Ire

Charles Clover and Archie Zhang
Financial Times
A sleepy tourist town on the shores of Siberia’s Lake Baikal has become an unlikely lightning rod among Russian nationalists after Chinese investors bought up properties on the town’s lakefront.

Industrial Parks Are Africa’s Latest Gamble to Lure Chinese Manufacturers

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Freelance journalist William Davison joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his reporting from the Hawassa Industrial Park in Ethiopia, which is the latest high-stakes gamble taken by a number of African countries to lure Chinese manufacturers. Officials...

Geely Buys Stake in Volvo Trucks, despite China Restrictions

Sui-Lee Wee
New York Times
China’s government has made it harder to move money overseas. It has said it would punish companies for investing in certain sectors. It has told firms to report all cross-border deals.

Trump Readies Tougher ‘America First’ Line for China Trade in 2018

David J. Lynch
Washington Post
The Trump administration is setting the stage to unveil tough new trade penalties against China early next year, moving closer to an oft-promised crackdown that some U.S. business executives fear will ignite a costly battle.

Huawei's China Smartphone Sales Chief Detained on Corruption Charges

Li Tao
South China Morning Post
A senior Huawei Technologies sales executive has been arrested over suspected “non-state staff bribery”, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Copper Rallies to Three-Year High as China Plant Halts Output

Joe Deaux, Winnie Zhu and Eddie van der...
Bloomberg
Copper in London surged to the highest in almost four years after China ordered its top producer to halt output to combat winter pollution, fueling a rally this year driven by optimism about demand and supply disruptions at mines.

Behind the Fall and Rise of China's Xiaomi

David Kline
Wired
The comeback has made Xiaomi a poster child for China’s entrepreneurial dynamism.

Features

12.20.17

Pickup Artists with Chinese Characteristics

Robert Foyle Hunwick & YiChen
“If you don’t teach her a lesson, someone else will,” Fei explained during his two-hour “Sexual Assertiveness” session, concluding a week-long tutorial offered by Puamap, a team of “professional” seduction artists, marketers, and makeover men. One...

Conversation

12.19.17

Trump’s National Security Strategy and China

Zha Daojiong, Pamela Kyle Crossley & more
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...

China Plans to Kill Local Subsidies for Electric Cars

Bloomberg News
Bloomberg
The Ministry of Finance is working on a plan that would mandate authorities to phase out the incentives to discourage protectionism and help rein in state expenditure, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing...

Conversation

12.13.17

Is Chinese Investment Good for Workers?

Aaron Halegua, Yu Zheng & more
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...

Founder of China's Embattled LeEco Placed on Debt Blacklist

Engen Tham, Adam Jourdan
Reuters
The high-profile founder of struggling Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco has been placed on an official blacklist of debt defaulters, a further blow to a firm that had spent heavily to compete in areas from smart cars to online entertainment.

Google to Open Beijing AI Center in Latest Expansion in China

Shelly Banjo and David Ramli
Bloomberg
Google is deepening its push into China as it seeks an edge in one of technology’s most competitive fields: artificial intelligence.

China Telecom Picked to Become the Philippines' Third Telecoms Player

Reuters
South China Morning Post
China Telecom Corp could become the Philippines’ third nationwide telecommunications operator, officials of the Southeast Asian country said on Sunday, as the government sought to stir up competition to boost notoriously poor fixed-line broadband...

Conversation

12.06.17

Apple in China: WTF?

Samuel Wade, Shaun Rein & more
In November, the non-profit watchdog Freedom House called China “the worst abuser of Internet freedom” of the 65 countries it surveyed. And yet, on December 3, Apple CEO Tim Cook keynoted China’s annual World Internet Conference. “The theme of this...

China Will Lead an Electric Car Future, Ford's Chairman Says

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The world’s automakers are just starting to bet on an electric car future — and already, one of the most powerful people in the industry says that future belongs to China.

Trump Wasn’t Soft with Xi Jinping on Trade Gap, Says US Ambassador to China

Holly Ellyatt, Geoff Cutmore, Eunice...
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.

Will Tech Firms Challenge China’s ‘Open’ Internet?

Robin Brant
BBC
China has been smart and ruthless in its control of the internet within its borders. It blocks some foreign sites altogether and it censors - heavily - what Chinese are allowed to see.

China’s Drive for Cleaner Energy Is Causing a Gas Shortage for Winter

Huileng Tan
CNBC
China's push to clean up its environment may have had an unintended consequence: a shortage of heating fuel supply is hitting some regions in the dead of winter, sending prices of domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a three-year high.

Starbucks Is Opening a Store in China Every 15 Hours

Angelica LaVito
CNBC
China has become Starbucks’ second largest and fastest growing market, and one the company expects to eclipse the U.S. market one day. Starbucks already operates more than 3,000 stores in the country and 2,000 more by 2021.

China Will Lead an Electric Car Future, Ford's Chairman Says

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
Speaking in Shanghai, William C. Ford Jr., Ford Motor’s longtime executive chairman, outlined why in an unusually blunt comment. “When I think of where E.V.s are going,” he said, using an abbreviation for electric vehicles, “it’s clearly the case...

Are Alibaba and Tencent Fueling a Tech Bubble? Investors Weigh the Worrisome Question

Polina Marinova
Fortune
Alibaba has spent roughly $1.72 billion buying at least 50 startups and small businesses since 2013, while Tencent has doled out at least $780 million over the same period, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

Special Report: Hidden Peril Awaits China’s Banks as Property Binge Fuels Mortgage Fraud Frenzy

Engen Tham, Clare Jim, Yawen Chen
Reuters
While property prices in China continue to rise, mortgage fraud remains largely a hidden danger, much as subprime loans in the United States remained mostly out of sight ahead of the 2008 global financial crisis.

Free Trade Talks with China Will Not yet Begin

Chris Hall
CBC News
Canada will not begin formal free trade talks with China — at least not yet.

Apple CEO Backs China’s Vision of an ‘Open’ Internet as Censorship Reaches New Heights

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
Reading headlines from the World Internet Conference in China, the casual reader might have come away a little confused. China was opening its doors to the global Internet, some media outlets optimistically declared, while others said Beijing was...

China in Pole Position amid 'Desperate' Global Race to Secure Lithium Supplies

Sam Meredith
CNBC
China is outpacing the U.S. and other countries in a global race to secure supplies of an all-important element for electric cars.