Will The IMF Grant China's Currency Global Reserve Status?

Kenneth Rapoza
Forbes
The market doubts it, but it is possible that the Chinese currency, the renmimbi (RMB), may become part of the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights.

China's Dream Factory

Willy Shih and Henry McGee
Atlantic
The long arc of moviemaking history may not bend inevitably toward China, but it does lead away from Hollywood, whose rise and long dominance of the film industry was predicated on a series of conditions that no longer exist.

Shanghai Stock Exchange Vice Chairman Investigated

Yi Fan Xie
Wall Street Journal
China’s anti-corruption campaign pushed further into the financial sector with a government notice Friday that a vice chairman of the stock market regulatory agency is under investigation.

Media

11.13.15

The Real Reason for China’s Two-Child Policy: Millions of New Consumers

Two fictitious Chinese brothers are born in Tuanjiehu Maternity Hospital in the Chinese capital of Beijing. Let’s say the first was born already, in late 2015; his parents nickname him Laoda, meaning “oldest child.” That’s because they have hopes...

The BRICs are dead. Long live the BRICs!

Edward Hadas
Reuters
Brazil, Russia, India, China – BRIC.

With Help from 007's Daniel Craig, how Alibaba Turned 11-11 into China's Biggest Shopping Day

Julie Makinen
Los Angeles Times
Online shopping and entertainment fused into a consumerist juggernaut.

Singles Day in China Draws New Suitors: Foreign Sellers

AMIE TSANG and CAO LI
New York Times
“Double 11 is a really big part of my calendar.”

Challenging the Myth of Chinese Land Grabs in Africa

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Among the most durable myths surrounding the China-Africa relationship is the fear that the Chinese government and private enterprises are buying vast tracts of African farm land and have plans to transplant millions of Chinese peasants to live and...

China Softens Tactics in Global Hunt for Corruption Fugitives

ELIZABETH PIPER, SARAH YOUNG AND PAUL...
Reuters
China has changed tactics in its global man-hunt for fugitives wanted at home for corruption.

China to Philippines: No Sea Feud Talk at APEC Summit

Teresa Cerojano
Associated Press
“They said they hope that contentious issues will not be raised during APEC.”

Media

11.09.15

Can the China Model Succeed?

Daniel A. Bell, Timothy Garton Ash & more
Is this a new model? Is authoritarian capitalism, Leninist capitalism, something that has durability? Have the rules changed about how countries develop? That used to be, remember, that open markets led ineluctably to open societies. How does it...

China Has Passed Canada as the Biggest U.S. Trading Partner––Thanks to Oil Prices

Richard Macauley
Quartz
Crude oil, a key export for Canada, has dropped from a 2014 peak of $107 per barrel to just $44 today (Nov. 9)

The World — Including China — Is Unprepared for the Rise of China

Lawrence Summers
Wall Street Journal
For the first time in centuries, China affects the global economy as much as it is affected by the global economy

Meeting With Taiwan Reflects Limits of China’s Checkbook

AUSTIN RAMZY
New York Times
For the past eight years, the Chinese government has showered its former enemies in Taiwan with economic gifts.

Media

11.06.15

‘A Brutality Born of Helplessness’

Alexa Olesen
When China finally scrapped its one-child policy after more than three decades of brutality, almost no one lamented its passing. But Paul R. Ehlich, a Stanford-educated biologist and author of the 1968 fear-baiting classic The Population Bomb, was...

The China-Russia-Mongolia Trilateral Gains Steam

Bochen Han
Diplomat
The Asian trilateral no one talks about is seeing some interesting new developments.

Viewpoint

11.05.15

The Problem With the China Model

Andrew J. Nathan
The ideological competition between democracy and authoritarianism was supposed to have died with the Cold War. But it has returned with a vengeance, powered above all by the rise of China. Now comes a book by a respected scholar that purports to...

3 Things Taiwan Wants From China

Mark Rivett-Carnac
Time
Here are three issues that are likely to be on the top of Ma’s agenda after seven decades without a face-to-face meeting.

How Smartphones are Solving One of China’s Biggest Mysteries

Ana Swanson
Washington Post
For decades, China has been engaged in a building boom of a scale that is hard to wrap your mind around.

What to Expect at this Year’s Mega China-Africa Summit

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
The sixth Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will be held in December in Johannesburg comes at a critical time in the Sino-African relationship. The combination of China’s slowing economy, a major slump in global commodity prices, and a...

Ailing Europe Looking for 'Chinese Medicine'

Michael Ivanovitch
CNBC
The Chinese have never seen so many European leaders beating their path to Beijing.

Conversation

11.02.15

How Far Have China’s Economic Reforms Come over the Past Year?

Houze Song & Arthur R. Kroeber
As the Chinese Communist Party leadership wrapped up its Fifth Plenum, the meeting at which the Party’s leadership set the Five Year Plan that will shape economic policy through 2020, what progress has been made on the “comprehensive deepening” of...

China’s Communist Party Approves Five-Year Plan

Mark Magnier
Wall Street Journal
Economists will be watching to see whether it sets ambitious or moderate growth targets.

Li Floats New China Five-Year Growth Minimum of Around 6.5%

Bloomberg
China’s goal of a “moderately prosperous society” refers to policy makers’ plan to double per-capita income by 2020 from 2010 levels.

Can Xi Jinping Control China’s Wave of Change?

David Ignatius
Washington Post
“Party tightens grip on dissenting voices,” headlined the South China Morning Post on Friday.

Features

10.27.15

Rich Man, Pu’er Man

Christina Larson
“These men always have machetes,” shouts the driver. Through trees along an unpaved road, he spots a ramshackle hut, slows down, and warns his passengers: this is a checkpoint. It’s the only way to enforce rules in this part of the jungle, at the...

Criticism of the UK’s New Approach to China Is Misplaced

Rebecca Fabrizi
Diplomat
Wait for some evidence before assuming that only bad can come from good relations.

America’s Society Is Wealthier Than China’s – And It Doesn’t Matter

Christopher A. McNally and Denny Roy
Diplomat
The large gap in private wealth has limited significance.

Where Does Britain Draw the Line with Saudi Arabia and China?

Michael White
Guardian
UK economy needs the cash flowing in, but politicians should be wary of throwing out all principle in favour of business.

In the Race for Africa, India and China Aren’t All That Different

Lily Kuo
Quartz
During the third India-Africa Summit, Indian officials are working hard to differentiate their country from China.

Psychedelic Video Sings Praises of China's Five Year-Plan

Agence France-Presse
"If you wanna know what China's gonna do, best pay attention to the shisanwu."

Sinica Podcast

10.27.15

Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia

Kaiser Kuo & David Moser from Sinica Podcast
The West has spent decades pleading with China to become a responsible stakeholder in the global community, but what happens now that China is starting to take a more proactive role internationally? In this podcast, Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are...

Not Enough Women in China? Let Men Share a Wife, an Economist Suggests

DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
New York Times
“No one is forcing anyone to accept ‘one wife, many husbands!’ ”

India Is Spending Billions to Populate a Remote Area Claimed by China

Natalie Obiko Pearson
Bloomberg
"If China is developing on their side of the territory, we should develop on our side."

How Hungry Is China for the World's Food?

John W. Schoen
CNBC
China's transformation from an agrarian economy remains a work in progress.

Xi’s Visit to Britain Highlights Broader Shift in Concerns About China

STEVEN ERLANGER
New York Times
The visit to Britain by Xi Jinping is underscoring how European nations are de-emphasizing human rights and security concerns.

China Hopes to See A United EU, Xi Tells Britain on Visit

SARAH YOUNG AND BEN BLANCHARD
Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Britain he wants to see a united European Union.

China Plans 2020 Deadline for Dismantling Capital Controls

Bloomberg
Top officials in the Communist Party will discuss pledging to “make the yuan convertible under the capital account".

Many in the West Fear Chinese ‘Aid’ to Africa. They’re Wrong. Here’s Why.

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Brad Parks...
Washington Post
Western pundits have a narrative about China’s activities in Africa.

This Nuclear Power Deal With China Is One of the Maddest Ever Struck

Polly Toynbee
Guardian
The grand kowtow continues its humiliating progress today, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Britain 'Sucking up' to China Is a National Humiliation, Says PM's Former Adviser

Patrick Wintour
Guardian
Steve Hilton denounces lavish treatment of President Xi Jinping, saying UK should consider sanctions on China ‘not rolling out red carpet’.

Caixin Media

10.20.15

Moving 2 Million People for Beijing’s Urban Reset

Nearly 2 million Beijing residents will be moved to the city’s outlying districts from the center by 2020 as part of a massive urban revamp designed to better control people, traffic, and smog.The movers include up to 1 million government workers...

The Real Story Behind China’s Alleged Conquest of African Farmland

Deborah Brautigam
Quartz
“A common perception is that China is supporting Chinese enterprises to acquire land abroad as part of a national food security strategy.”

China Says South China Sea Lighthouses Not Meant to Alter 'Status Quo'

Michael Martina
Reuters
China says its lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South Reef in the Spratly islands will assist navigational security.

Xi Jinping Visit: Chinese Leader Given Ceremonial Welcome

BBC
China's President Xi Jinping is receiving a ceremonial welcome by the Queen as he begins the first full day of his visit to the UK.

China and UK: Signs of a New 'Special Relationship?'

Katie Hunt
CNN
Does the UK have a new "special relationship?"

Conversation

10.16.15

Is There a China Model?

Daniel A. Bell, Timothy Garton Ash & more
The most recent public event in our ChinaFile Presents series, which we held October 15 in New York, was a discussion of the philosopher Daniel A. Bell’s controversial book, The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy, co-...

A Remote Corner of China Wants Access to the Sea. The Obstacle Is North Korea.

Anna Fifield
Washington Post
You can almost smell the sea air from here, at the point where China, Russia and North Korea meet.

China to Build $5 Billion High-Speed Rail Line in Indonesia

Rieka Rahadiana
Bloomberg
China Railway International Co. Ltd and a consortium of Indonesian state companies will build the rail line from Jakarta to Bandung.

This Is Where China’s Future Will Be Decided

Matt O'Brien
Washington Post
Lanzhou, China — The first thing you notice is the dust.

Chinese Admiral Visits Iran, Wants Closer Defense Cooperation

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China wants to deepen military ties with Iran.

Xi’s Visit to Kick Off a Golden Age of China-UK Relations

Shi Zhiqin and Lai Suetyi
Diplomat
A state visit next week is expected to spark a new era in bilateral ties.

Lenin’s Chinese Heirs

Evan A. Feigenbaum and Damien Ma
Foreign Affairs
For Xi, Politics Comes First and Economy Second.

China’s Middle Class Has Overtaken the U.S.’s to Become the World’s Largest

Zheping Huang
Quartz
China has crossed another economic threshold.

Media

10.13.15

Chinese Censors Are Giving North Korea a P.R. Makeover

David Wertime
On October 10, Liu Yunshan, a member of the elite Politburo Standing Committee and one of the seven most powerful men in China, paid a visit to North Korea to observe a massive parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Worker’...

Caixin Media

10.13.15

Insider Trading Is Hindering Development of Stock Market

A series of investigations into apparent market violations emerged after the recent stock market turmoil, bringing down Zhang Yujun, an assistant chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC); Cheng Boming, general manager of CITIC...

China’s AIIB and OBOR: Ambitions and Challenges

Zhiqun Zhu
Diplomat
The two ambitious projects have become an integral part of Chinese diplomacy.

Why China Doesn’t Mind Being Left Out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Allison Jackson
Global Post
In case you hadn’t heard, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a really big deal— unless you're China.

China Turns Firepower to Soft Power to Try to Win Tiny Taiwan-held Island

YIMOU LEE AND FAITH HUNG
Reuters
"In Kinmen, we can do what Taiwan can't, what Taiwan doesn't dare do."