How China Managed to Play Censor at a Conference on U.S. Soil

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
Foreign Policy
The Beijing-backed Confucius Institute offers much-needed money to American universities — but with strings attached.

Former CIA Officer Charged With Spying For China

Scott Neuman
NPR
An ex-CIA officer arrested in January at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport has been charged with conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of China years after FBI agents turned up notebooks containing classified information in a search of his hotel...

Leaders of China, Japan and South Korea Will Work Together on Denuclearizing North Korea

Mari Yamaguchi
Time
China, Japan and South Korea agreed Wednesday to cooperate on ending North Korea’s nuclear program and promoting free trade, two hot-button issues challenging their region.

Taiwan Blames China for Absence from U.N. Health Meeting

Jess Macy Yu
Reuters
China is disregarding the health of the people of Taiwan by blocking the island’s participation in an annual U.N. health meeting later this month, the Taiwan government said.

What Comes Next after the Panmunjom Summit?

Paul Haenle & Zhao Tong from Carnegie China
Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea at the Panmunjom Summit in April 2018, setting the stage for President Trump’s meeting with Kim in June. Just days after the summit, Paul Haenle spoke with Tong Zhao, a...

After-Shocks of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
The province of Sichuan is a microcosm of China. Its east is flat, prosperous, and densely settled by ethnic Chinese. Its mountainous west is populated by poorer minorities, but possesses resources that help make the east rich.In Sichuan, the...

Hillary Clinton Says China’s Foreign Power Grab ‘a New Global Battle’

Ben Doherty and Eleanor Ainge Roy
Guardian
China’s attempt to gain political power and influence in foreign countries is “a new global battle”, Hillary Clinton has warned.

Chinese Missiles Are Transforming the Balance of Power in the Skies

Marc Champion
Bloomberg
For a quarter century, the U.S. and its allies owned the skies, fighting wars secure in the knowledge that no opponent could compete in the air. As tensions with Russia and China surge, that’s no longer the case.

No Matter What Trump Says on Iran, China Will Probably Ignore Him

Huileng Tan
CNBC
In a matter of hours, President Donald Trump is set to announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal.

One-Time Potential Rival to China’s Xi Draws Life Sentence

Josh Chin
Wall Street Journal
A former top Communist Party official once seen as a potential successor and rival to Chinese President Xi Jinping received a life sentence on corruption charges—a punishment state media portrayed as lenient.

Kim Pays a Second Surprise Visit to China, Heightening Diplomatic Drama

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The leaders of China and North Korea met for the second time in two months on Tuesday, staying overnight in this Chinese port city as China worked to regain control in the fast-moving diplomacy over the North’s nuclear program.

Conversation

05.07.18

Can China Afford to Play Hardball with the U.S.?

Zha Daojiong & William Foster
In the midst of roiling trade tensions between the United States and China, last week Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin led a delegation of Donald Trump’s top economic advisors to Beijing. Demands were made in both directions and talks were...

U.S.-China Trade Talks End with Strong Demands, but Few Signs of a Deal

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The Beijing talks were unlikely to result in a comprehensive deal, but experts said they could still be a first step toward reaching some sort of accord.

U.S.-China Trade Talks End with Strong Demands, but Few Signs of a Deal

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The Beijing talks were unlikely to result in a comprehensive deal, but experts said they could still be a first step toward reaching some sort of accord.

No Regrets: Xi Says Marxism Still 'Totally Correct' for China

CNBC
The decision of China's ruling Communist Party to stick with the political theories of Karl Marx remains "totally correct", President Xi Jinping said ahead of the 200th anniversary of the German philosopher's birth

Chinese Lasers Injure Us Military Pilots in Africa, Pentagon Says

Ryan Browne
CNN
Chinese personnel at the country's first overseas military base in Djibouti have been using lasers to interfere with US military aircraft at a nearby American base, activity that has resulted in injuries to US pilots

Liu Xia, in Call from China, Tells of the Agony of Endless Captivity

Chris Buckley and Melissa Eddy
New York Times
“They keep forcing me to do the impossible,” Liu Xia says at end.

China’s Huge Celebrations of Karl Marx Are Not Really about Marxism

Zheping Huang
Quartz
What if Karl Marx lived long enough to see that one of his biggest fans in the world turned out to be the autocratic leader of a capitalist country where inequality and corruption prevail?

Behind Erik Prince’s China Venture

Marc Fisher, Ian Shapira and Emily...
Washington Post
The Blackwater founder has cut a lucrative security-training deal with Chinese insiders. But is it against U.S. interests?

Books

05.03.18

High-Speed Empire

Will Doig
Columbia Global Reports: The story of the world’s most audacious infrastructure project.Less than a decade ago, China did not have a single high-speed train in service. Today, it owns a network of 14,000 miles of high-speed rail, far more than the rest of the world combined. Now, China is pushing its tracks into Southeast Asia, reviving a century-old colonial fantasy of an imperial railroad stretching to Singapore, and kicking off a key piece of the One Belt One Road initiative, which has a price tag of U.S.$1 trillion and reaches inside the borders of more than 60 countries.The Pan-Asia Railway portion of One Belt One Road could transform Southeast Asia, bringing shiny Chinese cities, entire economies, and waves of migrants where none existed before. But if it doesn’t succeed, that would be a cautionary tale about whether a new superpower, with levels of global authority unimaginable just a decade ago, can pull entire regions into its orbit simply with tracks, sweat, and lots of money. Journalist Will Doig traveled to Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore to chronicle the dramatic transformations taking place—and to find out whether ordinary people have a voice in this moment of economic, political, and cultural collision.{chop}

Chinese Nobel Laureate's Widow 'Ready to Die' in House Arrest

Lily Kuo
Guardian
Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, has said she is ready to die in protest at being held under house arrest in China for more than seven years.

China Moves to Steady Ties With North Korea Before Trump-Kim Meeting

JANE PERLEZ
New York Times
As North Korea holds summit meetings with its archenemies — first South Korea, and soon the United States — China is hustling not to lose influence.

US Trade Team Arrives in Beijing for Talks, and China Media Are Cautious

CNBC
State media said China will stand up to U.S. bullying if need be, but it was better to work things out at the negotiating table.

China Tells International Airlines to Toe the Line on Taiwan

Daniel Shane
CNN
China is turning up the heat on some of the world's top airlines over how they describe Taiwan on their websites.

Laser from Chinese Base Aimed at U.S. Military Pilots in Africa’s Skies, Pentagon Charges

Gordon Lubold and Jeremy Page
Wall Street Journal
Incidents in recent weeks increase tensions, threaten Flight safety, U.S. says

Reports

05.03.18

Policy Analysis on China’s Civil Society Organizations First Quarter of 2018

China Europe Association for Civil Rights
Civil society organizations in China faced increasingly grim circumstances in the first quarter of 2018. Whether looking at the direct impact of the Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities or the Charity Law,...

Taiwan Says China Dangled $3 Billion to Grab Ally Dominican Republic

Jess Macy Yu, Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China offered the Dominican Republic a $3.1 billion package of investments and loans to get them to sever ties with Taiwan, a Taiwan official said on Tuesday, after the Caribbean nation switched allegiance to China in a diplomatic blow to the self-...

The U.S. and China Are Finally Having It Out

Thomas L. Friedman
New York Times
With the arrival in Beijing this week of America’s top trade negotiators, you might think that the U.S. and China are about to enter high-level talks to avoid a trade war and that this is a story for the business pages. Think again.

Chinese State Media Has a Message for the US Ahead of Trade Talks in Beijing

Yen Nee Lee
CNBC
Ahead of a meeting between officials from the world’s two largest economies to iron out their trade tensions, state-owned Chinese media has one message for the American delegates: Don’t expect China to give into all of your demand.

Trump Is Breaking the WTO. Will China Want to Save It?

Rachel Brewster
Washington Post
A U.S. trade team is in China this week to discuss the countries’ trade disputes and the U.S. threat of $150 billion in sanctions.

China Is Weakening Its Currency before U.S. Trade Talks Begin

Bloomberg News
Bloomberg
China weakened its daily currency fixing by more than traders and analysts had expected before high-ranking U.S. officials arrive in the country to discuss trade issues.

Taiwan Loses Diplomatic Ally as Dominican Republic Switches Ties to China

BBC
BBC
The Dominican Republic has established diplomatic relations with China, cutting ties with Taiwan

Leaders of South Korea, Japan, China to Discuss North Korea

AP
Associated Press
The annual trilateral summit since 2008 will focus on North Korea and its nuclear weapons.

White House Considers Restricting Chinese Researchers over Espionage Fears

Ana Swanson and Keith Bradsher
New York Times
U.S. may bar Chinese from sensitive research at universities and research institutes.

Peppa Pig, Subversive Symbol of the Counterculture, in China Video Site Ban

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
The latest subversive symbol in China is a small pink cartoon pig: Peppa Pig to be precise.

The Demise of Watchdog Journalism in China

Helen Gao
New York Times
As unfettered capitalism reached a fever pitch in China in the early 2000s, a boom in investigative journalism was hailed as the most salient example of growing citizen power.

The Rise of Populism and Implications for China

Paul Haenle & Thomas Carothers from Carnegie China
The rise of populism in Europe and the United States has had a pronounced impact on domestic politics and foreign policy, as seen in Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. In China, leaders are unsettled by the nationalist and anti-globalization...

Books

04.27.18

The China Mission

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
W. W. Norton & Company: As World War II came to an end, General George Marshall was renowned as the architect of Allied victory. Set to retire, he instead accepted what he thought was a final mission―this time not to win a war, but to stop one. Across the Pacific, conflict between Chinese Nationalists and Communists threatened to suck in the United States and escalate into revolution. His assignment was to broker a peace, build a Chinese democracy, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while staving off World War III.{node, 46371}In his 13 months in China, Marshall journeyed across battle-scarred landscapes, grappled with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, and plotted and argued with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his brilliant wife, often over card games or cocktails. The results at first seemed miraculous. But as they started to come apart, Marshall was faced with a wrenching choice. Its consequences would define the rest of his career, as the secretary of state who launched the Marshall Plan and set the standard for American leadership, and the shape of the Cold War and the U.S.-China relationship for decades to come. It would also help spark one of the darkest turns in American civic life, as Marshall and the mission became a first prominent target of McCarthyism, and the question of “who lost China” roiled American politics.The China Mission traces this neglected turning point and forgotten interlude in a heroic career―a story of not just diplomatic wrangling and guerrilla warfare, but also intricate spycraft and charismatic personalities. Drawing on eyewitness accounts both personal and official, it offers a richly detailed, gripping, close-up, and often surprising view of the central figures of the time―from Marshall, Mao, and Chiang to Eisenhower, Truman, and MacArthur―as they stood face-to-face and struggled to make history, with consequences and lessons that echo today.{chop}

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping for Informal Summit

Manveena Suri and Ben Westcott
CNN
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the beginning of his informal two-day relation-building summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

U.S. Considers Tightening Grip on China Ties to Corporate America

Koh Gui Qing
Reuters
Any broad effort to sever relationships between Chinese and American tech companies - even temporarily - could have dramatic effects across the industry.

China Tells Donald Trump: We Can Help Make America’s Infrastructure Great Again

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
China has offered to take part in US President Donald Trump’s US$1.5 trillion plan to repair and upgrade America’s infrastructure, saying it would complement Beijing’s own Belt and Road Initiative.

Exclusive: Chip Wars - China Closing in on Second $19 Billion Semiconductor Fund: Sources

Kane Wu, Julie Zhu, Cate Cadell
Reuters
China’s state-backed semiconductor fund is near to closing a 120 billion yuan ($18.98 billion) investment round for a second fund to support the domestic chip sector and help cut reliance on imports amid a bruising trade standoff with the United...

China Is Tightening Its Grip On Cryptocurrency To Promote Rather Than Purge It

Ralph Jennings
Forbes
China also sees advantages in allowing crypto to develop in a manageable way...

When Modi and Xi Meet, Indian Elections Will Set the Tone

Jeffrey Gettleman
New York Times
When the leaders of the world’s two most populous nations meet on Friday in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will be pushing to get less from President Xi Jinping of China.

Conversation

04.25.18

Does China Want the Koreas to Reconcile?

Bo Zhiyue, Zhang Baohui & more
This Friday, April 27, the South Korean and North Korean leaders will meet in the demilitarized zone dividing their estranged countries to discuss improving relations and possibly even formally ending the Korean War, which has continued in the form...

China Is Fueling a New ‘Resource Curse’ — and Riots around the World

Renard Sexton
Washington Post
During the past 15 years, China’s demand for primary commodities has triggered a dramatic increase in natural resource extraction in the developing world.

China Fears Kim Is Moving out of Its Orbit as South Korea, US Talks Loom

Katie Hunt and Tim Schwarz
CNN
China and North Korea boast an alliance forged in blood -- more than 130,000 Chinese troops, including the son of Mao Zedong, died defending the North during the Korean War -- but the relationship has always been an uneasy one.

US-China Trade War: Not about Trade, Not about Trump. Here’s What It Is About

Tom Holland
South China Morning Post
Perhaps we should stop talking about US President Donald Trump’s US-China trade war.

The Corrections Needed in the U.S.-China Relationship

Paul Haenle & Stephen Hadley from Carnegie China
Stephen Hadley, former national security advisor to President George W. Bush, argues that the United States took false comfort in China’s hide-and-bide strategy and failed to recognize that China would increasingly assert itself as it became more...

Trade Wars Don’t Faze This U.S.-China Investor

Matthew A. Winkler
Bloomberg
The best-performing worldwide mutual fund relies on Chinese and American companies. That's not about to change.

China Challenged Australian Warships in South China Sea, Reports Say

Ben Westcott and Jamie Tarabay
CNN
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asserted the right of the Australian navy to travel the South China Sea, after local media reported three Australian warships were challenged by the Chinese navy earlier this month.

US Grain Ships Diverted at Sea Hours after China Imposes Grain Tariff

Lily Kuo
Guardian
Five ships carrying tonnes of sorghum change course after Beijing imposes rule requiring 178% deposit.

China Envoy Says China Will Retaliate If U.S. Insists on Trade War: Xinhua

Reuters
China’s ambassador to the United States urged the United States to abandon a cold war and zero-sum mentality.

Viewpoint

04.19.18

Trump’s Incredibly Risky Taiwan Policy

J. Stapleton Roy
So-called friends of Taiwan in the United States are putting the island at risk as never before. The Taiwan Travel Act, passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, and signed by President Trump on March 16, 2018 without reservations, could...

China’s Economic Numbers Have a Credibility Problem

Enda Curran
Bloomberg
China’s gross domestic product grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter, smack on its pace in the preceding quarter, which was unchanged from the quarter before that.

The Chinese Communist Party Is Setting Up Cells at Universities Across America

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
Foreign Policy
It’s a strategy to tighten ideological control. And it’s happening around the world.

China Wages War on Apps Offering News and Jokes

The Economist
Economist
At the end of last year Bytedance, one of China’s most talked-about technology firms, seemed to have the world at its feet.

Exclusive: China Looks to Speed up Chip Plans as U.S. Trade Tensions Boil - Sources

Elias Glenn, Cate Cadell
Reuters
China is looking to accelerate plans to develop its domestic semiconductor market amid a fierce trade stand-off with the United States and a U.S. ban on sales to Chinese phone maker ZTE that has underscored the country’s reliance on imported chips.

Pakistan Shuns US for Chinese High-Tech Weapons

Kiran Stacey
Financial Times
In the last few months of the Obama administration, the US state department made an announcement which caused a new breach in Washington’s tumultuous relationship with Pakistan.

A Glimpse of Life along China’s Border with North Korea

Laura Mallonee
Wired
When Elijah Hurwitz checked into the Hilton Garden Inn in Dandong, China, he knew his room would have an extraordinary view: The hotel sits near the banks of the Yalu River overlooking North Korea. Out the window, a caravan of trucks with North...