ChinaFile Recommends
03.26.13‘Oh Boy! So Many Questions!’ About China in Africa
International Herald Tribune
Although not universal, there is some concern among Africans that China may be a “new colonial power,” extracting resources and selling manufactured goods.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.26.13A Highly Public Trip For China’s President, And Its First Lady
New York Times
President Xi Jinping, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, is on his March2013 inaugural overseas trip. The trip started in Russia last week, and is now passing through Africa with stops in Tanzania, the Republic of Congo and South Africa...
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03.26.13Deborah Brautigam Discusses Doing Research on China-Africa Relations
Professor Deborah Brautigam talks about how she became interested in China-Africa relations, the recent influx of scholarship on China-Africa relations, media reporting on China-Africa issues and how to do quality research.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.26.13Xi In Africa As China's Role Comes Under Scrutiny
CNN
“There's a sense from Africans that it’s not an equal relationship. That China is extracting oil and then in return building infrastructure projects with its own companies and own workers and not necessarily transferring the skills to African...
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03.26.13China’s Xi Tells Africa He Seeks Relationship Of Equals
Reuters
On the first stop on an African tour that will include a B.R.I.C.S. summit of major emerging economies, Xi Jinping told Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete that China’s involvement in Africa would help the continent grow richer.
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03.26.13China’s First Lady Strikes Glamorous Note
New York Times
At a time when China’s Foreign Ministry is struggling to improve China’s international image, Peng Liyuan, 50, who has dazzled audiences at home and abroad with her bravura soprano voice, comes as a welcome gift.
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03.26.13Changing Faces
Economist
Xi Jinping’s first foreign visits since his inauguration and new appointments in foreign policy-related positions hint at the direction of the new administration’s foreign policy plans and goals.
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03.26.13As Pollution Worsens In China, Solutions Succumb To Infighting
New York Times
As some officials push for tighter restrictions on pollutants, SOEs have been putting profits ahead of health in working to outflank new rules, according to government data and interviews with people involved in policy negotiations.
Conversation
03.26.13Can China Transform Africa?
Jeremy Goldkorn:The question is all wrong. China is already transforming Africa, the question is how China is transforming Africa, not whether it can. From the “China shops”—small stores selling cheap clothing, bags, and kitchenware—that have become...
Caixin Media
03.23.13China’s Economic Policymakers Turning a Page
Written into the script for China’s once-in-a-decade leadership shuffle, confirmed at the recently concluded National People’s Congress, are macroeconomic policies for the new government that plot a course for future growth.The policy book has...
Caixin Media
03.23.13Achieving Real Progress in How Government Functions
After months of speculation, the reorganization of the State Council has finally been approved by the National People’s Congress.Under the shake-up, China’s rail business will no longer be managed by the regulator. Three national agencies will be...
Books
03.22.13Pressures and Distortions
Pressures and Distortions looks at the design, building, and interpretation of cities from the point of view of their residents.The cities chronicled in depth include examples from China (Shanghai and Shenzhen), Latin America (Bogotá and Mexico City), and Indonesia (Banda Aceh). Shorter sections cover Lima and Rio de Janeiro. The authors show how residents respond creatively to environmental disaster, poverty, housing shortages, and surging urban population. They also show how governments, international relief agencies, architects, and planners can shape better urban environments. Throughout, residents present their experiences in their own words and through careful documentation of their living environments.Pressures and Distortions began in 2008 with the Research Program’s international call for proposals. A competitive process selected four teams, with researchers based in Mexico, Colombia, China, Australia, France, and the US. Each team received a research grant from Rafael Viñoly Architects and worked independently.With over 400 pages, Pressures and Distortions contains more than 500 original full-color photographs, plans, and drawings, as well as a DVD with over 100 video and audio recordings from the streets of Bogotá. —Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Environment
03.22.13Public Fury After Chinese Environment Minister Keeps Job
from chinadialogue
In his eight years as China’s environmental protection minister, Zhou Shengxian has failed to keep almost a single promise. I say “almost”: he has kept his word at least when it comes to his own career—as promised, he has not quit.When the new...
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03.21.13Xi Visits Russia As China Seeks Bigger Global Role
Huffington Post
Speculation surrounds Xi’s upcoming trip to Russia this Friday March 22, 2013, with many expecting Xi to start exerting China's economic power in diplomacy and taking a more offensive diplomatic stance in general.
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03.21.13China’s Embrace Of Africa
China-U.S. Focus
The striking disparity in the relationship is that Chinese enterprises and construction operations in Africa employ many fewer Africans in unskilled laboring positions than they obviously could.
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03.21.13Xi Stresses Positive U.S. Ties In Lew Meeting Amid Tensions
Bloomberg
Recently appointed U.S. Treasury Secretary discussed exchange rate, intellectual property, cybersecurity, and North Korea in his first meeting with Xi Jinping and the rest of the newly appointed Chinese leadership.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.21.13Does China Have A Foreign Policy?
New York Times
A country’s foreign policy should be judged on the basis of its actions as well as its rhetoric. When we conduct a careful examination of Chinese policies and actions, we see that Chinese foreign policy is actually ambivalent, even weak.
Viewpoint
03.19.13For Many in China, the One Child Policy is Already Irrelevant
Before getting pregnant with her second child, Lu Qingmin went to the family-planning office to apply for a birth permit. Officials in her husband’s Hunan village where she was living turned her down, but she had the baby anyway. She may eventually...
Conversation
03.19.13China’s New Leaders Say They Want to Fight Corruption. Can They? Will They?
In his first press conference after taking office as China's new premier, Li Keqiang declared that one of his top priorities would be to fight corruption, because “Corruption and the reputation of our government are as incompatible as fire and...
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03.15.13What China’s New President Means For The Entertainment Industry
Hollywood Reporter
Although China's annual foreign movie quota was recently increased, there’s much uncertainty surrounding how Xi’s rise to power will impact the entertainment industry.
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03.15.13China’s New Prime Minister Faces Test In Bolstering Economy
New York Times
China’s new prime minister, Li Keqiang, entered the job on Friday inheriting a wobbling economy that could distract his government from its bold vows to clean up pollution and harness expanding towns and cities as an engine for growth.&...
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03.15.13Xi Pivots To Moscow
Foreign Policy
Will Xi’s late March 2013 trip to Vladimir Putin’s Russia -- a bastion of authoritarian state capitalism -- symbolically define China’s path ahead, like Deng’s 1979 U.S. tour?
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03.15.13Li Yuanchao Elected Chinese Vice President
Xinhua
Li Yuanchao is elected vice-president of the People’s Republic of China at the fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2013.
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03.15.13China’s New President Nods To Public Concerns, But Defends Power At Top
New York Times
“I think that [Xi] is attracted to the idea of a kind of enlightened dictatorship, or neo-authoritarianism,” says magazine editor Li Weidong. “He rejects fundamental political reform, but he wants a cleaner, more efficient government that...
Conversation
03.15.13Is the One Child Policy Finished—And Was It a Failure?
Dorinda Elliott:China’s recent decision to phase out the agency that oversees the one-child policy has raised questions about whether the policy itself will be dropped—and whether it was a success or a failure.Aside from the...
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03.14.13China’s First Lady Gets In On Charm Offensive
Financial Times
The move to make his wife more visible underscores the sense that Xi is treading a different path from his predecessor. Breaking with Chinese tradition signals his recognition that China must find new ways to make friends.
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03.14.13China’s Public Expression Philosophy: A Case Of Too Little Theory?
Free Speech Debate
For the foreseeable future, accepting pluralism, in all its colours and guises, is simply inconceivable in the epistemology of the Communist Party, and so are liberal conceptions of free expression and democracy.
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03.14.13Was S.A.R.S. Fallout A Lesson For China In Global Citizenship?
Christian Science Monitor
The Chinese government’s views on transparency, in regards to issues of interational health, have changed drastically since the S.A.R.S. outbreak ten years ago, but some areas have yet to improve.
Media
03.13.13Chavez and Bo Xilai Gone: Death of a Political Model?
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s death on March 5, 2013 came in the same week as the “Two Sessions” began in China, when China’s national legislature meets in Beijing. It was also almost exactly a year since the spectacular political demise of Bo...
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03.12.13Two Cabinet Agencies Are Cut In Restructuring By China
New York Times
The Health Ministry will merge with the National Population and Family Planning Commission, while other ministries and agencies, like the Chinese F.D.A., are being restructured or given more power.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.12.13Meet China’s New Foreign Policy Team
Foreign Policy
Personnel changes for State Councilor, Foreign Minister-designate, and ambassador to the U.S. suggest that China wants to improve the optics of its relationship with the United States, if not the substance.
Caixin Media
03.09.13Is Railway Reform Finally On Track?
Finally, it seems the railways ministry may soon be restructured as part of a wider exercise by the government to streamline its ministries. Putting railway reform on the agenda of this year’s meetings of the National People’s Congress and the...
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03.08.13The Brutality Cascade
New York Times
As China's economic and defense tactics appear to become more and more successful, David Brooks expects other countries' policies will start to resemble them, whether or not they run counter to our principles.
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03.08.13National People’s Congress Kicks Off With A Kaleidoscope Of Diversity
People’s Daily Online
Photos of the various ethnic minorities represented at the 2013 National People's Congress, showcasing the government’s inclusiveness and the country’s diversity.
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03.08.13China’s Richer-Than-Romney Lawmakers Reveal Reform Challenge
Bloomberg
The growing presence of wealthy people in the legislature coincides with Xi's efforts to address the concern that the Communist Party no longer represents the interests of ordinary Chinese.
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03.08.13Why John Kerry Must Listen to China’s Social Web
Atlantic
Familiarity with citizen voices abroad, and the ability to leverage grassroots sentiment to amplify diplomatic impact, is a vital prerequisite for Washington’s unique brand of engagement.
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03.08.13U.N. Resolution To Aim At North Korean Banks and Diplomats
New York Times
The United States and China introduced a resolution that would tighten inspections of suspect ship and air cargo and subject the country’s diplomats to invasive scrutiny and increased risk of expulsion.
Sinica Podcast
03.08.13Mo Yan and the Nobel Prize
from Sinica Podcast
When Chinese author Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for literature last year, many critics were fast to pounce on his selection, accusing the committee of making a political choice that glossed over what many consider to be pervasive self-censorship in...
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03.07.13Report On The Work Of The Government
Xinhua
An English version of Wen Jiabao's speech, delivered at the First Session of the Twelfth National People’s Congress on March 5, 2013.
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03.07.13Chen Guangcheng Q&A
South China Morning Post
The blind lawyer and human rights activists answers questions regarding China's constitution, rule of law in China, and the inevitability of change in the Chinese government.
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03.07.13China Opens Parliament With Star-Studded Cast
WSJ: China Real Time Report
The intentional secrecy surrounding details about the annual plenary sessions might explain why it is so tough for media to resist chasing celebrities like Yao Ming and Jackie Chan.
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03.07.13Rebel Chinese Newspaper Dares To Challenge Party Line
Telegraph
Operating out of two rooms in a dilapidated pharmaceutical factory, and with a staff of four, the Voice of the People is a muckraking freesheet challenging the local propaganda paper.
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03.07.13New Chinese Leader Shores Up Military Support
New York Times
Since taking the top party post, Mr. Xi has made a closer relationship with the military with greater speed and sureness than his recent predecessors.
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03.07.13Photos of Trash Heaps Resemble Chinese Landscape Paintings
PetaPixel
Yao Lu’s deceiving photos are a commentary on the state of China, its modernization, and its rampant pollution.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.07.13Seized Chinese Weapons Raise Concerns On Iran
New York Times
The Chinese missiles were part of a larger shipment interdicted by American and Yemeni forces in January 2013, allegedly intended for Houthi rebels in northwestern Yemen.
Conversation
03.06.13Are Proposed Sanctions on North Korea a Hopeful Sign for U.S.-China Relations?
Orville Schell:What may end up being most significant about the new draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council to impose stricter sanctions on North Korea, which China seems willing to sign, may not be what it amounts to in terms of...
Media
03.05.13What Do You Know About China’s Politics?
The Liang Hui or “Two Sessions”—the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)—are the most crowded, most covered, and probably most hilarious annual political events in China. Every March,...
Caixin Media
03.04.13China’s Frills and Posh Market Springs a Leak
Imagine a luxury goods shopper so confident and flush with cash that one day he walks into a Shanghai handbag shop, flashes 300,000 yuan, and waltzes out with almost every bag in stock.That’s what happened last year at a Prada store where Benny Lu...
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03.01.13The Cold War Meets Taiwan
Diplomat
James R. Holmes looks at the applicability of a Cold War analogy in regards to U.S.-China and China-Taiwan relations.
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03.01.13Secretary Of State John Kerry On China
Council on Foreign Relations
At Secretary of State Kerry's confirmation hearing he stressed more on coordination rather than confrontation in foreign relations, especially when it came to China.
Media
03.01.13No Closer to the Chinese Dream?
2013 began dramatically in China with a standoff between journalists and state propaganda authorities over a drastically rewritten New Year’s editorial at the Southern Weekly newspaper.In the first week of the New Year, the editors of Southern...
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03.01.13Cyber Menace: Digital Spying Burdens German-Chinese Relations
Spiegel Online
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company’s (EADS) firewalls have been exposed to attacks by hackers for years, but now company officials say there was “a more conspicuous” attack a few months ago.
Conversation
03.01.13Is America’s Door Really Open to China’s Investment?
Daniel Rosen:There have not been many new topics in U.S.-China economic relations over the past decade: the trade balance, offshoring of jobs, Chinese holding of U.S. government debt, whether China’s currency is undervalued and intellectual property...
Reports
03.01.13Population, Policy, and Politics
Population Council
One of the main puzzles of modern population and social history is why, among all countries confronting rapid population growth in the second half of the twentieth century, China chose to adopt an extreme measure of birth control known as the one-...
Reports
02.28.13Challenged in China
Committee to Protect Journalists
As Xi Jinping takes office as president of China, the citizenry he governs is more sophisticated and interconnected than any before, largely because of the Internet. A complex digital censorship system—combined with a more traditional approach to...
Culture
02.28.13Classical Music with Chinese Characteristics
On a frigid Friday morning at the end of 2012, a stream of expectant concertgoers poured through the cavernous lobby of the China National Center for the Performing Arts. They had come to the stunning, egg-shaped arts complex at this unusually early...
Conversation
02.27.13How Long Can China Keep Pollution Data a State Secret?
Elizabeth Economy:The environment is center stage once again in China. A Chinese lawyer has requested the findings of a national survey on soil pollution from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and been denied on the grounds that the...
Reports
02.27.13China’s Central Asia Problem
International Crisis Group
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, China and its Central Asian neighbors have developed a close relationship, initially economic but increasingly also political and security. Energy, precious metals, and other natural resources flow into China...
Media
02.26.13Flowers of the Motherland
School uniforms have been a hot topic in the Chinese media since last Thursday. On February 20, 2013, on a new satirical TV news talk show akin to the Colbert Report but with a pre-recorded laugh track instead of a live audience, host Jin Yan of...
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02.26.13Thank You, Xie Xie, Namaste: A Movie Undercuts Old Rivalries
New York Times
For Xinhua to quote Ang Lee thanking Taiwan would be to unacceptably recognize the de facto reality that Taiwan is a separate state, so his thanks didn’t make it into China, at least not via the official media.