Surprise attendees, notable absences, and Vladimir Putin at the Belt and Road...
The third Belt and Road Forum concluded on Wednesday. During the two-day forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to frame the Belt and Road Initiative as part of a greater struggle against...
View ArticleUyghurs in Afghanistan fear Taliban buying Huawei surveillance tech
Facial-recognition analytics that China uses to oppress the marginalized peoples of Xinjiang could soon spread through Central Asia.
View ArticleIsrael-China relationship in danger as state media blames Israel, U.S., and...
China’s Foreign Ministry and media have not criticized Hamas for the October 7 attack and have blamed Israel for the conflict. And there has been a dramatic spike in online antisemitism.
View Article‘A Waterloo moment’ — Phrase of the Week
Chinese electric vehicle brand XPeng has been hit by a corruption scandal — an aftershock of a major setback last year.
View ArticleFor queer people in China, pets provide a sense of home
“My girlfriend’s presence and our four cats are what make our home truly feel complete,” said a 30-year-old Chinese lesbian.
View ArticleHow China is attempting to change nature conservation
China is undergoing a great experiment — tightly controlled and driven by big data — that it hopes will offer an alternative way of protecting the planet. For all our sakes, let’s hope it works.
View ArticleWe need to talk about Country Garden
Real estate giant Country Garden is on the brink of default and is fighting off rumors its executives fled China. Here’s how the property giant fell, and why it matters.
View ArticleEmpires of lies
How Chinese and Russian state media appropriated an apocryphal Orwell quote to criticize the West.
View ArticleChina curbs graphite exports on national security grounds
Although China insists that the new export controls are not aimed at any specific country, they appear to be another result of U.S.-China trade tensions.
View ArticleThe American dentist who turned Sun Yat-sen off Marxism
Sun Yat-sen's interpretation of "The Social Interpretation of History" — a self-published book with only 2,000 copies printed at the time — had crucial implications for the young Republic of China.
View ArticleThe China Agenda for October 22–29: Newsom to China and NPC legislative meeting
This is what’s on the diplomatic, political, and business agenda for the week of October 23–29.
View ArticleApple contractor Foxconn hit with tax and land-use probe in China
The Taiwanese government came to the defense of Foxconn, the company that makes most of the world’s iPhones, with some saying the move from Beijing constitutes election interference.
View ArticleChina releases green aviation plan but no net-zero emissions target date
China’s new plan to reduce carbon emissions from air transportation calls for the adoption of new technologies including electric planes and Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
View ArticleChina hosts separate phone calls with Israel and Palestine
Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated China’s calls for a cease-fire and a “two-state solution” during separate talks with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
View ArticleAngela Zhang on why the West should pay more attention to Chinese antitrust law
In this installment of China Book Chats, Christopher Marquis talks to Angela Zhang, author of ‘Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism,’ a book that delves into one of China's underappreciated tools for...
View ArticleLos Angeles Chinatown, 1871: One of America’s largest mass lynchings
In October 1871, 10% of the Chinese population in Los Angeles was wiped out in a senseless spasm of violence.
View ArticleToddler mauling in China prompts crackdown on dogs, rekindles debate over pet...
In the aftermath of an off-leash Rottweiler’s attack of a two-year-old in China last week, officials in several counties have enacted sweeping measures against stray dogs.
View ArticleHigh-level firings, Patriotic Education Law, and economic measures announced...
Former defense and foreign ministers Li Shangfu and Qin Gang have finally been officially cashiered, a new law is on the books to root out “historical nihilism,” and Beijing seems set to release new...
View ArticleRooftop solar is a rational and important step in China’s path to peak coal...
The focus on China’s growth in coal-fired plants is misguided as its growth in renewable energy ensures they’ll see less use. And solar power in Shandong Province — although it is only moderately sunny...
View ArticleLying flat in the West — Sang Ye’s interview with a hooker in search of a...
How to get out of China is a question occupying the minds of the wealthy, the rebellious, and everyone in China who doesn’t like living in Xi Jinping’s New Era. But the desire to escape is not new, as...
View ArticleThe rising and falling fortunes of golf in China
In the early 2000s, golf’s popularity soared in China, embraced by even the country’s highest leaders. During this boom, Dan Washburn wrote "The Forbidden Game," which is as much about the momentous...
View ArticleThe latest U.S. chip export controls: Q&A with Rhodium’s Reva Goujon
Newly announced controls close some loopholes, and align U.S. efforts with restrictions published by the Netherlands and Japan in the past year.
View ArticleChina launches its youngest-ever astronauts into space
Three new astronauts are heading to China’s Tiangong space station, which is about to get even bigger in the coming years.
View ArticleWhen ‘poverty alleviation’ means forced labor for Uyghurs
Outside of the well-documented internment camp system, the Poverty Alleviation through Labor Transfer program is normalizing forced labor for Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in China, according to a...
View Article‘Only the River Flows’: China’s brightest up-and-coming director gets a...
Remember the name: Wei Shujun.
View ArticleThis week on TikTok: China on Israel and Palestine, young astronauts, and new...
Want more like this? Subscribe to The China Project's official TikTok channel, The China Project, where Susan St.Denis explains complex topics about China clearly and simply in TikTok’s fast-evolving...
View Article‘Crispy college students’ — Phrase of the Week
A new phrase describes the high-pressure and unhealthy lifestyles of university students in China.
View ArticleDeepfake Mandarin-speaking Taylor Swift goes viral in China, prompting mixed...
Taylor Swift can do everything, including speak Chinese. Except she can’t: The Mandarin-language video is a product of artificial intelligence technology from HeyGen, a company founded in Shenzhen but...
View ArticleChinese ex-premier Li Keqiang dies of a heart attack at 68
The former senior official was well liked at home and abroad, but in the New Era of Xi Jinping, Li was never more than China’s No. 2.
View ArticleIsland elegy: Coming to terms with Taiwan’s potential demise
An unwinnable war and unification by force may be coming to Taiwan. How are its people to process the prospect of national demise? Chinese history may offer some lessons.
View ArticleThe China Agenda for October 30–November 5: Xiangshan Forum
This is what’s on the diplomatic, political, and business agenda for the week of October 30–November 5.
View ArticleThe Chinese diaspora ‘needs to rise up’ about atrocities against Uyghurs —...
Rayhan Asat comments on China’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Muslim world’s silence on ongoing rights abuses against Uyghurs in China, and the responsibility of the Chinese diaspora in...
View ArticleChina in limbo over importing Middle East oil overland through Pakistan
Ongoing violence in Balochistan and Xi Jinping’s shifting Belt and Road priorities may end Pakistan and China’s pipeline dreams.
View ArticleChinese military leaders talk tough on U.S. and Taiwan but offer small olive...
The annual Xiangshan security and military conference in Beijing runs from October 29 to October 31. China’s military representatives are talking tough on Taiwan but signaling willingness to resume...
View ArticleWhy does Zelenskyy accept China’s ‘neutrality’?
Writing from Kyiv, Ukrainian Sinologist Vita Golod explains why her country’s president has not criticized China for its moral support of Russia after Putin invaded last year.
View ArticleThe Age of Not Obvious: Going back to China in September 2023
Like many visitors who have returned to China for the first time after the pandemic, Kevin Xu found a changed, more isolated country. But is it going backward or barreling into the future?
View ArticleChina’s crackdown on data ensnares ‘foreign-related’ weather stations
China’s Ministry of State Security investigated 3,000 meteorological stations for sending weather data abroad, as the country tightens up on cross-border data flows and beefs up its anti-espionage...
View ArticleThe triumphs and travails of China’s first American citizen
He earned a degree from Yale, tried to fight in the American Civil War, and donated the books that became the core of Yale’s East Asian library. In the end, though, Yung Wing was still never American...
View ArticleThe Party takes firm control of China’s financial sector
The Central Financial Work Conference signaled a willingness for the central government to inject more money into the economy and inhibit local government debt, while emphasizing increased government...
View ArticleLao She’s greatest work, ‘Rickshaw Boy’
Vivid descriptions of Republican-era Beijing meld with a timeless story about the vicissitudes of a worker's life.
View Article‘Lived in frustration, and died in vain’ — Phrase of the Week
A new phrase describes the sentiment in China toward the sudden death of Li Keqiang.
View ArticleChina’s cognitive dissonance in the Israel-Hamas war
The underlying premises driving China's approach in the Middle East seem increasingly out of sync with the shifting realities. Perhaps most ironically, Hamas (and its supporters in Iran, etc.) embrace...
View ArticleChina-owned companies reckon with U.S. state, national land purchase bans
Arkansas recently ordered ChemChina-owned Syngenta to sell its land in the state. Other states are also putting up walls for Chinese buyers.
View ArticleThe China Agenda for November 6–12: APEC Summit and Anthony Blinken in the...
This is what’s on the diplomatic, political, and business agenda for the week of November 6–12.
View ArticleXi and Albanese meet in Beijing
Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met for the second time in Beijing today. It’s the strongest signal to date that ties between their two countries are improving after years of...
View ArticleWith mines, ports, and factories, China is set to dominate Latin America’s...
The region has some of the largest mineral reserves for this industry, including copper and lithium. Chinese companies also see opportunities in the local vehicle market.
View ArticleAmerican innkeeper in rural China keeps a light on for guests
Brian Linden and his wife Jeanee invested their life savings in building a business in rural China decades ago. The legacy and future of their work are uncertain amid shaky U.S.-China relations.
View ArticleTaipei Pride celebrates queer diversity despite its challenges
Asia’s LGBT capital ended its pride week with a hugely successful parade. The movement faces its challenges though.
View ArticleThe China Project
From 2016 to 2023, we published an extraordinary range of China-focused articles, podcasts, interviews, and videos. Here are a few highlights.
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