China’s recent troubles with Islam and unruly provinces like Xinjiang are not new, nor typically for communist rule, writes journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, for the New York Review of books. “It would be tempting to say that all of this is just typical Communist excess, something in the party’s DNA that forces it to turn to repression and violence to solve problems. But the long history of Islam’s persecution points to older, deeper problems in the Chinese worldview.”Read More →

In Southern Beijing, China is building the prestigious Beijing Daxing International Airport, due to open next September and serving up to 72 million passengers annually by 2025. But it is not only glamor being constructed, writes Beijing-based author Ian Johnson for the New York Times. If the military would not tightly control the Chinese airspace, the airport would not be needed to start with.Read More →

The upcoming Trump-Xi meeting in Argentina generates some hope, but economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, does not expect a fast end to the ongoing trade war between the world’s largest economies, he tells at NPR. NPR: ARTHUR KROEBER: I think people in the U.S.Read More →

Fashion brand Dolce&Gabbana got blamed for racism by its Chinese customers after using a promotional video, celebrities withdrew from a show planned for Wednesday in Shanghai and the brand withdrew its goods. The damage to the brand will be lasting, says branding expert Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to AP.Read More →

Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok, co-author of Unlocking the World’s Largest E-market: A Guide To Selling on Chinese Social Media, looks back at the successful 11.11 Single’s day and compared Alibaba and competitor JD. She also noticed an emerging anti-consumerism movement at Weibo, where a growing number of people refuse to buy during this shopping festival.Read More →

China’s luxury travelers are high on the agenda of the tourism industry, and Rupert Hoogewerf, publisher of the Hurun China Rich List, sees a few major trends. Family trips are emerging as a preference, and WeChat groups of alumni of key universities a forgotten way to connect to the luxury travelers, he tells in the South China Morning Post.Read More →