Social mobility between the generations in China has stalled, argues author Zhang Lijia, even more than elsewhere. While she moved herself from factory worker to a social commentator, and recently wrote Lotus: A Novel on prostitution in China, most Chinese are currently stuck socially where they were born.Read More →

Author Zhang Lijia explored the life of more than ten million women in the sex trade in China for her book Lotus: A Novel. How is the trade organized? How does their life look like, and how voluntary is a choice to go into prostitution? Zhang Lijia spent years on the ground, and comes with a few remarkable conclusions. Organized crime has only little grip on prostitution, and most is organized by women themselves.Read More →

Recent rumors about better relations between China´s central government and the Vatican has put attention to the small but influential following of the Vatican in China. Author Ian Johnson of the forthcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao elaborates at the NPR.Read More →

Journalist Howard French will publish in March 2017 his new book Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power on China´s self image as a geopolitical power in the past and the future. What is going to happen now Xi Jinping has to deal with this other muscular nationalists, Donald Trump.Read More →

Just after the election of Donald Trump, some Americans discovered there is this other country, called China, that might gain a leading role in some international arenas. Unfortunately, most Americans have no clue about China, says journalist Zhang Lijia, author of Socialism Is Great!: A Worker’s Memoir of the New China, to John Pilger who visited the country for the New Internationalist Magazine.Read More →

Many see president-elect Donald Trump as a disruptive force in international trade, after he decided to cancel the transpacific trade agreement TPP. But for the relations between China and the US, Trump might actually be a blessing in disguise and can deal with China´s protectionism and other issues, argues Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The End of Copycat China: The Rise of Creativity, Innovation, and Individualism in Asia for CNN.Read More →

Many have been remembering in 2016 the anniversary of both start and finish of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and many scholars used the moment to publish their views on this ground-shattering event in the country´s recent history. Journalist Ian Johnson, author of the upcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao reviews some of the milestones in the troublesome academic research for ChinaFile.Read More →

While much of the upcoming economic policies of president-elect Donald Trump are still clouded, many expect a golden opportunity for China in the Asia Pacific. But we should not be surprised when China is not that much interested, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® in the South China Morning Post.Read More →

The outside world mostly does not know China for its humor, although it adopted a Chinese variation youmo. Journalist Ian Johnson discusses with Christopher Rea, author of The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China, at the New York Times humor in China.Read More →

China is proud about its millennia old culture, but just like the rest of society, its culture is also changing very fast. Old concepts like guanxi, losing face and the suppressed position of women are not what they were even a few decades ago. Many so-called China experts still cling to those old idea, but fortunately, we can offer a range of speakers at the China Speakers Bureau who have a clear view on how China´s culture is changing.Read More →