What to know about China’s new premier Li Qiang – Victor Shih
2023-03-14
Political analysts Victor Shih looks into the background of Li Qiang, China’s new premier, and his past in the country’s elite for NPR.Read More →
Perspective on China’s financial reform – Winston Ma
2023-03-07
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) will this week approve a significant reform of its financial institutions. Financial analyst Winston Ma looks at the background of this sweeping shift, according to Reuters.Read More →
China’s modest economic ambitions – Victor Shih
2023-03-06
China limited its GDP growth for 2023 to a modest 5 percent at the opening of the National People’s Congress this weekend. Political analyst Victor Shih explains the background of this lower-than-expected ambition in the Guardian.Read More →
EU leaders bound to visit China by mid-2023
2023-02-26
While China is seriously trying to get to terms with the end of the zero-Covid policies since the end of December 2022, international business has not been following suit, according to the Financial Times. International business delegations and other foreign visitors have not yet returned to Shanghai, writes the paper.Read More →
Faith and value systems in China – Ian Johnson
2023-02-15
China veteran Ian Johnson describes how faith and value systems in China have been developing over the past century and how the government and the communist party acted on religion at the USCCA.Read More →
Chill in China’s tech sector continues even now the crackdown has ended – Shaun Rein
2023-02-03
China’s crackdown on its tech sector in the past few years might have loosened, but the fallout is still hurting its development after the government has loosed its grip, says business analyst Shaun Rein to AP. “The crackdown was deep and cut far to the bone, probably more than the government expected it to,” said Shaun Rein,Read More →
Why China’s low fertility rate is a serious problem – Zhang Lijia
2023-01-30
China saw for the first time its population drop. Journalist and author Zhang Lijia explains in the South China Morning Post why the government should take this development seriously and what actions it could take. “Leaders will have to learn to treat citizens with respect,” she adds.Read More →
China’s risk in the unlikely case of a US default – Arthur Kroeber
2023-01-27
A default of the US is highly unlikely, even in the current chaotic political setting in the United States, says leading China economist Arthur Kroeber, but today the risks for China are much higher than during the 2008-2009 crisis. A crisis would not offer an opportunity to build an international financial system around the Renminbi, next to the US dollar, he adds in the ChinaFile.Read More →
Why China is heading for a fundamental breakdown – Harry Broadman
2023-01-11
China is heading for a fundamental breakdown, argues Harry Broadman, Partner, and Chair, Emerging Markets Practice, Berkeley Research Group LLC, at a wide-ranging speech at the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, November 2022 (Charleston, South Carolina). It started by bailing out investors at its stock markets, which are no real markets, he says. Read More →
What has changed on Taiwan, the economy in China? – Ian Johnson
2022-12-26
China veteran Ian Johnson, senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, discusses at Channel News Asia how different China might treat much-discussed political issues like Taiwan after the visit of US House speaker Pelosi and possible new tracks in economic directions. The recent shift of focus towards the private sector as a key part of China’s economic growth strategy is more of a “tactical adjustment” instead of a change in the leadership’s thinking, said Mr. Johnson.Read More →
Behind the end of China’s zero-Covid policies – Victor Shih
2022-12-12
Strategic analyst Victor Shih, author of Coalitions of the Weak, (2022), looks at China’s sudden exit from its contested zero-Covid policy. Was it because of the protests, was it planned before, and what does it mean for the country’s domestic policies and economics? A discussion at the New Yorker on how decisions at the top-level take place.Read More →
How China self-imposed its Covid trap – Ian Johnson
2022-12-08
Now China suddenly started to retract its zero-Covid strategy, strategic analyst Ian Johnson looks back at how the country got itself into this unprecedented mess at the Prospect. The economic slowdown and high unemployment “are all underlying issues that actually make the government’s challenge greater than first appears,” says Ian Johnson.Read More →