China Analysis Digest #8
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Issue: 2021/08
- Date: April 14-21, 2021
- Sources scanned: 81
- Content: 223 publications from 55 sources
- Download raw data (.csv)

Recommended readings:
After Xi: Future Scenarios for Leadership Succession in Post-Xi Jinping Era (Richard McGregor and Jude Blanchette):
Xi Jinping now stands as the overwhelmingly dominant figure in China’s political system, having gained command of the military, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) apparatus, and diplomatic and economic policymaking, all while sidelining or locking up rivals to his leadership. His drive for power, however, has destabilized elite political consensus and dismantled power-sharing norms that evolved since the 1980s. By removing de jure term limits on the office of the presidency—and thus far refusing to nominate his successor for this and his other leadership positions—Xi has solidified his own authority at the expense of the most important political reform of the last four decades: the regular and peaceful transfer of power. In doing so, he has pushed China toward a potential destabilizing succession crisis, one with profound implications for the international order and global commerce.
A US journalist who dined with Mao is Beijing’s ideal for who should cover China (Mary Hui)
Beijing’s construction of an arguably unattainable archetype of the ideal foreign journalist is more than just a rhetorical exercise, and reflects a greater tendency since Xi took power “to invoke a kind of nostalgic memory of the CCP in the 1930s and 1940s,” said [Julia] Lovell. The state’s eagerness to promote Snow is also “expressive of an instrumental desire to shape foreign coverage of China,” she added. “ That desire traces back to the 1930s, and remains a constant.”
China’s backlash against Western brands may be short-lived (Kecheng Fang)
Even though China’s state censors have so far tolerated or even celebrated the campaign against Western brands over Xinjiang, there’s another reason that the Chinese government might seek to cool things down: The topic unwillingly opened up space for Xinjiang-related discussions…Some seized the opportunity to voice their support for Uyghurs.
Judicial (In)dependence Under Xi (Xin He):
The high-profile court reforms, initiated at the fourth plenum of the 18th CCP Party Central Committee in 2014, are now complete. On the surface, many reform measures appear to boost judicial independence and Chinese judges’ prestige. But in reality, the regime has further tightened the control of the judiciary and its judges.
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China Story:
- Judicial (In)dependence Under Xi
- Change in course needed to avoid economic damage as Australia-China relations plummet
Reading the China Dream:
- “The ‘Past and Present Lives’ of Historical Nihilism”
- Xiao Shuyan, "Chasing Mutual Funds"
- Zuo Fengrong, “The Thucydides Trap"
- Shi Zhan, Breaking through the Cocoon
MacroPolo:
War on the Rocks:
Lawfare:
Project Syndicate:
The Atlantic:
The Economist:
- China presses Hong Kongers to accept a Chinese vaccine
- Mao’s revolution becomes a lesson about conformity
- China’s tomb raiders are growing more professional
Monkey Cage:
- China’s backlash against Western brands may be short-lived
- Chinese investment in Africa involves more than megaprojects. Private enterprises also are making their mark.
Australian Financial Review:
Lowy Interpreter:
- China’s Twitter trolls make bid for vacant Trump property
- America and China: Imagining the worst
- Will the Five Eyes stare down China’s economic coercion?
- Has China given up on state-owned enterprise reform?
- Serbia’s vaccine diplomacy: Balancing China and the West
East Asia Forum:
- Can China’s new trade strategy hit the right buttons in Washington?
- Pineapple ban another prickle in cross-Strait relations
The Strategist:
- What an Australian secretary-general of the OECD means for China
- Biden’s plan: out of Afghanistan, into the Indo-Pacific
Sixth Tone:
- The Wrestlers Fighting to Build a Chinese WWE
- Battles Lost, Wars Won: An Environmentalist’s Story
- Fighting China’s Wrongful Convictions, One Case at a Time
China Digital Times:
- New HRW Report Chronicles Crimes Against Humanity In Xinjiang
- After Shuttering of Feminist Douban Groups, Women Call for Unity Online
- Veteran HK Activists Jailed for Peaceful Protest: “I Stand the Law’s Good Servant But the People’s First”
- Taiwan Under Threat… But Is War Really Imminent?
- Translation: “Notes from Prison—How Do I View My Own Stand?” by Gwyneth Ho
- On National Security Education Day, Hong Kong Celebrates Police Brutality
- Beijing Launches Hotline for Reporting Online “Historical Nihilism”
- Report on Xinjiang Solar Industry Renews Forced Labor Concerns
Quartz:
- Climate change is a rare opportunity for the US and China to actually get along
- Tesla stole the spotlight at China’s premier auto show for all the wrong reasons
- A US journalist who dined with Mao is Beijing’s ideal for who should cover China
Inside Story:
Politico China Watcher:
Politico China Direct:
Protocol | China:
The Wire China:
- Honeywell’s China Ventures
- Noah Barkin on Europe’s Struggle to Define its China Position
- China Still Needs Expansionary Economic Policy
- The New Influencers
- The Czech Man in China
- Behind the Schemes
SupChina:
- The first McDonald’s in Beijing was a symbol of engagement
- All the electric car companies in China — a guide to the 27 top players in the Chinese EV industry
- Q&A: Foremost Group CEO Angela Chao on carrying on her family legacy and forging her own path
- Chinese celebrity apologizes for texting employees at all hours after social media backlash
- In China, delivery workers struggle against a rigged system
- U.S. and China commit to ‘taking enhanced climate actions’ after Kerry’s negotiations in Shanghai
- COVID-19 spurs more — and younger — Chinese people to create wills
- Huawei to hire 5,000 engineers for electric car tech
- Wang Shuang’s extra-time winner sends China into Olympics
- China’s gay emperor known for his ‘cut sleeve’
- Jimmy Lai gets a year in prison for pro-democracy protests
- “Is This Patriot Enough?” A Conversation on Asian Identity and Anti-AAPI Hate with George Takei & Lee Wong
- Four divorce petitions and two protective orders aren’t enough to allow this woman to leave her abusive husband
- The global RMB is coming. Here’s why.
- Populism with buttons: How a Chinese military overcoat came to symbolize an era
- When the Philadelphia Orchestra helped China fall in love with classical music
- Biden sends unofficial delegation to Taiwan as John Kerry talks climate in Shanghai
- Skinny Chinese model ripped for water-only diet that lasts 12 days
- The assassination attempt of Zhou Enlai
Congressional Research Service:
- R46767| China’s New Semiconductor Policies: Issues for Congress
- IN11469| U.S. Challenges to China’s Farm Policies
European Council on Foreign Relations:
Center for Strategic and International Studies:
Center for Advanced China Research:
MERICS:
- Climate cooperation meeting - Hong Kong - EU Indo-Pacific strategy
- Rare earths elements and other critical raw materials: a geopolitical headache for the EU
- Public distrust hampering China’s vaccination efforts
- China's vaccination efforts - Hong Kong electoral system - Merkel-Xi call
- Germany-China - Italy-China - E-Commerce
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission:
Brookings Institution:
- The US has very little to gain by overdemonizing China
- The Quad (finally) delivers: Can it be sustained?
Rhodium Group:
Observer Research Foundation:
- Why it is important to get the China challenge right
- India’s Vaccine Diplomacy Reaches Taiwan
- China’s growing troubles in Central and Eastern Europe
- China’s Relationship with ASEAN: An Explainer
- Value chains disrupted: Navigating the American and Chinese contest for dominance
The Conversation:
- Without evidence of real progress, NZ’s foreign policy towards China looks increasingly empty
- China’s record fine against Alibaba spells the end of big tech’s romance with the state
The Diplomat:
- Latin America Believed in Chinese Vaccines. Now It May Have Reason to Rethink.
- The Missing Uyghur Children
- China’s Military Has a Hidden Weakness
- Beijing’s Military-Heavy Approach to Taiwan Locks the US and China in a Security Dilemma
- Kerry Visits Renews China-US Climate Cooperation
- China and Artificial Intelligence
- Outlook: China-US Cross-Border Investment
- Should the West Fear China’s Increasing Role in Technical Standard Setting?
- Chinese Militia Vessels Departing Contested South China Sea Reef
- Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over South China Sea Tensions
- Kerry Heads to China for Climate Talks
- China’s Exports Rise as Global Demand Revives
- Biden Delegation Pledges US Support for Taiwan Self-Defense
- Time to Take Taiwan Studies Beyond America
Foreign Policy:
- India’s Vaccine Diplomacy Reaches Taiwan
- China and Russia Turn Deeper Ties into a Military Challenge for Biden
- Manila’s Images Are Revealing the Secrets of China’s Maritime Militia
- America’s Come-From-Behind Pandemic Victory
- Biden to Announce Nominees for Key Diplomatic Posts
- Yes, the Atrocities in Xinjiang Constitute a Genocide
- Taiwan and China Are Locked in Economic Co-Dependence
- The World Should Treat Pandemics Like It Treats Chemical Weapons
- The Summit That Can’t Fail
ThinkChina:
- Chinese researcher: No one can reverse the shrinking economic gap between China and the US
- China-Iran deal complements the BRI, but faces Iranian domestic opposition and US sanctions
- Chinese academic: China-Iran deal will benefit China, Iran and Middle Eastern countries in the long run
- Are two camps forming around China and the US?
- If Xi Jinping and Joe Biden meet this week, it won't be just about climate change
- Biden’s impressive ‘three-in-one’ policy to deal with China
- Did H&M kowtow to China? The Vietnamese think so and Hanoi is encouraging online nationalism
- Indo-Pacific: Central theatre of America's struggle against its antagonist, China
- Fukushima wastewater: Why China is protesting while the US gives the nod
- Blacklisted and fined: The end of Chinese tech companies' heyday?
- Anti-Asian hate crimes: What makes an American?
- Have Chinese Americans fallen behind Indian Americans in the business and political fields?
- Chinese Americans in the US military: Will their loyalties be questioned in a Taiwan Strait conflict?
National People's Congress Observer:
- NPCSC Session Watch: Rural Revitalization, Data Protection, Food Waste, Futures & More
- Recording & Review Pt. 8: “Same Life, Different Values”
Chinese Storytellers:
Chaoyang Trap House:
ChinaTalk:
Pekingnology:
Beijing Channel:
Tracking People's Daily:
- China-Russia Axis - Wang Qishan's Bo'ao Appearance - Rule of Law Session for NPC Deputies
- Xi's Bo'ao Speech, Technology, the Tsinghua visit & Competing Visions of International Order
- PLA's History Education - Fukushima Plan Criticism - MIIT's Blueprint - Building 'World Class' Universities
- National Security & HK, China's Fukushima Proposal, Flood Preparedness, & Debt and Housing Market Risks
- Party's Approach to Overall National Security, Inner Mongolia's Autonomy & Fukushima Wastewater Controversy
- Tech Rectification, Trade Data, Taiwan Tensions, Party's Ideology Think Tank Chief's Historical Narrative
The India China Newsletter:
- Xi at Boao, two rules-based orders, two narratives on the border
- Stalemate on the LAC, and Chinese money in Indian sport
Eye on China:
Takshashila PLA Insight:
Beijing to Britain:
China Dialogue:
- Plotting a green Covid recovery: How the EU, US and China stack up
- The US and China face a common enemy: climate catastrophe
- Aluminium: A barometer for China’s green recovery
- In a pandemic year, China and the rest of Asia push ahead on carbon markets
Lausan:
Hong Kong Free Press:
- Jailings over a peaceful protest – yet another milestone in Hong Kong’s self-mortification
- The Hong Kong politicians who love to talk about democracy yet can’t stomach the reality
- Hong Kong’s same-sex couples deserve a happier future
- Hong Kong National Security Education Day: What makes a nation worth securing?
Taiwan Insight:
- Energy Transition in-the-Making: How Offshore Wind Energy Interacts with Local Society in Taiwan
- Changing Circumstances Call for Taipei to Lift Its Effort in Promoting Democracy on China and beyond
- On the Many Reasons People Study Endangered Languages
- A Taiwanese Soft Power?
- Transition and Transformation: The Naming Dilemma in Today’s Taiwan Cinema
- The Global Story of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Italy, China and Taiwan
爱思想:
- 我的母亲
- 澄清一下关于文科生的偏见
- 绅士、名士、斗士与流氓——知识人的内战与“文化惯习”的冲突(1924—1926)
- 耀邦,一代人的青春记忆
- “法治”与“治法”之间
- 思想的边界
- 中国的第三次开放
- 宋朝的再认识
- 揭批美国五大“原罪”
- 毛泽东谈文章写作之道
- 认清影响中美关系的三大因素
- 乐黛云
- 不今之学——读《陈寅恪集·书信集》
- 中亚地区形势新变化及其走向
- 身份政治在美国
- 乡村振兴战略视角下古蛟乡村建设历史研究
- 世界图景中的当代中国思想
- 国家统计局十位司局长撰文解读2021年“一季报”
- 独秀的另类“文存”
- 大变局下印度外交战略
《求是》
- 在庆祝中国共产党成立95周年大会上的讲话
- 不忘初心 牢记使命 继续前进
- 站在历史的深厚基础上更加坚定地走向未来
- 鼓起迈进新征程、奋进新时代的精气神
- 中国革命从这里转折
- 旗帜鲜明反对历史虚无主义
- 完善香港选举制度 落实“爱国者治港” 确保“一国两制”实践行稳致远
- 脱贫攻坚全面胜利彰显思想伟力
- 解决好中国人自己的“饭碗”问题
- 用好党的红色资源
- 在学习百年党史中砥砺赤诚忠心
- 经济社会发展统计图表:长三角地区发展相关指标
- 井冈山革命根据地的创建
中国现代国际关系研究院
中央党史和文献研究院
- 党史学习教育的根本遵循:习近平《论中国共产党历史》导读
- 党史研究是一个与时俱进的过程
- 共产国际讲坛第一次响起中国共产党人声音
- 启迪智慧 砥砺品格
- 为人民服务:贯穿百年党史的红线
- 进一步增强党的团结和集中统一
- 进一步发扬革命精神
- 深入学习党的百年历史 更加坚定中国道路自信
- 激励与启迪人民“永远跟党走”
- 让百年党史之光照耀新征程
- 做好新时代意识形态工作的行动指南
- 旗帜鲜明反对历史虚无主义
- 不忘初心 牢记使命 继续前进
- 站在历史的深厚基础上更加坚定地走向未来
- 坚持以马克思主义方法论指导党史学习
- 学史力行要落到办实事开新局上
- 中国共产党的丰功伟绩
习近平系列重要讲话数据库
- 坚持中国特色世界一流大学建设目标方向 为服务国家富强民族复兴人民幸福贡献力量
- 习近平在清华大学考察时强调 坚持中国特色世界一流大学建设目标方向 为服务国家富强民族复兴人民幸福贡献力量
- 习近平在清华大学考察时强调 坚持中国特色世界一流大学建设目标方向 为服务国家富强民族复兴人民幸福贡献力量
- 习近平同法国德国领导人举行视频峰会
- 在庆祝中国共产党成立95周年大会上的讲话
- 习近平接受外国新任驻华大使递交国书
- 加快构建现代职业教育体系 培养更多高素质技术技能人才能工巧匠大国工匠
END OF DIGEST