The focus has been on the Chinese government after US president Donald Trump announced new tariffs. But that might be wrong, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know to CNN. What Trump wants is not getting China into negotiations, but forcing US companies to come back to the US.

China’s financial authorities try to manage shadow banking, corporate leveraging and now also a heated trade war. Financial analyst Sara Hsu explains how the country’s banks are walking a scary tightrope, at the EastAsiaForum.

The Venerable Xuecheng did become the symbol for supercharged Buddhism in China. Journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, looks for the New York Times at how China’s #MeToo movement brought down this confusing factor in the rising Buddhism.

The debate is taking off on whether China would allow gambling on Hainan Island. Financial analyst Sara Hsu explains gambling would diversify the tourism industry on the island, but would also hurt the economy in nearby Macau. Two earlier efforts on Hainan were already aborted for political reasons.

Consumers in China have become more sophisticated over the years in the way they handle brands, says China veteran Tom Doctoroff, Chief Cultural Office or Prophet and author of the bestseller What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism, and China’s Modern Consumer, at the occasion of the 2018 Prophet China Brand Relevance Index(TM) at the Market Business Inside.

The argument of the Trump administration is simple: if you want to avoid tariffs, leave China and come back to the US. That is too simple, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know, at the Asia Times.

Tencent’s shares moved like a roller coaster, but that reflects more the short-term sentiments of investors than changes in the company’s prospects, says Tencent watcher Matthew Brennan to Global Times.

Most Western media reports focus on the oppression of religion in China, and miss one of the most important developments in the country when it comes to religion, argues journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao in the China Zentrum. “Faith and values are returning to the center of a national discussion over how to organize Chinese life.”

Traditionally China’s youngsters wanted a job with the government, but Alibaba’s Jack Ma changed that perspective and starting a startup became the choice of many, says William Bao Bean, a Shanghai-based partner at venture capital firm SOS, one of the largest VC’s, to Bloomberg. How Jack Ma changed China.

Alibaba’s chairman Jack Ma has unveiled his eagerly awaited succession plan, including a transfer of power to the current CEO Daniel Zhang. A very smart move, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to the Nikkei Asian Review.