A Chinese bid for the Chicago Stock Exchange is running into major roadblocks, both in China and the US. The bidder the private Chinese company Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group might have waited too long, says business analyst Shaun Rein in the South China Morning Post. Both in China and the US barriers seem too high to close the deal.Read More →

Chinese has followed the lead by their former leader Deng Xiaoping to “become rich first”. But while hundreds of millions have indeed become more wealthy, social mobility has stalled, writes journalist Zhang Lijia, author of the forthcoming book on prostitution in China Lotus: A Novel in the New York Times.Read More →

Mark Zuckerberg caused quite some controversy when plans emerged to censor Facebook to facilitate a possible return for the company to China again. Whether you agree or disagree, the way China censors the internet is more than just blocking a few Western sites, and will not go away, says internet expert Kaiser Kuo in ChinaFile.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 →

A strengthening US dollar since the election of US president-elect Donald Trump might increase the outflow pressure of the Renminbi, and China might first try more stricter measures to increase capital control, says financial specialist Victor Shih to Bloomberg. But if that fails, financial authorities might consider a more uncontrolled floating currency to get the market into balance.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 →

Politics under president Xi Jinping has certainly become more exciting than under his predecessors, says political scientist Victor Shih in the Policy Forum. But Xi´s push for his China dream getting realistic approaches to achieve that goal have become, and might curtail his ambitions.Read More →

China´s state media have gone in overdrive pointing out, what they call, the decline of US democracy, Zhang Lijia, author of Socialism Is Great!: A Worker’s Memoir of the New China tells at CNN. “They have gone into an overdrive,” she tells, although the official reactions have remained polite, naming this a win-win situation. Hillary Clinton, much more than Donald Trump, was seen as a potential anti-China force in the US.Read More →