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The Wire China

The Wire is a weekly digital news magazine covering China’s economic rise.

01/09/2023

Our op-ed this week is from Shang-Jin Wei:

"To improve medium-term , must heed the lessons of its own history and focus on removing barriers to market entry and ."

To restore rapid GDP growth, Chinese policymakers must break the cycle of pessimism and recover lost household and corporate confidence.

01/09/2023

"It’s one thing for official statistics to be trumpeted as a sign of great success in attracting but the true test is if from foreign is actually being used to make impactful investments. When shovels actually break ground that’s a more credible sign of commitment and confidence than just moving money around."

- Rhodium Group Senior Analyst Mark Witzke in Isabella Borshoff's piece on FDI in .

Will political risk will continue to dampen enthusiasm for foreign investment into China? Isabella Borshoff reports.

01/09/2023

This week, Bob Davis's Q&A with Thea Lee from the International Labor Affairs Bureau.

"We should put pressure on the government to stop using forced labor in or elsewhere. This is not about attacking anybody or decoupling. It is about enforcing our own laws."

Thea Lee talks about the U.S.'s lopsided trade relationship with China; enforcing the Uyghur Force Labor Protection Act; and why labor rights problems in China are so systemic.

01/09/2023

Global demand for excavators and diggers is strong, with top firms like SANY Group, ZOOMLION and XCMG Group experiencing double-digit growth overseas since 2020.

This week, Eliot Chen has on China’s heavy machinery giants.

Infographics on China’s heavy machinery giants: who they are, what they’re building, and what it means for the industry’s longtime incumbents.

01/09/2023

This week, Brent Crane's cover on Zhao Weiguo.

"Given his swashbuckling style, Zhao — himself worth $2.2 billion last year — earned the nickname “the madman” within the industry. Yet, like any madman, Zhao’s daring had a downside."

Brent Crane's cover story this week is on Zhao Weiguo; his rise and fall, and what might lie ahead for Tsinghua Unigroup.

01/03/2023

Our op-ed this week is from Victor Shih, Associate Professor at UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy .

"...real, meaningful local experiments, which had propelled two decades of in , will continue to fall victim to turgid at the top."

This pattern of deep reluctance to change the status quo, followed by rapid policy changes when Xi himself changes his mind, might continue to drive policy.

01/03/2023

This week, from Katrina Northrop:

When the takes over the House, the new group of lawmakers will bring a wide-ranging agenda with them.

"It is going to be bad no matter what, the only question is how bad?" - the Stimson Center's Yun Sun

Various China-related investigations are already on the GOP agenda — including into the origins of Covid-19 and the business dealings of Hunter Biden.

01/03/2023

Alex Joske talks to David Barboza about his new 'Spies and Lies', and more in this week's Q&A.

" is more concerned with elite influence operations and covert activity. And I just don’t think that this has been widely understood and integrated into foreign policy."

Alex Joske talks about his new book; China's unique approach to intelligence operations; and the integration between business figures and intelligence in China.

01/03/2023

BYD overtook Tesla in the first half of 2022 to become the world’s most popular new-energy vehicle producer.

Check out Eliot Chen's on how sidestepped supply chain woes to dominate China’s market.

Infographics on BYD, the formidable conglomerate and China’s most successful electric vehicle maker.

01/03/2023

Happy New Year from everyone here at The Wire China!

We're kicking off 2023 with a cover story from Isabella Borshoff all about how ’s special relationship with could be at a breaking point.

Germany has long had a unique relationship with China, but cracks are starting to emerge in the historically powerful pro-engagement alliance.

12/15/2022

From Isabella Borshoff's latest :

"The countries look at the picture, and see the U.S. as more and more reluctant to act in the Gulf. They see the rise of , and think ‘we need to prepare for the day the U.S. leaves’."

- Jean-Loup Samaan

Deepening ties with China remains a priority for Gulf countries: An added benefit could be to stoke an American strategic response.

12/14/2022

"I believe in free enterprise and the market. But when somebody comes in and doesn’t play by the rules, the market is no longer free. It’s a fool’s market."

- Keith Krach in this week's Q&A with Bob Davis

Former State Department official Keith Krach talks about pushing back against Huawei; and fighting back when the market is no longer free.

12/13/2022

Eliot Chen's latest take a look at how ’s have fared amid the and Xi Jinping’s drive for common prosperity.

Infographics on wealth in China: its magnitude, how it’s being spent and invested, and the inequality gap that has only grown in the Xi era.

12/13/2022

A decade ago, Wynn Resorts did a $50 million deal in Macau with two mysterious men: Ho Ho and Ho Hoi.

Katrina Northrop has uncovered why many previous inquiries into the deal likely led to dead ends: Ho Ho and Ho Hoi were using aliases.

Part 2 of Katrina Northrop's investigation into Wynn Resorts and the $50 million deal with two mysterious men: Ho Ho and Ho Hoi.

12/05/2022

In 2012, Steve Wynn, the mogul, made a $50 million deal in with two mysterious individuals —Ho Ho and Ho Hoi.

For nearly 20 years, their identities have been a puzzle. Finally, after a months-long , Katrina Northrop has answers.

"Nobody knows who they are — they surfaced in the land deal. That is a very sensitive issue in Macau. The deal was cut and they disappeared." - an anonymous Hong Kong-based gaming analyst

A four-month-long investigation has uncovered new evidence about Steve Wynn and his Macau business partners.

11/22/2022

From the fifth installment in Eyck Freymann's series.

"Climate change impacts at home are a national security challenge. American lawmakers are behind on this issue. is leading on , and it is poised to gain strategic advantages as a result."

- Carlos Curbelo

Democrats and Republicans are realizing that climate change and China pose a single interconnected challenge.

11/21/2022

"China is turning to Maurice “Hank” Greenberg to bolster communications with the U.S", say Lingling Wei and Charles Hutzler from The Wall Street Journal.

ICYMI, here is Brent Crane's story on the Greenbergs, and the role of business interests in U.S.-China relations.

As CEO of AIG, Hank Greenberg was known for advocating for closer ties with China. Now, his son Evan is also speaking out for deeper engagement.

11/21/2022

" has an older idea about what systems are – that they are organizational weapons that encompass your entire self and personality... It is about making yourself part of something bigger."

- Joseph Torigian in this week's Q&A with Brent Crane

Joseph Torigian talks about the changing understanding of Leninist regimes; and what the collapse of the Soviet Union means for China today.

11/21/2022

“Working and communicating directly with people on the ground in can help pe*****te pervasive rhetoric and … Cutting off contact is a foolish, blunt, and counterproductive proxy for getting tough.”

- Dan Murphy, from the Harvard Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government

Our universities must remain open to China, argues Dan Murphy from the Harvard Kennedy School in this week’s op-ed.

11/21/2022

"In the U.S., government actions to kickstart domestic in recent years have largely attempted to establish a bulwark against by trying to roll back decades of ."

- Michael Davidson from UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy in this week's op-ed

Zero-sum competition between the U.S. and China holds disastrous consequences for the climate. A new model is needed.

11/17/2022

Amidst covering the recent Xi-Trudeau confrontation, we're bringing you this piece from our archives...

As Christopher Beam reported back in January 2021, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was using his father’s playbook when it came to . But the game had changed.

Justin Trudeau has to figure out his next move.

11/16/2022

As Twitter lurches from change-to-change under the mercurial leadership of its new owner, Elon Musk, the is, in some ways, becoming increasingly like its Chinese counterpart, .

Here are Eliot Chen's on the two sites: their financials, their business models and their content moderation.

Infographics on the two social media sites, Twitter and Weibo: their financials, their business models and their content moderation.

11/15/2022

"Human rights should not be decoupled from trade, or from other pressing issues like climate change, counter-terrorism or nuclear proliferation. The Chinese government has manipulated these issues and blackmailed the world for too long."

- Teng Biao in this week's Q&A with Scott Savitt.

Teng Biao talks about why the billionaire exile Guo Wengui turned on him; and why resistance in China these days is increasingly impossible.

11/14/2022

"Rather than a short-term phenomenon, it appears that this shift to outflows is part of a structural realignment, with market participants considering in a new light."

- Jonathan Fortun Vargas from the Institute of international finance in this news & analysis piece from Isabella Borshoff

Foreign investors have pulled a net $9 billion out of mainland Chinese equity markets this year, but can potential policy changes restore confidence?

11/14/2022

"…the continuing reliance on government and its shifting priorities risk making broad-based innovation through the economy a chimera."

- Simon Commander and Saul Estrin in this week's opinion piece on 's plans for .

Can China become a successful location for broad-based innovation? The results of Beijing's ambitious plans so far have been mixed.

11/07/2022

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has greenlit a controversial deal for Chinese shipping giant COSCO to buy a stake in the port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest.

Check out this week's infographics by Eliot Chen for the low-down on COSCO Shipping.

Infographics on COSCO Shipping, the state-owned giant: its influence over the maritime industry, and why its reach has elicited concern.

11/07/2022

"However you look at it, it is very much Jiang Zemin who has shaped the China we know today: the giant flagship conglomerates; the grip that the party has on the private sector... The list goes on."

- Frank Dikotter in this week's Q&A with Jonathan Chatwin

Frank Dikötter talks about his new book, and how the architect of modern China is Jiang Zemin, not Deng Xiaoping.

11/07/2022

Katrina Northrop reports on and the latest restrictions on to .

"Companies like ASML have tried to play Switzerland, and to play neutral… But we are definitely not in Kansas anymore."

- Rogier Creemers from Universiteit Leiden / Leiden University.

While ASML tries to navigate the latest semiconductor export restrictions, the U.S. government is trying to not alienate its allies.

11/07/2022

This week, an op-ed from Diana Choyleva and Dinny McMahon on the internationalization of the .

"…the more firmly Beijing sticks to its current strategy for the , the more it will benefit from the world’s mounting disillusionment with the greenback."

While Beijing’s efforts to promote RMB internationalization may fall short, they could have an important impact on global markets.

10/31/2022

"... makes its investments far more costly than necessary. And while China’s approach of choice protects the central government’s deficit-to-GDP ratio, it places a heavy burden on local governments’ budgets..."

- Yu Yongding in this week's op-ed.

Chinese policymakers must also address a flawed financing structure and loosen regulations on local-government special-purpose bonds.

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