Former China-correspondent Howard French wonders what the US is fighting for in Africa in The Atlantic, responding to a Washington Post article. “If Washington really wants to promote African democracy, why is it partnering with the continent’s autocrats to create military spy programs?”Read More →
What is Chen Guangcheng’s future, wonders author Zhang Lijia, as she recalls her earlier meetings with the blind lawyer and his diligent way to make a difference in China. How can Chen stay China’s bright and honest son, she asks in The Diplomat.Read More →
The US embassy in Beijing and US consulate in Shanghai tweet regularly their measurements of the pollution in those cities. No allowed, said a representative of the environmental authorities in China this week. Denying the problem is not going to help, tells business analyst Shaun Rein in Marketplace.Read More →
On Thursday 31 May the Beijing-based author Zhang Lijia will answer questions on political reform in China in an upcoming Hangout-on-air. Are we seeing merely window-dressing, or are there real options for change. Basis will be her opt-in in the New York Times, where she sounds rather pessimistic.Read More →
China needs to shift its economy from state investments to domestic consumption to survive. But can China withdraw that kind of power from state institutions, wonders political and financial analyst Victor Shih in the Financial Times.Read More →
Former colonial powers have been anxiously watching how China has been entering Africa. While it is too early to give a final verdict, former foreign correspondent in Africa and China Howard French sees more positive than negative effects, he tells in AllAfrica.Read More →
The famous author Zhang Lijia discussed earlier this week in the New York Times the prospect – of better the lack thereof – of political reform in China. In Google+ Hangout-on-air we will discuss early next week why she does not think the upcoming leadership is ready for that task.Read More →
Not a dropping growth is China’s problem, as some economists predict, but income equality is hurting and might offer one of the country’s real challenges, argues economist Arthur Kroeber in Foreign Policy. Read More →
Ruling Prime Minister Wen Jiabao warned a few months ago the country needs real political reforms to avoid another Cultural Revolution. Is China’s upcoming leadership ready for that tasks? Author and celebrity Zhang Lijia writes in the New York Times she has her doubts.Read More →
Disposed Chongqing leader Bo Xilai might have left behind a more prosperous city, that wealth comes at a price, as Chongqing’s debts are far higher than China’s average of already high liabilities, tells financial expert Victor Shih in the Wall Street Journal.Read More →
The online debate before and after the dismissal of Bo Xilai, has put Chinese internet companies firmly in the limelight. Baidu’s director international communication Kaiser Kuo explains how they deal with their customers and a often opaque internet law in the Voice of America and The World.Read More →
Is it like the Gang of Four in 1976? Or Tiananmen in 1989? Or the dismissal of Chen Liangyu in 2006? Commentators struggle to find a comparison. The downfall of Bo Xilai certainly showed cracks in the varnish of unity among China’s leaders, tells political analyst Victor Shih in the Voice of America.Read More →