China News
The Daily Signal reports on China news with analysis and commentary on foreign policy, trade, technology, and security challenges.
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- Opinion
How Obama’s Poor Judgment Led to the Chinese Hack of OPM
The maxim that “personnel is policy” transcends partisan affiliations and political labels. Every president, including President Barack Obama, has the authority to staff federal agencies with loyal political appointees. Given the deep pool of experienced talent from which presidents can draw, philosophical alignment and management competence are not mutually exclusive. Presidents place America at risk…Paul Conway -
- Opinion
Why I’d Never Invest in the Chinese Stock Market (And It’s Not Just Because of the New Decline)
From the summer of 2009 through 2012, I was an American economist living in Beijing. Although an avid stock investor, I have never once owned a Chinese listed company. Let me tell you why. Traditionally, Chinese households have had (basically) two places to put their savings: the banking system and residential real estate. With housing…William T. Wilson -
- Opinion
Chinese Say They’re Just Watching the Weather From Islands in South China Sea
Having antagonized much of the region with its island building in the South China Sea, as demonstrated by the loud chorus of concern heard at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore several weeks ago, Beijing is now claiming that the islands are intended for weather observation. “The construction of infrastructure for observation and communication is the…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
Hong Kong Rejects Communist China’s Bogus Election Plan
The people of Hong Kong have once again given the world a lesson in democracy and liberty, this time by rejecting a bogus election plan hatched by communists in the People’s Republic of China. This is the gist of confusing events that took place Thursday in the former British colony. Lawmakers in the mini-legislature, the…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
How the Information Nabbed in the OPM Hacking Helps Chinese Spies
Former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet famously said when asked about so-called open source (unclassified) intelligence, “we only pay for secrets.” He spoke with the confidence of a man born and raised in the world of the 20th century spy and the Cold War. With the massive leak of government employee information from the…Ronald Marks -
- Opinion
China’s Plan to Challenge US as a Rising Global Power
What is China up to? It’s been building artificial islands in the South China Sea. Recently, two motorized artillery pieces were spotted on one of these artificial islands. Experts believe the Chinese may plan to use them as airstrips. On May 20 the Chinese navy challenged a U.S. surveillance aircraft flying near one of the…Kim Holmes -
- Opinion
China Military Moves Into South China Sea Dispute, Solidifying China’s New Area Grab
CNN broadcast an exclusive report, as one of its reporters hitched a ride on a U.S. Navy P-8 patrol aircraft overflying the artificial islands the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building in the South China Sea. The Chinese repeatedly tried to warn off the aircraft, in English language broadcasts that CNN included in its…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
From Antarctica to Djibouti, China’s Presence Is Expanding
Neither Djibouti, on the east coast of Africa at the entrance to the Red Sea, nor Antarctica are all that close to China. Yet, China is intent on establishing a presence in both areas. To support its growing Indian Ocean presence, which recently included deployments of submarines, including a nuclear-powered attack boat, China reportedly is…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
China, Not America, Rescues Its Own Citizens Stuck in Yemen
As the situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate, consider this striking contrast between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States. One country dispatched naval forces to evacuate its citizens from the collapsing Middle East state. In the process, they evacuated citizens from 10 other countries, including Great Britain, Japan and Germany. The other…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
Would China Have Launched the AIIB If Congress Had Approved IMF Reforms? Yes.
Does anyone really believe that China would have shelved its newly launched, $100 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) if Congress had approved the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “Reform Package” negotiated by the Obama Administration in 2010? That’s what proponents of the IMF reforms would have you believe as they fired off a new round…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
China’s Economy—Hard or Soft Landing?
A panel at The Heritage Foundation on March 11 discussed whether China’s economy is heading toward a “hard” or “soft” landing. Heritage’s Walter Lohman chaired this panel of experts, which included Dr. James Dorn of the Cato Institute, Pieter Bottelier of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins Univeristy, and Heritage’s Dr. William…Yexin Mao -
- Opinion
China’s Military: Not a Giant, but Not a Midget
In support of the U.S.–China Economic and Security Commission, the RAND Corporation provided a report on the limitations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Immediately, a chorus of voices was citing the report to show that the Chinese threat was overblown. Time magazine’s Mark Thompson wished that more people would read the report, since…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
Mind the Gap! China Increasing Its Defense Spending, While U.S. Holds Defense Dollars Constant
Despite the much-vaunted “Asia pivot,” American defense spending and force allocations haven’t shifted that much to Asia. As China’s economy exhibits signs of slowing down, there have been questions about whether this would affect Chinese defense spending. China’s officials made clear that it would not when they announced this week that defense spending would again…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
India Unseats China as the World’s Fastest Growing Economy—for Now
It was not supposed to happen this fast. Earlier this week India’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures showing economic growth of 7.5 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter for 2014. This rate was a little faster than China’s year-end rate and is noteworthy since China has outgrown India in every year but one over…William T. Wilson -
- Opinion
The U.S. Needs to Deal with China Differently
Between complacency and confrontation there is a responsible way forward that keeps the Asia-Pacific a big enough place to accommodate the vital interests of both Beijing and Washington. The heavy lifting will have to be done by the United States. That’s okay. The work will make America a stronger nation and a better Asian ally….James Carafano -
- Opinion
U.S. Should Join With These 3 Countries to Fight Back Against China
Face it. China is a problem. Nations across the Pacific and Asia are looking for constructive solutions. And that’s the promise of a Quad Dialogue—a forum for developing cooperative, synchronized policies among India, Australia, Japan and the United States. Start with the facts. China’s economic policies are increasingly mercantilist. It is developing military capabilities to…James Carafano -
- Opinion
This Is the Only Economy That Could Rival China’s
President Obama attended India’s Republic Day Celebrations as its chief guest—the first time a U.S. head of state has been given this honor. Bilateral discussions, however, were the main order of business for this trip, cut short by the death of Saudi King Abdullah. Talks likely focused, in their limited form, on a range of important defense…William T. Wilson -
- Opinion
China’s Economy Continues to Slow—Probably More Than Reported
This week China announced its 2014 real economic growth rate. There are two salient takeaways from the report: First, at least officially, the economy continues to slow modestly. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 7.4 percent over the entire year. This is…William T. Wilson -
- Opinion
U.S. Businesses Feel Increasingly Unwelcomed in China
There was a time when the “China-lobby” meant supporters of The Republic of China (Taiwan). In the last couple decades, it has come to mean representatives of the American business community most eager to do business on the mainland, the People’s Republic of China, and willing to exercise influence in Washington in support of cordial…William T. Wilson -
- Opinion
The Important China Story the Media Ignored This Year
Occasionally, an important foreign policy/national security story gets underreported. This year it was China’s mounting military might. It’s no one’s fault that it didn’t get the coverage it deserved, considering the stories that gripped us in 2014 like Russia rolling into Ukraine and Islamic State terror. But no time like the present to fix this,…Peter Brookes