China News
The Daily Signal reports on China news with analysis and commentary on foreign policy, trade, technology, and security challenges.
-
news
Human Rights Activist: China’s Regime ‘More Dangerous’ Than ISIS
The Communists who control China are “many times more dangerous” than the brutal terrorist group ISIS, human rights activist Chen Guangcheng said today in remarks in Washington at The Heritage Foundation. Chen said: I believe that we have underestimated the threat from the Communist regime in China. They are many, many times more dangerous than… -
opinion
China Is Now the World’s Largest Economy
Finally, it is official. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund announced China has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest economy. The U.S. has held the distinction since 1873, when it overtook Great Britain. Given growth trajectories of the last few decades, this should come as no surprise. Neither is it necessarily anything for… -
opinion
The Empire Strikes Back: China-Controlled Gangs Incite Violence in Hong Kong Demonstrations
The violence erupting in Hong Kong amid what had so far been peaceful pro-democracy protests is being carried out by criminal gangs controlled by China, according to Hong Kong politicians and media sources. If true, this would mark a new, potentially more violent phase in a story that has already attracted global attention. Violence broke… -
opinion
The View From China on Hong Kong’s Massive Demonstrations
As thousands of protestors flood downtown Hong Kong in opposition to Beijing’s efforts to control the political future of the “Special Administration Region,” there is growing concern about how this situation will be resolved. For the people of Hong Kong, the issue is straightforward. Under the terms of the Basic Law, negotiated between the People’s… -
opinion
A Crackdown in Hong Kong Would Signal an End to China’s Economic Miracle
In terms of the direction of China’s economic future, think of Hong Kong as the “canary in the coal mine.” As the protest movement in Hong Kong grows over concerns about the island’s democratic future, the question is whether Beijing will intervene. A crackdown, Tiananmen-style or otherwise, would not be wise because Hong Kong remains… -
news
China Cutting Off News of Hong Kong Protests
As protesters in Hong Kong continue their demands for greater democracy, China’s Communist government is restricting media coverage of the events to the rest of the country. According to the Associated Press, coverage of the Hong Kong protests has been limited in mainland China to TV anchors reading brief statements with no video and text… -
opinion
Chinese Hacks Endangered U.S. Military Operations
China did it again. Between June 2012 and May 2013, Chinese hackers infiltrated military contractors’ networks, according to a recently released report from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Chairman Carl Levin (D–MI) called the findings “very disturbing” and said that these hacks threatened the security of U.S. military operations. The report was based on a… -
opinion
China’s Growing Military Pressure Against India
For years, there has been concern about the “string of pearls,” China’s range of investments in port facilities in nations along the Indian Ocean littoral. Gwadar, Pakistan; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Hambantota, Sri Lanka; the Maldives; and Seychelles have all seen a growth in such Chinese investments over the past decade. Although much of this has been… -
opinion
China’s Communists See Red When Hong Kong Demands Democracy
China’s overreaction to legitimate demands for democracy in Hong Kong, where police are teargasing peaceful protesters asking for universal suffrage, leaves no doubt how the Communist Party sees its future. Regrettably, the Obama administration is saying it will “not take sides.” Beijing’s Communists are making their position clear — they are not interested in sharing… -
opinion
How China’s One-Child Policy Is Setting Nation Up for Economic Crisis
China is missing out on its biggest economic asset: its people. Economist Nicholas Eberstadt estimates that, even if Beijing were to eliminate its one-child policy today, Chinese economic growth would still decline in the 2020s, because the next generation’s working-age population is already so markedly small. Since implementation in 1979, the one-child policy has reduced… -
opinion
China’s Coercive One Child Policy Turns 34
Few can forget the image that circulated online a few years ago. A young Chinese woman lay exhausted in a hospital bed, staring hopelessly at the body of her baby girl, reportedly killed after a forced abortion at seven months. Feng Jianmei and her baby daughter were victims of China’s coercive, unrelenting one-child policy that… -
opinion
The Party Is Over in China, for Now
The current anti-corruption campaign underway in China is the real deal. What first appeared to be a convenient way to eliminate political opponents when President Xi took power in late 2012 has morphed into a campaign than no one could have imagined. In 18 months, nearly a quarter million officials and others have been held… -
opinion
Poverty, Not Climate Change, Bigger Concern for China and India
According to a recent news story, President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will not attend the upcoming UN climate summit. The clear, but unsaid, implication is that the two most populous and still poor countries do not want to attend a bashing of CO2 emitters—of which they are major… -
opinion
China, With an Eye to the U.S., Is Aggressively Building Up Their Military
China recently conducted its third land-based missile-intercept test. These tests, most likely designed to facilitate “hit to kill” technologies critical for China’s missile defense and anti-satellite programs, are part of a well-planned, enormous military buildup in which the Chinese have been engaged for nearly 20 years. Here are some features of that effort: They have created a large… -
opinion
China Confronts Growing Instability in Its West
Reports indicate major violence erupting in western China this week, with knife-wielding assailants attacking two towns. Casualties are said to involve dozens of Uighurs and ethnic Han (the largest ethnic group in China), as well as extensive property destruction. The attacks were apparently aimed at local police forces, with dozens of police cars damaged. The… -
news
Boeing In Talks for Deal with Iran, Seeks Ex-Im Financing for China
One of the Export-Import Bank’s biggest beneficiaries is working to solidify a deal to sell airplanes to Iran. Unrelatedly, Boeing is also asking for more than $200 million in financing from the bank for exports to China. “These two deals reflect the problematic nature of so many of Ex-Im’s deals,” said Diane Katz, a research… -
opinion
China: Oil in Iraq Exposes Dilemma
As the civil-war-stricken Iraqi government continues to battle the Islamic State, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been closely watching its substantial oil holdings in the region. Watching, however, is all it can do. China has long emphasized its Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, emphasizing respect for sovereignty and non-aggression. Though these principles are… -
opinion
U.S.-China Summit Seeks Improved Relations Yet Again
U.S. officials and observers are hoping last week’s U.S.-China Strategic and Economic dialogue will halt what some are calling a “downward spiral” in relations between the two powers. However, this week’s meetings are unlikely to yield transformative changes in policy. In addition to China’s abysmal human rights record, especially under President Xi, two issues that… -
opinion
The U.S. and China’s Changing Investment Patterns
A new and growing shift in China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from developing to developed world is well underway, and according to The Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute’s China Global Investment Tracker, the prime target in the first half of 2014 was once again the United States. Until a few years ago, Chinese… -
opinion
Would Restricting Trade with China be Tough, or Just Stupid?
In his famous “Time for Choosing” speech, Ronald Reagan observed: “This is the issue of this election: whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them…