"Because it is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, China’s climate pledges send powerful signals to countries wavering between fossil fuels and renewable energy industries." buff.ly/zkGBvt6

As Zhenhua Zhang writes in this week’s opinion column, China remains addicted to coal. Last year it was responsible for more than 90 percent of total new coal generation capacity installed worldwide.

In an interview with Evan Peng, U.S.-based academic Hongbin Li discusses why China’s college entrance exam system retains popular support despite its hardships, and how the gaokao’s influence can spread overseas.

"Even poor households still spend a lot of money on education, because it’s their only hope for the kids to be upwardly mobile. Testing well and getting into a good college is a way that China maintains social mobility, which is very important." — Hongbin Li buff.ly/cpDHOun

“These technologies are still under development,” says Zhanfu Yu, an independent aviation and aerospace consultant. “All these hardware, software, policy and talents are not well positioned right now, so the passenger scenario may take a longer time.” buff.ly/AST9PHg

It is an easy daydream to slip into when stuck in traffic — imagining that your car could fly. That dream has seemed tantalisingly close in China. But as @rachelcheung.bsky.social reports, a recent accident shows that every driver’s rush-hour dream remains, at least for now, a dream.

“[Whenever] I think the government is going to pursue measures to increase our resilience, or unity, or our self-defense capability, we will [still] face a lot of challenges from the opposition party.” — Chen Fang-yu, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Soochow University

“It was one of the hottest rockstars of 2024,” says Tony Peng, author of Recode China AI. He says the firm lost steam after DeepSeek made waves in Jan,but gained momentum thanks to K2’s cost effectiveness & potential for so-called ‘agentic use,’ where the model does tasks on its own.

Moonshot AI’s name says a lot about the Beijing-based unicorn. The start-up wants to compete with giants such as Alibaba and DeepSeek and has impressed many with K2, its new large language model. Noah Berman reports.

Taiwan is almost entirely dependent on imported fossil fuels for its power supply, but democratic forces on the island that China would be seeking to destroy through forced unification are also standing in the way of the obvious solution. Nate Taplin reports.

As the U.S. withdraws from climate commitments, Zhenhua Zhang argues that China can seize the moment to set the global standard.

The Wire China is currently seeking applications for a staff writer. Follow the link below to learn more about the position and how to apply.

Jerome A. Cohen, a pioneer in Chinese legal studies in the U.S. and veteran academic, passed away on Monday. A leading voice on Chinese law, he spoke with Evan Peng last year about growing repression in China's legal system and reflected on where there is still room for optimism.

There is AI and then there is AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, at which point the technology rivals human cognitive abilities. In this week’s opinion piece, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh and Kristy Loke argue that fears in the U.S. that China are winning the AGI race are overblown.

In a Q&A with Robert Postings, medic and writer Dr. Ruby Wang discusses China's success in harnessing technology into healthcare and the pervasive issue of inequality across the system.

In this week’s company-in-the-news big picture, Noah Berman looks at Cambricon, the local hero that could be China’s best hope of weaning itself off American chip design technology, the two brothers who co-founded it and its connections to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Ending “de minimus” was supposed to be a crippling blow to Chinese retailers Temu and Shein. But as @eliotchen.bsky.social reports, both companies have figured out other ways to thrive.

In this week’s issue, Noah Berman and Dean Minello profile the heads of China’s oldest industrial robotics firms and leaders of a new wave of startups developing humanoids and robodogs, as well as the academics and policymakers paving the way for the industry’s development.

“Strong controls on AI chips and chip manufacturing equipment, which are essential for our national security and AI leadership, should not be up for negotiation.” — Former National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan

In a Q&A with Brent Crane, writer and academic Dan Wang discusses why the core differences between the world's two largest economies, the brutality of China's former one-child policy and whether it's right call it a Marxist country.

Most U.S. companies with China operations learned to live with the tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration, which were continued under Joe Biden’s. But another four years of even higher duties may finally force them to change tack. Noah Berman reports.

Under Trump, a strategy built over two administrations to keep China behind in the AI race is adrift. Through interviews with former and current U.S. officials, Noah Berman and @eliotchen.bsky.social explore the genesis — and unwinding — of the export controls on computer chips.

In this Q&A with Dean Minello, dissident scholar Perry Link discusses public expression in China, the nuances of China-watching, life under government blacklisting, and how patterns of Chinese self-censorship echo across the American political spectrum. buff.ly/GqjDYiZ

As Xi Jinping reviewed his troops on Wednesday in Beijing, his 101 year-old mother, Qi Xin, was with him on the Tiananmen rostrum in spirit. @lucyhornby.bsky.social looks at the life and times of Xi’s often overlooked mother.

Since floating shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Laopu Gold has become the territory’s hottest stock. @rachelcheung.bsky.social looks at the unlikely rise of Laopu and its founder Xu Gaoming, who was previously a fisheries bureau clerk in Hunan. buff.ly/xNhKMNl

Involution, or “irrational production”, has spread to China’s once-promising green industries. @aligarciaherrero.bsky.social warns that the government’s reflex reaction, forced consolidation, is not the answer to the problem. buff.ly/Vus25Yi

The relationships between the three powers remain complex, with fundamental differences that are hard to resolve, argues Manoj Kewalramani.

Over recent years, Dean Minello writes in this week’s Big Picture, the education ministry has issued directives that have reduced the number of humanities courses in favour of STEM majors. buff.ly/pzcWDOR

In an excerpt from his new book, Breakneck, technology analyst Dan Wang marvels at Guizhou’s infrastructure, and examines what it illuminates about the contrasting strengths and weaknesses of Chinese autocracy and American democracy. buff.ly/UOeB0ii

China's economy isn’t generating enough well-paid jobs, putting prospective parents off from having children, argues Nancy Qian in this week's op-ed. buff.ly/f664qUi

In this week’s Q&A, Fox Business host Larry Kudlow speaks with Bob Davis about his war on Huawei, his arguments with trade advisor Peter Navarro and Trump’s first-term China successes and failures. buff.ly/4KPSY40

In this week's Big Picture, Dean Minello takes a look at how China is taking big steps towards making its power system more resilient while progress has stalled in the United States. buff.ly/Bs3DCdD

Every time a batter hits a home run or fouls off a ball into the stands, it costs U.S. baseball teams more money than ever before thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China-made goods. And baseballs are just the start of it, writes Noah Berman. buff.ly/UqVvLsj

Myanmar’s civil war poses one of China’s biggest foreign policy challenges. As the country devolves back into rebel fiefdoms, Beijing has fallen back on a unique brand of Realpolitik. Sean Williams reports. buff.ly/4zDdCM8

In this week’s opinion column, Barry D. Wood rues the rapid decline of RTHK and Hong Kong’s once vibrant media industry. buff.ly/x4Ywqc1

In a Q&A with Paddy Stephens, journalist and author Chris Horton (@heguisen.bsky.social) discusses Taiwan’s uncertain place in the world and how different generations have responded to the challenges it faces. buff.ly/ida4lN3

China’s former AI giant SenseTime has faded out of the picture in recent years. Can it make a comeback? @rachelcheung.bsky.social reports. buff.ly/VwOBuMj

In this 'Company in the News' profile, Noah Berman looks at GoLaxy, which is in hot water after researchers at the Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security revealed its work on behalf of the Chinese government. buff.ly/yrHhOGO

In '21, the U.S. trucking industry needed 80,000 extra drivers to fill all potential orders. Hou Xiaodi from autonomous driving firm TuSimple, failed at his 1st attempt to disrupt traditional trucking but is determined to try again. Grady McGregor reports. buff.ly/ZDinFd9

In March, Noah Berman and @eliotchen.bsky.social extensively reported on Lip-Bu Tan’s investments in China via his VC firm Walden International. Among the 77 Walden portfolio companies tracked, 3 are on a U.S. trade blacklist. The fund’s LPs included at least 9 Chinese govt entities.

@kovrig.bsky.social highlights the “growing inventory of incidents in which foreigners fall victim to China’s draconian security apparatus” and explains why and how individuals can get into trouble, suddenly turning from “today’s red-carpet guest” to “tomorrow’s consular case”. buff.ly/jOZrN0Y

In this Q&A with @eliotchen.bsky.social, Tai Ming Cheung discusses Beijing’s strategies for the further integration of its economic and military capabilities and its preparations for potential conflicts with regional neighbors and the United States. buff.ly/06cjgvJ

Dean Minello unpacks the numbers behind the post-COVID recovery of China’s international tourism sector — and how visa-free transit, along with longer stays through unilateral and mutual agreements, enhances a market still dominated by domestic travel. buff.ly/iNWJQAt

No one understands the Chinese Communist Party better than someone who was almost killed by it. Brent Crane talks to Chenggang Xu about his life and intellectual journey, from regime prisoner to regime expert. buff.ly/mAuyjLD

A porous firewall between Chinese cybersecurity companies, hacker groups and state security has endangered a trusted Microsoft cybersecurity partnership. @eliotchen.bsky.social reports. buff.ly/3QSyVbk

"…in the dystopian reality of the Party-state’s panopticon, anyone intending to have substantive interactions with Chinese counterparts must hope that the omnipresent surveillance apparatus doesn’t notice or object..." — @kovrig.bsky.social

Is it still safe to visit China? Few are better placed to answer that question than Canadian Michael Kovrig (@kovrig.bsky.social), one of the ‘two Michaels’ who were detained for nearly three years in China.

The U.S. got off to a fast start in the AI race. But China is catching up fast and, as Stephen Roach writes, has an approach to government-funded basic research that could well help it overtake its global rival. buff.ly/JUPh6he

In this week’s Q&A with Andrew Peaple, David Shambaugh talks about his new book on the world’s most important bilateral relationship, how it got so bad and whether American Liberalism and Chinese Leninism can ever learn to get along with each other. buff.ly/OUw9mhr

A new hydroelectric project in Tibet has stoked diplomatic and environmental concerns — but demonstrates the country’s technological advances. [email protected] reports. buff.ly/tXwApIQ