In The News

Xi Turns Sights on Wayward Senior Leaders in China Graft Fight

November 3, 2016
The Chinese Communist Party has consolidated power for President Xi Jinping’s and imposed new rules to battle corruption by senor leaders. “The rules detailed by the official Xinhua News Agency late Wednesday put the onus on top officials to set higher standards and called on cadres to report potential violations involving members of the party’s Central Committee,” reports Bloomberg. “The 25-...

China's Leaders Consolidate Power

Frank Ching November 3, 2016
China’s Xi Jinping is the second leader of the People’s Republic of China to be designated “core” of party leadership. Deng Xiaoping “invented the title ‘core,’ bestowing it on Jiang Zemin, whom he chose as the party leader after the tumult of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 and the downfall of General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who had sympathized with protesting students,” explains...

Asia Needs to Spell Out Changes They Want in International Monetary System

Barry Eichengreen October 31, 2016
The International Monetary Fund contributes to stabilizing the monetary system, reducing imbalances and providing emergency assistance as needed. Yet many Asian nations resist borrowing from the IMF and a regional arrangement for Asia has yet to be activated, writes Barry Eichengreen for Caixin. He urges critics to be specific on needed reforms: “Do they require further changes in the composition...

In Your Phone, In Their Air

Peter Whoriskey October 28, 2016
Lithium batteries in smartphones and laptops include graphite. “The companies making those products promote the bright futuristic possibilities of the ‘clean’ technology,” reports Peter Whoriskey for the Washington Post. “But virtually all such batteries use graphite, and its cheap production in China, often under lax environmental controls, produces old-fashioned industrial pollution.” China...

Unlike the West, India and China Embrace Globalization

Bruce Stokes October 18, 2016
Globalization has won fans in India and China, where economic growth is projected to rise by 7.6 and 6.6 percent, respectively. “Indians and Chinese also express pride in their respective nation’s growing stature on the world stage,” explains Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center, in reporting on responses to the Pew 2016 Global Attitudes Survey. “In all,...

Thai King's Death Adds to Uncertainty About Obama's Faltering Asia Pivot

David Brunnstrom October 14, 2016
Monarchists maintain that the system's perks include continuity in governance and preparation of leaders. Uncertainty follows the death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, especially for the US pivot to Asia, suggests David Brunnstrom for Reuters. In the article, Murray Hiebert describes regional political changes since 2011: "When the pivot started, you had Thailand engaged, a...

Chinese Billionaire Makes Aggressive Moves in Hollywood

Ryan Faughnder and David Pierson October 5, 2016
The Dalian Wanda Group could be intent on learning the arts of soft power. After the Chinese conglomerate purchased a Hollywood production company and a large movie theater chain for a combined $6 billion, 16 members of US Congress urged the comptroller general to consider if new standards should be applied to similar foreign acquisitions. The September 15 letter raises the possibility of Chinese...