Eye Spy: Chinese Surveillance and the Dawn of Digital Authoritarianism

SHARON LI does a deep dive into China’s surveillance development and its domestic and global implications. As China races towards establishing itself as the world’s leading technology superpower, new developments in advanced technology have seen large-scale integration on the state level, particularly within the expanding presence of the country’s surveillance state. In previous decades, surveillance has largely been limited to vast sets of video footage … Continue reading Eye Spy: Chinese Surveillance and the Dawn of Digital Authoritarianism

No IP Theft, No Problem: China’s Cutting-Edge Grid Technology

JEFFREY FU chronicles China’s grid technology development in response to doubts about China’s capacity for government-driven domestic innovation. U.S. President Donald Trump frequently alleges that China engages in state-sponsored intellectual property theft. To strengthen his accusations, he draws on the age-old narrative that China lacks the capacity for domestic innovation due to a combination of ineffective government policy and a culture of “rule-bound rote learners.” … Continue reading No IP Theft, No Problem: China’s Cutting-Edge Grid Technology

The Chinese Investment Paradox

ALEX HERKERT contrasts the Chinese government’s control of overseas investment in the entertainment sector and the technology sector. Over the past decades, the inception and direction of Chinese outbound investment has become a topic of great significance with global ramifications. Total Chinese investment in the U.S. has grown from less than $2.5 billion between 1978 and 1999 to more than $178 billion from 2005 to the … Continue reading The Chinese Investment Paradox

Taobao Villages: Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide

Chinese growth is perpetually a hot topic in the news: major newspapers are constantly packed with stories of China’s shift from labor intensive factories to advanced manufacturing and services. What these stories often miss, however, is that over 40% of China’s population is still rural — what goes on in the countryside remains a crucial part of China’s economic story. Chinese urban-rural inequality remains ever … Continue reading Taobao Villages: Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide

Chinese Cross-border M&A: Motivations and Reactions

After a record-setting 2016, Chinese outbound M&A slowed considerably in 2017. The world experienced a colossal -31% year-on-year decline in Chinese outbound investment. Fittingly, the most significant announced deal of the year— the $1.2bn acquisition of Moneygram by Ant Financial — was blocked by the US government in January of 2018 after failing to close in 2017, capping off an already disappointing year. A new … Continue reading Chinese Cross-border M&A: Motivations and Reactions

The Clash of E-commerce Titans

Accompanying the rapid rise of online shopping around the world, the leading e-commerce companies have thoroughly implemented their services in many developed countries. Now, these global giants have turned their focus toward the newest competitive market: Southeast Asia, a region ripe for expansion due to its rapid development and the explosion of mobile device users. But not only is the time fitting, these countries also … Continue reading The Clash of E-commerce Titans

Trade Skirmishes, Not War

With China’s reticence to support oil embargoes against North Korea, public attention has coalesced around a pivotal question: Will the Trump administration initiate a trade war against China? In his speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November, President Trump stated “The United States will no longer turn a blind eye to violations, cheating or economic aggression. Those days are over.” The stakes are … Continue reading Trade Skirmishes, Not War

Bike Sharing with Chinese Characteristics: Possibilities for International Expansion

Walking through the streets of major Chinese cities, one cannot miss the throngs of identical bikes all over roads and sidewalks. Any passerby will without a doubt see names like Mobike, Ofo, Xiaoming, and at least a dozen more speeding through bike lanes and parked on sidewalks all over China. Over the past year, these companies have collectively come together to form a new phrase … Continue reading Bike Sharing with Chinese Characteristics: Possibilities for International Expansion

China’s IPO market

In 2016, growth in the global IPO market declined significantly from its pace in 2015. While the number of IPOs dropped in Asia as well, the decrease in growth in the Asian market was not nearly as severe. According to figures from KPMG, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) was the second largest IPO market in terms of funds raised in 2016, behind the Hong Kong … Continue reading China’s IPO market

Constructing Corruption—Institutional Failure in China’s Urbanization Strategy

   Starting in 2017, a new school district housing (xuequfang) frenzy began to sweep China’s developed cities. School-district housing is 2017’s buzzword among the urbanized middle-class families with school-aged children. The phenomenon is responsible for pushing up real estate prices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other first-tier mainland cities. The school district system, instituted by the Ministry of Education, stipulates that all students in nineteen … Continue reading Constructing Corruption—Institutional Failure in China’s Urbanization Strategy