An already powerful leader just became a lot more powerful. Ordinarily, in politics or anything else, affirming the status quo isn’t big news — …
China in 2022: A year of crackdowns, crisis, outrage and power grabs
Xi Jinping Extends His Grip On Power
Xi is all but guaranteed to secure a third term and emerge with even more backers in the party’s upper ranks. In the U.S., even the lead-up to midterm …
Economic headwinds have pushed Xi’s signature “common prosperity” campaign to the back burner. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech to the Communist …
On the eve of China’s party congress, a special Grid look at how one of the country’s most powerful leaders since Mao has made his mark. Next week, …
China’s leadership selection process is determined by the balance of power at the highest levels of the Communist Party. China’s biggest political …
An already powerful leader just became a lot more powerful. Ordinarily, in politics or anything else, affirming the status quo isn’t big news — …
Less than a decade ago, China was home to some of the most polluted cities on earth; today it’s a leader in cutting pollution. How did that …
Tensions Grow With The World
The two leaders made a fresh show of their friendship at a regional summit — but as a leading scholar tells Grid, that doesn’t mean China supports …
The always-tense issue of Taiwan will feature in a Biden-Xi meeting Thursday. Nancy Pelosi’s plans are likely to come up. When President Joe Biden …
Xi Jinping may have something else in mind. It’s not war … yet. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) visit to Taiwan and China’s furious response …
One way to avoid conflict may be to understand just how destructive it would be. A war over Taiwan would likely involve the largest and most complex …
A new U.S. bill places semiconductors on the front lines of U.S.-China competition. In the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) visit to …
China’s response reflects its split foreign policy priorities — a balancing act that may not last long. On Thursday, as Russian bombs exploded across …
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has known China as a student, scholar and head of state. When it comes to China’s “limitless partnership” …
The North Atlantic alliance now has the Pacific on its radar. China’s not happy about that. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to have given NATO a …
The Climate Comes To The Forefront
Trouble in the U.S.-China relationship may mean trouble for the planet. The annual United Nations climate conference is underway in Egypt, and the …
More than half of the aluminum in the world is produced in China, but it is responsible for 81 percent of the industry’s emissions of PFCs, powerful …
Today, our Climate Reporter Dave Levitan is en route to COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Grid’s fourth dispatch on the two-week U.N. talks is guest …
The same area can get too dry, and then too wet, much too fast. When the rain finally came to Dallas this summer, it came with a vengeance. With more …
China is the world’s biggest polluter — but also the biggest investor in clean energy. President Joe Biden just signed into law the biggest clean …
China announced the ban last year, but Chinese companies are still pursuing carbon-intensive coal projects abroad. China, the world’s largest coal …
The Economy Gets Shaky For Xi
Why factory shutdowns, trade wars and export restrictions are forcing Apple to rethink China. China’s zero-covid policies threw a wrench in the entire …
China’s troubles aren’t going away. The ripple effects will hurt different countries in different ways. China and growth have been synonymous for so …
Xi Jinping has made “common prosperity” a core goal and political message. Key metrics are headed in the wrong direction. In March, a Chinese migrant …
This week’s Global Grid conversation looks at a range of troubles for China’s economy — and the implications for the country’s leadership. Over the …
New national data shows that recent graduates in China are having a hard time finding work. Experts say that’s likely to be a lasting challenge for …
China faces a real estate crisis that threatens the entire economy. This summer, hundreds of thousands of Chinese people have sent angry messages to …
Zero Covid Expands — And So Does The Outrage
Nearly 300 million people are under some form of covid lockdown in China. When will the government’s notoriously strict policy ease up? Locked down …
Wuhan has seen some of covid’s worst trauma, fury over lockdowns and now a sudden pivot away from zero-covid. Exactly three years ago, the first known …
A sudden end to restrictive anti-covid measures in China is leading to a surge of cases. The country is ill prepared for what’s coming. Zero-covid is …
The government is hinting it will loosen restrictions, but low immunity levels in the population and a lack of hospital capacity are major …
What the data shows about the “zero-covid” experience in China — as the country starts to dismantle the policy. At a local and nationwide level, …
A global capital of culture and finance now has residents bartering for food and going without critical medical care. When will it end? What does life …
The pandemic has punished China’s commercial capital. What happened in Shanghai may punish the country too. When the end came for Shanghai’s covid …
A rising number of people across China are feeling the downsides of keeping covid locked out. Last week, several districts in Xi’an, a northwestern …
How a deadly fire in Xinjiang ignited a nationwide protest against zero-covid in China. In October, a man unfurled banners from a Beijing bridge …
One week later, a strong security response and possible easing of “zero-covid” restrictions suggest the protest movement faces an uncertain …
What Comes Next In 2023?
It’s hard to recall a more tumultuous end to any recent year in China — and prognosticating about the country is never easy. Grid asked several …