Gaokao Losers 
In China, academic competition has become a kind of faith, providing values and a sense of purpose to its acolytes.
Spring 2025
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Gaokao Losers
China’s Long Economic Slowdown
The Chinese government has rebuffed bold consumption stimulus policy. But boosting domestic household spending is precisely what the country needs to achieve healthy growth.
An International Spokesman for Chinese Nationalism
Eric Li, a Western-educated venture capitalist, now plays an important role in the media ecosystem of state-aligned nationalism.
Coexistence or Carnage
If the conflicts of interest are real, and the stakes are felt to be high enough, then war between the United States and China is a real possibility, and our foreign policy must be oriented toward avoiding it.
Xi is Not Mao
Mao and Xi’s historical projects couldn’t be more different, and it is high time to move beyond the bad history that conflates them.
The Xi Era
The seismic shifts in the global world order during Xi’s rule call for new tools for understanding China and the varied lives and views of its inhabitants.
The Grassroots Intellectuals
China’s social and intellectual spheres remain less monolithic than the tightly controlled public transcripts would suggest, and their possibilities deserve our continued attention.
Repression in Xi’s China
The tightening of state control over Hong Kong and Xinjiang reveal a consolidation of authority in Xi’s CCP, intent on stifling any signs of nonconformity.
One Country, Two Systems, Millions in the Streets
Activist Jeffrey Ngo on the Hong Kong protests.
After Repression, Revolt?
Xi Jinping has consolidated power to a degree not seen since the days of Mao. But the rigid system over which he presides may be more fragile than it seems.
Make China Marxist Again
Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has reembraced Marx. But Xi’s state Marxism is a top-down attempt to unify the population behind a nationalist ideology, not to inspire class struggle.
Christmas for Xi
Recent international accolades for Xi Jinping’s China mask an alarming turn in the country’s politics.
Liu Xiaobo Is Gone, But Resistance Continues
As the world mourns the death of Liu Xiaobo, we mustn’t forget that dissent in authoritarian states, not only in China, occurs in the realm of the ordinary.
The Chairman of Everything
Under Xi Jinping’s rule, conditions for civil society are worse in China today than they have been for more than two decades. Yet in spite of ratcheted up forms of control, protests continue.
An Umbrella Closes in Hong Kong
Ever since the Umbrella Movement of 2014, pressure from China on Hong Kong has intensified. Now more than ever, activists must join together to defend basic freedoms against the tide of fear and divisiveness creeping over the border.
