Sarah Cook writes: Looking ahead, Mr. Xi and his colleagues face a daunting choice: Do they recognize their errors and loosen religious restrictions, or do they press ahead with a spiraling pattern of repression and resistance that might threaten the regime’s long-term legitimacy and stability? Their decision will be critical in determining the ultimate cost—human, financial, and cultural—of this futile campaign to control the spiritual beliefs of China’s citizens. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
China has charted out a $300 billion plan to become nearly self-sufficient by 2025 in a range of important industries, from planes to computer chips to electric cars, as it looks to kick-start its next stage of economic development. But big companies in the rest of the world worry that it is more than that: an unfair advantage in China’s home court, and perhaps elsewhere. – New York Times
China’s finance minister on Tuesday rejected accusations that the country is keeping its defense budget under wraps after the figure was omitted from an annual report released to the media. – Associated Press
While the U.S. military remains the dominant force in Asia and the world, China has been moving from quantity to quality and is catching up quickly in equipment, organization and capability, and is increasingly able to project power far from its shores. Rapid economic growth, lavish spending and a desire to regain China’s historical role as East Asia’s leading power are helping drive the moves. – Associated Press
Olivia Enos writes: If the international community does not defend the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong’s citizens, there is little hope that freedom and respect for human rights can take root elsewhere in China. Better to preserve rights in Hong Kong now than to let them erode further and then struggle to revive them later. - Forbes
Joerg Wuttke write: China would be wise to learn from past mistakes that some European member states made with misguided industrial policy. The fact that it is a much larger country doesn’t mean the results will be more favorable. Rather, the costs are likely to be higher. For China’s own sake, it needs to allow market forces and fair competition to replace industrial policy. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Report: In “Beyond the Great Firewall: How China Became a Global Information Power,” Shanthi Kalathil examines China’s strategy to harness the global information ecosystem through three avenues: shaping international news media, guiding the evolution of the global Internet, and influencing global culture through Hollywood. The report points to a concerning trend. Not only is China reshaping its international image, it has had in some cases succeeded at enshrining authoritarian norms and values in the very markets, protocols and production processes that govern these global systems. – NED’s Center for International Media Assistance
China’s finance minister on Tuesday rejected accusations that the country is keeping its defense budget under wraps after the figure was omitted from an annual report released to the media. – Associated Press
While the U.S. military remains the dominant force in Asia and the world, China has been moving from quantity to quality and is catching up quickly in equipment, organization and capability, and is increasingly able to project power far from its shores. Rapid economic growth, lavish spending and a desire to regain China’s historical role as East Asia’s leading power are helping drive the moves. – Associated Press
Olivia Enos writes: If the international community does not defend the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong’s citizens, there is little hope that freedom and respect for human rights can take root elsewhere in China. Better to preserve rights in Hong Kong now than to let them erode further and then struggle to revive them later. - Forbes
Joerg Wuttke write: China would be wise to learn from past mistakes that some European member states made with misguided industrial policy. The fact that it is a much larger country doesn’t mean the results will be more favorable. Rather, the costs are likely to be higher. For China’s own sake, it needs to allow market forces and fair competition to replace industrial policy. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Report: In “Beyond the Great Firewall: How China Became a Global Information Power,” Shanthi Kalathil examines China’s strategy to harness the global information ecosystem through three avenues: shaping international news media, guiding the evolution of the global Internet, and influencing global culture through Hollywood. The report points to a concerning trend. Not only is China reshaping its international image, it has had in some cases succeeded at enshrining authoritarian norms and values in the very markets, protocols and production processes that govern these global systems. – NED’s Center for International Media Assistance
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