Featured Article
Video – Deep In Rural China, We Found a Christian World (August 14, 2026, Little Chinese Everywhere)
We are exploring Yunnan’s Nujiang Valley—one of China’s most remote border regions, stretching between Myanmar’s Kachin State and the Tibetan Plateau. Home to many ethnic groups, including the Lisu people, Nujiang is a place of unique cultures, languages, and traditions. Many Lisu communities here are Christian, with their own language and even a fascinating writing system. Join us as we explore this hidden valley and discover a side of China that few people have ever seen.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Zhu Rongji Obituary (August 12, 2026, The Guardian)
A straight-talking and forceful figure, he was famously harsh on corruption, once sacking a governor of Heilongjiang province on the spot for failing to meet growth targets. This laid the foundation for his popularity within China generally, and the high regard with which he was held abroad. He seemed to come close to the ideal image of a Chinese leader possessed of moral dignity.
Examining Borderland Relations between China and North Korea (August 13, 2026, Borderlands – Strategic Space)
China’s borderland with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) must contend with balancing regional integration with regional security. In the wider context of China’s Northeast Asia strategy, perpetuating the political durability of a North Korean regime friendly to its rise continues to be an imperative for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to further tilt the regional balance in its favor and prevent a unified pro-U.S. Korea. At the same time, the border with the DPRK is a liability for China as well, given the North Korean regime’s potential for collapse and the risk of nuclear fallout from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
China Forced Nepal to Cancel an International Conference on Tibetan Studies (August 14, 2026, The Diplomat)
The IATS conference is one of the premier academic forums for Tibetan culture, history, language and religion. The conference was set to bring together scholars from 40 countries, including India, China, and the United States—many of whom had already arranged and paid for costs to attend the conference in Kathmandu. The conference had been in planning for four years, as Nepal was selected to host the seminar in 2022. The abrupt cancellation of the conference on grounds of “security concerns” highlights both Beijing’s ironclad grip and bid to assert authority over Tibetan Buddhism.
Religion
Suzhou: Shepherding the Church (August 13, 2026, China Partnership)
Join us this August as we pray for Suzhou. This city, in Jiangsu Province, has been renowned for millennia as a place of high culture and beauty. Like other Chinese cities, local churches have struggled with persecution and pressure over the last five years. Some leaders say they are finding new ways to do relational ministry, while others have spent that time deepening their congregation’s theological understanding.
Rides, Tables, and Tensions (August 14, 2026, ChinaSource)
The Tenth Chinese Congress on World Evangelization (CCOWE) brought me to Kuching, Sarawak. Before arriving, what I knew of this East Malaysian city—often called the “Cat City” because Kuching sounds like the Malay word kucing, meaning “cat”—was limited to a statistic indicating that Christians make up more than 30 percent of the population and the stereotype that “this is mostly Methodist territory.” Yet in just a few days, my firsthand experiences not only challenged my assumptions about the local denominational landscape; several seemingly incidental Grab rides and conversations with pastors also gave me a glimpse of Kuching and, perhaps, a microcosm of the wider Chinese church world.
From a Full House to a Full Heart (August 17, 2026, ChinaSource)
Every child is different—uniquely created and has a God-given purpose. As parents, we are given the gift and responsibility of leading and guiding our children and that includes choices in education. Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Opportunities for Christianity in China (August 18, 2026, China Partnership)
This month, in CP’s monthly podcast, we looked at opportunities we see for faith to grow in China. In this (lightly edited) excerpt from the show, Ryan and Beth chat about how God is using persecution to create a holy curiosity in many Chinese as they see believers sacrificially following Jesus.
A Beautiful Thing (August 18, 2026, ChinaSource)
After a ten-year gap, prolonged by postponements during the pandemic, the 10th Chinese Congress on World Evangelization (CCOWE) convened under the theme “Listening to Our Times, Co-creating with God,” organized around three major topics: Kingdom Gospel, Holistic Mission, and Chinese Churches. In recent years, I have attended several CCOWE gatherings focused on specific missions-related topics, but this was my first time attending the main congress. The gathering brought not only an enormous amount of content, but also an unusually high level of personal connection—from reuniting with friends I had not seen for years to meeting new ministry partners. I came away richly rewarded.
Society / Life
Why Is Everyone Playing Mahjong? (August 13, 2026, The Diplomat)
Mahjong is having a global moment. From designer tile sets and “mahjong parties” to growing numbers of clubs and classes, the centuries-old Chinese tile game is becoming trendy once again. But its resurgence raises questions about cultural exchange, commercialization, and what happens when a tradition rooted in Chinese history becomes a “lifestyle trend.”
Why Exercise Is Winning Out Among China’s Young Urbanites (August 14, 2026, The World of Chinese)
At a cursory glance, it might seem that China’s young professionals have no time for anything beyond work amid the country’s seemingly endless cycle of involution. But look closer, and a different picture emerges: gyms are packed, running tracks are full, and fitness classes have waitlists. More and more, staying fit has become not just a health goal but a defining feature of how the country’s younger generations choose to live—especially the country’s women.
Hukou Reform – A Historic Shift for China Creates a Huge Challenge for Its Cities (August 17, 2026, MERICS)
China’s latest economic numbers underline the pressure on Beijing to find new sources of domestic growth. Retail sales rose just 0.6% year on year in July, highlighting the continued weakness of household consumption. Against that backdrop, Beijing is tackling one of its biggest structural constraints – the country’s household-registration system, known as “hukou.” The system has forced hundreds of millions of migrants to work in cities without equal access to public services, discouraging permanent settlement and household spending.
A Glum China Pines for the 1990s (subscription required) (August 17, 2026, The Economist)
The 1990s are alive again. Over the past few days viewers of state television in China have feasted on scenes from that decade. A 12-part documentary has aired in primetime to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the late Jiang Zemin, the country’s leader throughout the period. What a decade it was, bookended, in 1989, by the blood of Tiananmen and, in 2001, by all the promise of China’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
Science / Technology
The DeepSeek Thesis (August 13, 2026, ChinaTalk)
What does Liang Wenfeng want? The CEO of DeepSeek is now richer than either Dario Amodei or Sam Altman. Backed by his careful watch and the immense wealth of his hedge fund, a little-known group of researchers in Hangzhou has managed to consistently command the world’s attention—and they keep giving their work away for free. The motivations behind Liang’s theory of action have puzzled China+AI watchers since the beginning.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
The Problem With Peach (August 14, 2026, China Media Project)
It seemed that nothing could break the dream—until last week, when Fang Taozi began promoting NUT NUT Look brand contact lenses for an Anhui manufacturer. “I wore them all day long,” she declared in a promotional video, “and it was comfortable the whole time!” The problem: Fang Taozi may command a very real six figures, but she is an artificial influencer generated by state-of-the-art AI. She has no physical body. Nor does she have any real concept of comfort and discomfort. Should she be remarking on human experience at all?
China’s Most Famous Comedian Under Investigation for Joke about Communist Song (August 18, 2026, CNN)
A stand-up comedian, considered one of China’s most influential cultural figures, has been placed under investigation and had performances cancelled after he joked about a communist party song. Guo Degang, China’s best-known comic, was accused of violating public morals after he improvised his own lyrics to a famous Chinese revolutionary song during a performance in Wuhan at the end of July.
History / Culture
How “Acupuncture” Turned Huangyan Grottoes Into a Cave Art Museum (August 11, 2026, Our China Story)
In the darkness of a cave, light ripples across the rock walls. Few would guess that this atmospheric art space was once a quarry abandoned for more than a thousand years. In Taizhou, Zhejiang, Huangyan Grottoes has been reborn as a contemporary cave art museum. Stone once quarried here for roads and city walls now frames an award-winning cultural space. But how did designers use “architectural acupuncture” to awaken this ancient site? Step inside Huangyan Grottoes and discover a world beneath the surface.
The Forgotten Legacy of China’s Greatest Explorer (August 13, 2026, Sixth Tone)
During the opening decades of the 15th century, a eunuch from China’s imperial court led seven epic voyages across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, pushing westward as far as the Red Sea and the shores of East Africa. The expeditions were astonishing feats of engineering and navigation. Setting sail decades before Christopher Columbus or Vasco da Gama, Zheng He spent years crossing the oceans at the head of a vast fleet of 200 ships. Some of the vessels measured up to 70 meters long—three times the size of Columbus’ ships. For many, Zheng deserves to rank among history’s greatest explorers. Yet, much about the voyages—and Zheng himself—remains shrouded in mystery.
A World out of Words (August 14, 2026, ChinaFile)
The opening of a bookstore rarely makes international headlines. But when JF Books, known in Chinese as “Jifeng” (seasonal winds), opened its doors in Washington, D.C. on September 1, 2024, the news was covered around the world, from The Washington Post and The Economist, to Der Spiegel in Germany and The Straits Times in Singapore. The stories spoke of repression and rebirth: Founded in Shanghai in 1997, Jifeng was a cultural landmark in the Chinese metropolis for two decades, but was forced to shut down in 2018 when its landlord refused to renew its lease, most certainly due to pressure from the authorities. Six and a half years after Jifeng’s last day in China, the store’s signature green logo lit up again, this time on the other side of the Pacific.
Education
China’s STEM Students Turn to Singapore as Western Study Options Shrink (August 13, 2026, South China Morning Post)
For generations, China’s brightest science and technology minds followed a well-worn path: board a Westbound flight and claim a seat at a globally renowned university. That once-reliable trajectory has fractured. Escalating US-China tech competition and tightening immigration policies across the “big four” study destinations–Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States–have redrawn the map for global student mobility.
Economics / Trade / Business
China’s High-Tech Consumers Crave Simplicity (August 12, 2026, Chinaskinny)
Chinese consumers embrace technology like no one else, and expect it in the goods and services they buy. Almost two-thirds of surveyed Chinese consumers have smart household appliances, compared with around one-third in the US. Auto companies trying to sell cars in China that aren’t a smartphone on wheels are hurting. Some 72% of Chinese consumers trust AI, versus 32% in the US. Robots are everywhere, while China’s digital customer journeys are among the most integrated and sophisticated anywhere. Yet behind the sci-fi scenes sits another consumer desire: simpler, more analogue pleasures.
Rebounding Profits, Rising Risk: The State of American Business in China (August 14, 2026, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
In this conversation on August 3, National Committee President Steve Orlins interviews Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), about USCBC’s recently released 2026 Member Survey of 175 American companies doing business in China. Mr. Stein discusses why companies continue to view China as essential despite mounting headwinds, including bilateral tariffs, Chinese export controls on rare earths, and rising competition from increasingly capable Chinese firms. He also addresses the outlook for the U.S.-China trade truce, which is set to expire in November, and what American businesses say is needed from both governments to stabilize the relationship.
‘Just So Easy’: Why China’s Gen Z Prefers Credit Without the Card (August 14, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Yan Bowen’s only attempt to get a credit card came during her first year at university. The bank rejected her because she had no income, reinforcing her belief that cards were meant for “people with stable incomes.” Then, at 22, she found herself in debt anyway.Last October, she realized she owed around 3,000 yuan ($400)—more than her entire monthly student allowance. With the debt weighing on her, she cut daily expenses, took on part-time work, and borrowed from friends to pay it down. The debt had built up through apps she used every day to order takeout, buy groceries, and shop online, each offering the option to pay later or split purchases into installments.
Pray for China
August 21 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
The Forum for Chinese Theology Sixth Annual Symposium met in Oxford on Aug. 20-25, 2013. They produced the Oxford Consensus (牛津共识), four statements expressing the hope that China will be committed to cultural pluralism and political fairness and justice. Christian signers included Yang Fenggang (杨凤岗先生), Wang Wenfeng (王文锋弟兄), He Guanghu (何光沪先生), and Liu Peng (刘澎教授). Pray for Christian leaders to have wisdom in responding to the five-year plan released in 2018 to “sinicize” Christianity under the control of the Communist Party. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
From Deep Thinking to Deep Prayer (July 21, 2026, ChinaSource)
Prayer 2026: Off the Beaten Path (January 1, 2026, China Partnership)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)