Featured Article
Remembering Martha – ChinaSource (July 9, 20025, ChinaSource)
The China ministry community has lost a dear friend and colleague with the passing of Martha Chan on June 29th. As founder and president of Educational Resources & Referrals-China, Martha served as a mentor to hundreds of Christians from the United States and elsewhere who taught in universities in China. Martha also founded the China Academic Consortium, which connects North American Christian scholars with educational institutions and individuals in China.
Spotlight
Public Lecture: “Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary World” (July 31, USCCA)
At 7:00PM ET on July 31, 2025, the USCCA’s speaker series, in collaboration with ChinaSource and China Academic Consortium, will host Dr. Stephanie Wong as speaker on the topic of “Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary World.”
Click here to sign up for this free public lecture, accessible via live video.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Charm and Coercion Shape China’s Expanding Security Footprint in Southeast Asia (July 1, 2025, The Diplomat)
In recent years, China’s defense diplomacy in Southeast Asia has intensified, signaling a calculated shift in regional strategy. While economic entanglement through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has long been Beijing’s primary tool for regional influence, China’s increasingly visible military engagements with Southeast Asian states point to a deeper, more comprehensive strategic posture – it seeks to replace the United States’ role as a dominant security player in Southeast Asia.
Will China Become Iran’s Major Defense Partner? (July 3, 2025, The Diplomat)
Given Iran’s lost trust in the quality of Russian systems and the urgency of rebuilding its air defense system, is closer China-Iran security cooperation on the horizon? That will depend on how policymakers in Beijing assess the costs and benefits.
Hong Kong Code of Conduct Will Oblige Legislators to ‘Sincerely Support’ Beijing (July 4, The Guardian)
A new code of conduct in Hong Kong will require legislators to “sincerely support” Beijing’s jurisdiction on the city and the chief executive, and prohibits anything that might “vilify” the government. The proposal for the new code, introduced on Wednesday, included tiered penalties for legislators who breach the code, including suspension without payment for the most serious offences.
Religion
Chewing Pain to Mend the World (July 1, 2025, Chinese Christian Voices)
In a world where images saturate our vision but often lack meaning, how can Christian artists respond with both truth and beauty? In this thoughtful essay, Dr. Jiushuang Chen explores how Chinese Christian artists are moving beyond religious symbolism to engage culture through prophetic critique, pastoral healing, and the quiet work of mending what is broken. Their art does not retreat from the world—it steps into its pain, offering glimpses of redemption.
Faith at End of Life: Journey of Terminal Care Fellowship (July 1, 2025, China Christian Daily)
Illness and death are unavoidable issues in every person’s life. In today’s society, where palliative care is still not widely understood or practiced, many Christians also face the tension between faith and reality: When they or their loved ones approach the end of life due to illness, what does faith mean? How can they face such trials with a spiritual perspective and achieve peace in both life and death?
Fuzhou: A Globe-Trotting People (July 3, 2025, China Partnership)
Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian Province, on China’s eastern coast, just across the strait from Taiwan. To help us pray for Fuzhou, several local pastors talk about what makes the city special, and how they hope the people of their city can bring the gospel to the world as they spread out around the earth.
The Dalai Lama’s Succession (July 5, 2025, ChinaFile Conversation)
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, turns 90 on July 6. On July 2, he released a statement about the process of selecting his successor: The process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognized has been clearly established in the 24 September 2011 statement which states that responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its organs such as the Buddhist Association of China assert that the People’s Republic of China’s central government is the only authority that can name Tibetan religious leaders. The CCP will likely appoint its own competing successor.
In Memory of Martha Chan (July 7, 2025, U.S.-China Catholic Association)
Her work was not only pioneering but deeply rooted in compassion and mutual respect. The US-China Catholic Association (USCCA) has been honored to partner with Martha and her organization over the years. Our collaboration was especially meaningful through the lecture series and the Chinese and American Friendship Ministry in Berkeley.
Fuzhou: Gospel History (July 7, 2025, China Partnership)
Fuzhou is a relatively small city (8 million!) that is the capital of Fujian Province. It has a long gospel history, and was one of the first places where Christianity was established in China following the Opium War in the mid-1800s. Fuzhou was Watchman Nee’s hometown, and is still a base for his Assembly Hall movement.
Preserving and Nurturing Unity (July 7, 2025, ChinaSource)
As I have written before, I had the privilege of attending the Lausanne Congress in South Korea in September of 2024. In that post, I highlighted one of my favorite talks, given by Dr. Patrick Feng. In this post, I would like to point your attention to another of my favorite talks by Dr. Eun Ah Cho. The title was “The Asian Church: A Beacon for Global Mission.”
You Wouldn’t Know This, But… (July 8, 2025, ChinaSource)
Valuing others as God does means that if someone waiting patiently has a problem, they become the top priority—the only focus. It models the way God values us and cares for us. Jesus saw people and valued people and gave them a gift: being seen and valued by God! When we see and value others—even in something as ordinary as noticing someone patiently waiting for an order—God can use it for ministry.
Society / Life
A Rough Ride: ‘Dirty’ Workers Stand Up to Subway Stares (July 4, 2025, Sixth Tone)
In April, footage of a 61-year-old passenger on the Beijing Subway abusing a curtain installer in dusty, paint-splattered clothes, saying that he “looked like a beggar,” began trending on Chinese social media. It sparked intense discussion on the treatment that tradespeople — often characterized by high-vis vests, hard hats, safety boots, and buckets stuffed with tools — receive on public transit.
Why Are Some Chinese Youth Calling Themselves ‘Rat People’, and What Issues Does It Surface? (June 8, 2025, Channel News Asia)
As the name suggests, it describes a lifestyle like that of a rat – nocturnal, low-key, and surviving in the margins with no set path. Viewed as a form of silent rebellion against hustle culture and the fast pace of modern society, it has struck a chord among Chinese youths. Beyond those in the country, many living abroad in places like the United Kingdom and Singapore have also adopted the phrase to describe themselves.
Economics / Trade / Business
Explainer | The World Is Going All In On Stablecoins. Is China’s Digital Yuan Any Different? (July 2, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Issued by China’s central bank, the e-CNY is the digital form of China’s sovereign currency. It can be used for everyday transactions such as retail payments, government disbursements, salaries and public transport fares, and does not require a bank account. First piloted in 2020, it had been used in 26 cities for transactions worth a total of 7 trillion yuan (US$977 billion) by June last year.
Bubble Tea Giant Embodies Starbucks’ China Dilemma (July 7, 2025, Reuters)
Fast-food provider Mixue’s success is adding a bitter taste to Starbucks’ attempts to sell a stake in its business in the People’s Republic. The Chinese company has grown into the world’s biggest food and beverage chain by selling sub-$1 drinks and adapting quickly as domestic consumers spend less. That’s hard for the $107 billion premium-brand U.S. coffee icon to compete with.
Food Delivery Sales Frenzy Brings Bargains — and Market Turmoil (July 8, 2025, Sixth Tone)
China’s food delivery platforms went head-to-head over the past weekend, triggering a fierce price war that overwhelmed drink shops, crashed apps, and sent delivery riders scrambling — while customers placed scheduled orders days in advance and reaped the benefits of eye-watering deals.
Science / Technology
The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters (June 30, 2025, ChinaFile)
This whole cycle—the proposed ban on one app with ties to China, Americans’ flocking to another, the brief window of cross-cultural connection, and finally censorship’s closure of that window—demonstrated both the fragility and adaptability of China’s system. New technology, or new facts on the ground, can quickly open up channels for freer discussion. Authorities, both government and corporate, can also quickly close them.
Audio – China Works to Dominate in AI and EV (July 3, 2025, NPR News)
The reality of China’s efforts to lead in two important tech sectors. In artificial intelligence, control of the data needed to train new models could dictate where the industry is able to expand fastest. And a price war in China’s electric vehicle industry.
How this long-lost Chinese typewriter from the 1940s changed modern computing (July 5, 2025, NPR)
Scholars in the U.S., Taiwan and China are buzzing about the discovery of an old typewriter, because the long-lost machine is part of the origin story of modern Chinese computing — and central to ongoing questions about the politics of language.
Travel / Food
New Power Bank Regulation: Travel Tips and FAQs (July 2, 2025, The Beijinger Blog)
By now, we’ve probably all heard about the new travel requirement that power banks carried onboard domestic aircraft must carry a CCC (or “3C”) rating and corresponding label. Alright, so … now what? What does that actually mean for you? Does a 3C rating automatically guarantee you can take a power bank on a flight? Where can you find power banks that adhere to the regulations? In this post, we take a look at these questions and more to help you make sense of the new regulation and hopefully make your travel a bit less stressful.
China’s Visa-Free Policy Pays Dividends as Overseas Entries Soar in 2025 (July 7, 2025, South China Morning Post)
China’s expansion of visa-free entry to nationals from dozens of countries appears to have yielded substantial results, with tourists arriving in droves from overseas and providing a much-needed boost to the country’s consumption in the first half of the year. Shanghai, the country’s financial hub, saw 2.6 million visits from abroad in the first six months of 2025, up 44.8 per cent year on year according to local authorities.
History / Culture
In Shanghai, a New Photo Exhibit Revisits the Flying Tigers Era (July 2, 2025, Sixth Tone)
From sorties over Yunnan in southwestern China to the Doolittle Raiders’ escapes through Zhejiang province, a new photo exhibition in Shanghai revisits the wartime alliance between China and the U.S.
Health / Environment
China’s Environmental Awakening CRUSHED Pollution (July 1, 2025, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
China’s period of rapid industrialization generated unsustainable waste and posed significant threats to humans, wildlife, and the environment. A handful of dedicated environmental activists in China pushed for policy change, leveraging technological and educational collaboration between American and Chinese scientists and preexisting U.S. regulatory approaches to manage China’s pollution problem. However, China’s approach to environmental regulation ultimately took a different path to accommodate its ongoing development process. Despite their differences, the two countries play critical roles in the global effort to develop environmental solutions.
The Non-Michelin Guide to Ordering at a Xinjiang Restaurant (July 5, 2025, The Beijinger Blog)
There is no denying the diversity of Chinese cuisine with its vast regional variations, rich flavors, and centuries-old culinary traditions. There is one cuisine, though, that for me reigns supreme, and you’ll see a multitude of these restaurants in Beijing: Xinjiang cuisine. There is nothing better than a homey Xinjiang restaurant with its classic decor and pictorial menu.
Arts Entertainment / Media
Podcast – China’s Best Music of 2025 (So Far) (July 7, 2025, China Talk)
Jake Newby, author of the China music substack Concrete Avalanche, presents his official playlist of China’s best new music. It includes ADHD-inspired hip hop, experimental ambient music from rural China, and Shanghai cold wave, finishing off with a “mind-blowing” hyperpop track.
Education
8 Detained in China After High Lead Levels Detected in Kindergarten Children (July 8, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Police have detained eight people accused of lead poisoning after more than 200 children in a kindergarten in the northwestern province of Gansu were found to have elevated lead levels in their blood, sparking widespread public outrage and concern. The principal of the kindergarten in Maiji district in Tianshui, surnamed Zhu, was detained together with a local investor named Li and six canteen staff on suspicion of “producing toxic and harmful food”.
Pray for China
July 4 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On July 4, 1813, pioneer missionaries William Milne (米怜) and his wife Rachel Cowie Milne arrived in Macau after a 10-month voyage. China’s first Protestant pastor, Liang Fa (梁发牧师), came to Christ under Milne’s ministry and was baptized by him on Nov. 3, 1816. While working with Liang Fa, Milne published Two Friends, a tract that Prof. Daniel Bays described as “the most famous of all nineteenth century Christian tracts” in China. Bays estimates that as many as two million copies may have been distributed. Milne wrote that “Learning the Chinese language requires bodies of iron, lungs of brass, heads of oak, hands of spring steel, eyes of eagles, hearts of apostles, memories of angels, and lives of Methuselah.” Rachel died in 1819 and William in 1822 at age 37. Pray for Chinese and foreign Christians to partner effectively in reaching the world for Christ. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 2 Timothy 4:11
Praying the Lord’s Prayer (June 24, 2025, ChinaSource)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Pray for China (China Partnership)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (ChinaSource)