Featured Article
How The Soviets, Japanese and Americans Together Lifted Chinese Communists Out of Obscurity — with Frank Dikötter (May 18, 2026, Peking Hotel)
The key words to the success of the Chinese communist revolution are luck and violence—at least, that’s according to Prof. Frank Dikötter. Continuing from our last episode on Prof. Frank Dikötter’s new book, Red Dawn Over China, we trace the origin story of the Chinese Communist Party, and revisit how the CCP went from an obscure, unpopular, intellectual-led political force to take over the whole of mainland China.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Podcast – China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Law: A breakdown (April 18, 2026, Sinobabble Substack)
In early March, the PRC’s National People’s Congress passed a law titled the PRC Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress. According to the government, the law, which has been in development since 2023, “lays out the overall requirements, important principles, and responsibilities and duties of relevant entities concerning the promotion of ethnic unity and progress. It also outlines specific measures to build a common cultural home, facilitate interaction, exchanges, and integration, and promote shared prosperity and development.”
China Was Ready for the Age of Anarchy (May 14, 2026, Foreign Affairs)
The People’s Republic of China was founded in opposition to empire. The Chinese Communist Party built its identity on anti-imperialism, presenting itself as the vanguard of a global struggle against Western domination. Chinese leader Mao Zedong saw the Bolshevik Revolution as the opening act of that struggle, and after the communist victory and the creation of the People’s Republic in 1949, Beijing elevated “noninterference” to become a core principle of its foreign policy. The concept became a powerful diplomatic instrument, helping China position itself as a champion of postcolonial sovereignty and win support across the global South.
In a World of Chaos, China Signals that Stability Is Possible (May 16, 2026, South China Morning Post)
Looking at these data points together, a pattern emerges. Among American citizens, confidence in the future is weakening. Among European businesses, confidence in China is strengthening. And, back in the US, perceptions of China are softening at the margins. This is not a dramatic shift. But it’s a directional one. At its core lies a simple question: in an uncertain world, what feels more predictable? This is where an old Chinese idea comes to mind: yi bu bian ying wan bian, or “respond to change by staying constant”. It may be misunderstood as passivity. But in the current context, I understand it as something closer to strategic composure.
From a ‘board of trade’ to Boeing planes, what did Xi and Trump actually agree to? (May 18, 2026, CNN)
Over the weekend, statements from both sides have started to demystify the outcomes of a meeting that was largely about resetting the tone between the world’s top economies after a fractious year that drove both to the edge of decoupling.
Human Rights Concerns Abound Over China’s ‘State Secrets’ Regulation in the Uyghur Region (May 18, 2026, Global Voices)
The “Regulations on the Protection of State Secrets in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” (新疆维吾尔自治区保守国家秘密条例), which took effect on March 1, 2026, is a de facto local extension of China’s national state secrecy framework. In a region characterized by high levels of security governance and information control, the legal adjustments have significant consequences on the normalization and codification of political repression in the region.
Trade Wars, Tech Rivalries, and the Long Game in US-China Relations (May 18, 2026, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
Few bilateral relationships carry more consequence for the global order than that between the United States and China. As Presidents Trump and Xi convene for a high-stakes summit, questions about trade policy, technology competition, and long-term strategic rivalry take on renewed urgency—and the outcomes, or lack thereof, will shape the landscape for months to come. The National Committee brings together three leading China experts—Dr. Kyle Chan, Dr. Elizabeth Economy, and Dr. Zongyuan Zoe Liu—alongside NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins to assess what the summit reveals about the trajectory of US-China relations.
Religion
Zhengzhou: Shepherding Through Change (May 14, 2026, China Partnership)
Zhengzhou, population 13 million, is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Over the last five years, Zhengzhou and surrounding areas have experienced natural disaster, Covid and its aftermath, a struggling economy, and a modernizing urban area. The church is also walking through each of these events, and trying to shepherd believers through all the changes. Local leaders say their churches are shepherding families through the struggles of child-rearing, while also continuing to share the gospel with those who don’t yet know Christ.
Theological Negotiations in World Christianity (May 18, 2026, ChinaSource)
There is no such thing as a pristine, normative theology transplanted from a Western origin to Asia or Africa. Rather, there is a much more complex negotiation of theological ideas and experiences. For somebody like me whose interests have largely been about Chinese theology, studying theology arising from other parts of the world has forced me to appreciate those who have such different starting points and concerns than myself.
Narrowing the Gap by Broadening Our Mission as Chinese Christian Scholars (May 19, 2026, ChinaSource)
The conference, “Chinese Christian Scholarship and the Church in Global Perspective: Review and Prospect,”organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies of Chinese Christianity (IASCC), was certainly a fruitful event. This is not just because the event was organized in Yau Ma Tei, one of the most vibrant areas of Hong Kong, but also because of its meaningful vision to build an integrated model of academic research, theological education, and frontline churches’ applications—bridging the long-term gap between the three sectors in the context of China, as addressed repeatedly throughout the conference by the leaders of IASCC.
Society / Life
An Antidote to Speed: How China’s Urban Youth Are Stitching Their Way to Peace of Mind (May 9, 2026, The World of Chinese)
On Beijing’s crowded Line 14 subway during morning rush hour, amid the sea of heads bowed over glowing smartphone screens, Guo Yabing’s hands move with a different kind of dexterity. As the train rattles forward, her needle dips in and out, patiently filling in the outline of a cartoon animal with cross-stitch thread. In a city that never seems to slow down, Guo is reclaiming her peace during her three-hour round-trip commute each day, stitch by stitch, in a quiet search for sanity.
‘Unbelievably Accurate’: The Niche Dating Apps Sweeping China’s Colleges (May 15, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Wang Nini, a 24-year-old doctoral student in Shanghai, hated the idea of online dating. Swiping for hours, matching with people based on just a few profile pictures, it all felt “too random,” she said. But that changed in March, when she stumbled across a new platform called SJTU Date. It was the exact opposite of a typical dating app: hyperlocal and highly exclusive.
How to Deal With this ‘Very Chinese Time’ in Western Lives (May 16, 2026, South China Morning Post)
The tone shifted when it came to China: censorship, propaganda, surveillance, suppression of rights and freedoms. The list of associations was almost entirely political. What struck me was not just the negativity, but the absences. There was no mention of culture, food, travel or everyday life in a civilization spanning millennia.
Nine in Ten Families in China Own a Home. But Is the Property-Owning Dream Being Tested? (May 17, 2026, CNN)
For the past three decades, China has been a nation of homeowners—supercharging the world’s second-largest economy and fulfilling the dreams of millions. Since the decline and eventual end of a welfare housing policy in the 1990s, government planning has coalesced with deep-seated cultural norms to create a level of private ownership unfathomable in the West. While tens of millions of Americans are laden with tuition loans—many well into their 30s, leaving renting their only option—their Chinese counterparts start planning the purchase of their first homes straight out of university. But a slowing economy and crisis-battered housing market could upend that.
Economics / Trade / Business
China’s Tea Brands Wants to Conquer America, Starbucks-Style (subscription required) (May 14, 2026, The Economist)
Back in china Emily Chang’s job was to promote Starbucks. “We were nurturing coffee culture in a country that knows centuries of tea,” says the former chief marketing officer of the American firm in the People’s Republic. Now Ms. Chang works for Chagee, a tea chain little known outside China, and is doing the opposite. Her task is to champion the Chinese brand and tea-drinking habit in coffee-centric America (and to resist a tendency to mispronounce Chagee—the letter g is soft).
Fake Lawyers, Scientists, Chefs and Punters: Meet the ‘White Monkeys’ Paid to Make Chinese Businesses Look Global (May 16, 2026, The Guardian)
When foreigners in China are used this way, they are called a baihouzi, a white monkey. They’re hired to help Chinese businesses appear more desirable, the foreigner association conveying prestige and a sense that your product is universally regarded. The industry is unregulated in China, operating in a legal grey area. White monkey positions are advertised on job boards and can fall into different categories, from acting and modeling for Chinese films and products to pretending to be the foreign CEO of a Chinese company to lend it credibility.
China’s Economy Loses Steam in April as Retail Sales Hit 40-Month Low (May 17, 2026, CNBC)
China’s economy stumbled in April with consumption, industrial output and investment growth missing expectations as the fallout from the Iran war dampened momentum in the world’s second-largest economy.
Repetitive Cycles (May 19, 2026, Made In China Journal)
There is a joke that resurfaces every few months in online chat groups of retail investors whenever the Shanghai Stock Exchange Index drifts back towards the symbolic 3,000-point line. Sometimes it appears as a meme, sometimes as a weary one-liner, but its meaning is instantly recognizable. ‘Defending the 3,000 points’ (保卫3,000点) is not just a market slogan; it is a ritual of repetition. As these investors either chip in to buoy the stock market or hold on to their shares against panic selling, the financial media frames the moment in uplifting, nationalistic terms such as ‘the 3,000-point defense battle’ (3,000点保卫战), as though market stability was a test of collective faith. Investors have seen the same headlines for more than a decade.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
Outgrowing the Last King of Mandopop (May 13, 2026, The World of Chinese)
Debuting in 2000, the Taiwanese singer-songwriter swept through the Sinosphere like a tornado. To anyone growing up through those years, Jay Chou was—and still is—inescapable. For each of his die-hard fans, their early encounters with Chou’s music were explosions in their own right. But for some, his music today is more like an afterimage of those moments, and they worry he hasn’t kept up while they have.
Careful Words on the Trump-Xi Summit (May 14, 2026, China Media Project)
In global news today, and certainly in China news, there is just one story topping the headlines — the state visit of Donald Trump to Beijing, the first visit by a US president in nearly 10 years. Is that story splashed across the front page of the official newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party? Of course not.
Comrade Trump Returns: The 2026 Trump-Xi Summit on Chinese Social Media (subscription required) (May 17, 2026, What’s On Weibo)
While Trump visited Beijing for a landmark summit with Xi Jinping, Chinese netizens turned the historic encounter into a geopolitical blockbuster—complete with memes, pop-culture references, and viral moments featuring everyone from Elon Musk to Jensen Huang. This special movie-themed bumper edition of Eye on Digital China decodes the 2026 Trump–Xi Beijing summit through the lens of Chinese social media.
Science / Technology
In the Race for AI Supremacy, the US and China Stake Different Paths (May 12, 2026, The Christian Science Monitor)
As President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week in Beijing, the United States and China are locked in an intense competition to become the dominant player in the future of AI innovation. “Both the U.S. and China are striving for global AI supremacy,” says Aynne Kokas, a professor at the University of Virginia who researches Sino-U.S. technology relations. “That being said, they’re approaching it radically differently.”
Resources
Resource Hub for US Academic Travel to China (US-China Education Trust, USCET)
This Resource Hub is designed to provide clear, practical guidance for Americans who are planning or considering academic travel to China, including students, scholars, faculty, and others working in educational or research settings. Our aim is to assemble reliable context, vetted opportunities, and lessons from recent travelers so visitors can understand current conditions and make informed choices about study, research, and collaboration in China.
Events
Conference: Nourishing Trust and Friendship: Following the Way of Christ (United States – China Catholic Association)
Join us for the 30th Biennial Conference of the US-China Catholic Association.
Dates: July 31–August 2, 2026
Location: University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
Pray for China
May 25 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On May 25, 2016, author Yang Jiang (杨绛) passsed away in Beijing at age 104. Her memoir Six Chapters from My Life ‘Downunder’ describes the years that she spent doing “reform through labor” during the Cultural Revolution. She and her husband, Qian Zhongshu (钱锺书), were married for 53 years. He once described Yang as “the most chaste wife and talented girl” in China. His novel Fortress Besieged (围城) is a satirical treatment of the trauma placed by modern society on marriage; it is considered by many to be modern China’s greatest novel. Pray for God, our Shield and Defender, to be glorified, as his children joyfully fulfill His purpose for them to have fellowship with one another in him. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22
Activating Prayer for China (February 23, 2026, ChinaSource)
Prayer 2026: Off the Beaten Path (January 1, 2026, China Partnership)
Praying Through the ChinaSource Journal (October 13, 2025, ChinaSource)
Praying Through ZGBriefs (August 29, 2025, ChinaSource)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)