Featured Article
Exploring Shadow Puppetry: A Timeless Chinese Art (May 26, 2025, The Beijinger Blog)
Originating more than two thousand years ago, shadow puppetry is considered one of China’s oldest performing arts. Its beginnings can be traced to the Western Han dynasty, flourishing during the Tang dynasty, and reaching its peak in the Qing dynasty. The art form later spread to West Asia and Europe during the Yuan dynasty, showcasing its far-reaching influence.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Symbolism, Pragmatism Inform China-Latin American Ties at CELAC Forum (May 20, 2025, China Digital Times)
Last week, Beijing hosted the fourth China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum. While this triennial gathering was described as a ministerial-level meeting, the presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Chile attended, showing their commitment to deepen ties with China. In the backdrop were American tariffs and U.S.-China geopolitical competition, two factors that have ramped up pressure on CELAC members.
White Paper Offers Chinese Wisdom at the Crossroads of History (May 23, China Brief – The Jamestown Foundation)
The PRC government releases white papers for both a domestic and an international audience. According to the State Council Information Office’s website, it has published 173 since 1991—roughly five per annum. Although it only began publishing official English translations in 2010, the topics—which tend to focus on aspects of PRC governance that have been most concerning to foreign observers—reinforce the notion that the intended audience is global. The latest white paper is the first to be dedicated specifically to “national security” (国家安全), though national defense has been a regular focus since 1998 (China Brief, June 19, 2015, July 31, 2019).
China’s Spy Agency Warns of Foreigners Posing as Scholars, Tourists or ‘Insincere Lovers’ (May 25, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Chinese citizens should be on alert for friendly foreign faces who could be spies – from scholars who do not do research and tourists who do not sightsee, to lovers who only want information, the country’s top spy agency has warned. In a post on its official social media account on Sunday, the Ministry of State Security said foreign spies might be hiding in plain sight, using various identities to carry out activities that threaten China’s national security.
Poorest 75 Nations Face ‘Tidal Wave’ of Debt Repayments to China in 2025, Study Warns (May 27, 2025, The Guardian)
The analysis, published on Tuesday by Australian foreign policy thinktank the Lowy Institute, said that in 2025 the poorest 75 countries were on the hook for record high debt repayments US$22bn to China. The 75 nations’ debt formed the bulk of the total $35bn calculated by Lowy for 2025. “Now, and for the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,” the report said.
Religion
Building God’s Church Amidst the Storm: The Unwavering Faith of a Congregation (May 22, 2025, China Christian Daily)
In Lixin County, Anhui Province, a region that once struggled with poverty and natural disasters, a stunning gray and white church quietly stands in the western part of the county. This modern building, featuring a contemporary design that exudes a sense of reverence, blends seamlessly with its surroundings, making it a distinctive landmark in the area. It serves not only as a space for church services and activities, but also functions as an office and training center. However, the journey to build this impressive church was anything but easy.
Wuhan: A Church Stretched Thin May 22, 2025, China Partnership)
Several Wuhan pastors share about the challenges and struggles they face ministering in the central Chinese city, especially in the years following the pandemic. They agreed that more connection between churches is needed, and that many in their congregation are stressed and stretched by economic and family pressures. Most churches want to reach the many university students in their area, but are uncertain how, with increasing restrictions. To solve these issues, prayer is necessary.
Crossing the Divide (May 23, 2025, ChinaSource)
When Karl Liu speaks of his journey to Catholicism, he does not begin with Rome. He begins with a pause. Not merely the pause of ritual, but the aching silence of questions no one around him could answer. “Where did I come from? Where am I going? Who am I?” These were the questions that haunted Liu as a teenager growing up in China. He tried asking around. He searched in philosophy. He asked others. He turned to science. None offered satisfying answers. None could explain why he longed to be a good person but couldn’t seem to do it on his own, or why suffering felt so inescapable and unbearable. Eventually, Liu came to believe that only God—one who sees, hears, and loves—could answer such questions.
Pope Prays for Chinese Catholics to Be in Communion with Rome in First Comments on Thorny Issues (May 25, 2025, AP News)
History’s first American pope recalled that on Saturday the Catholic Church marked a special feast day to pray for the church in China. Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China’s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn’t recognize papal authority, and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution.
Metaphorically Speaking (May 26, 2025, ChinaSource)
By accentuating positive attributes of China’s church and the negative realities that conspire to make life difficult for Chinese Christians, these metaphors capture the tension within which China’s Christians live out their faith. Colorful, vivid, and evocative—these images promote a narrative in which believers stand out in bold relief against an unchanging background of repression. They provide a vocabulary for making sense of why China is the way it is. Yet, taken to an extreme, this same metaphorical lens limits our field of vision.
Wuhan: How We Can Pray (May 26, 2025, China Partnership)
Wuhan pastors share how those of us outside of China can pray for them in this season of pressure and persecution. They said they want to see their people hold strong to their faith during a season of pressure and persecution. They also hope for their churches to develop a bigger heart for evangelism, and to be willing to share the gospel in new and more personal ways that are better fitting to this current era.
Between Popes, Two Bishops: Observing China’s Moves and the Vatican’s Silence (May 27, 2025, ChinaSource)
On May 9, Professor John Lindblom provided a comprehensive overview and many insights into the relationship of Pope Francis and China on the ChinaSource website.1 Although I am a double outsider—neither being based in China nor a Roman-Catholic Christian—my years of work on the Chinese church have shaped how I perceive developments like this one. There are two observations that lead me to wonder how the relationship between the Roman-Catholic church and China may develop.
Society / Life
In Taiwan and China, Young People Turn to AI Chatbots for ‘Cheaper, Easier’ Therapy (May 21, 2025, The Guardian)
Li and Yang are among a growing number of Chinese-speaking people turning to generative AI chatbots instead of professional human therapists. Experts say there is huge potential for AI in the mental health sector, but are concerned about the risks of people in distress turning to the technology, rather than human beings, for medical assistance.
Money First, Love Later: How Young People Are Redefining the “Internet Valentine’s Day” (May 21, 2025, The World of Chinese)
Love and romance seem to be going out of style in China—or at least, the marketing strategies built around them are losing their appeal among young people, as evidenced by the declining popularity of the country’s so-called “Internet Valentine’s Day” that falls every year on May 20.
The Chinese Families Choosing an African Education (May 23, 2025, Sixth Tone)
China is Zimbabwe’s second-largest trading partner, and many Chinese companies send staff to the country, some of whom choose to stay long term. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 10,000 Chinese were living in the country. Those with children faced thorny questions regarding where to send their children to school. Many adopted a three-step approach involving China, Zimbabwe, and a Western country, allowing them to leverage the best of the educational resources available to them to help their children ascend into the global elite.
Till Debt Do Us Part: Gansu Takes Aim at Exorbitant Bride Prices (May 26, 2025, Sixth Tone)
In counties across Gansu province, northwestern China, local governments are rolling out a range of initiatives to curb excessive wedding customs — taking particular aim at exorbitant bride prices in the hope of boosting marriage figures. The efforts echo a broader provincial campaign to promote simpler, more reasonable marital traditions.
Radicalness In Suspension: From ‘Ge Yu Lu’ to Ge Yulu (May 26, Made in China Journal)
From 2013 to 2017, migrant artist Ge Yulu (葛宇路, b. 1990) carried out his private project Ge Yu Lu (葛宇路), secretly installing a street sign bearing his name on an unnamed road in the chaotic bustle of Beijing, as well as embedding the name in digital maps such as those of Gaode (高德) and Baidu (百度), which provide real-time navigation for everyday use.
Economics / Trade / Business
Video – What Is Fueling the U.S.-China Trade War? (May 21, 2025, The National Committee on United States-China Relations)
With U.S.-China tariff levels reaching historic highs and a fragile truce now in place, economic experts examine how the trade relationship has shifted in 2025—and where it might be headed next. What are the strategic goals behind the sweeping tariff measures imposed by both sides? How are they reshaping trade flows, business decisions, and bilateral diplomacy? What lessons can we draw from the past seven years of trade tensions, and how do current developments fit into broader patterns of economic decoupling and strategic competition?
Desertification Control Drive Focuses on Food Security and Soft Power Influence (May 23, 2025, China Brief – The Jamestown Foundation)
The PRC has achieved self-reliance in food production in part via a nationally prioritized program to combat desertification. Under the “Three North Shelterbelt Project” (三北防护林工程) and other programs, the PRC has now massively increased the nation’s total area of farmland through reclamation of existing deserts and the active protection of existing arable land (National Forestry and Grassland Administration, February 14).
Go Fish: China to Deliver World’s First Salmon-Farming Ship, Modernizing Fisheries (May 26, 2025, South China Morning Post)
China is building the world’s first ship dedicated to salmon farming, and it is set to be delivered in June, in a sign of the country’s latest efforts to reduce its reliance on imported seafood through offshore aquaculture. The nearly 250-metre (820-foot) Su Hai No 1 vessel, built by Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou at a cost of 600 million yuan (US$83.6 million) is expected to produce up to 8,000 tonnes of salmon annually, according to shipowner, Jiangsu Lianshen Marine Technology.
Photographer’s Project Captures China’s Growing Influence in Africa | PetaPixel (May 27, 2025, Petapixel)
Captured between 2018 and late 2024, Burtynsky’s work — frequently captured on large format cameras — captures the transformation of China’s domestic production systems to the expansion of its industrial footprint across the African continent. Currently on display at the Flowers Gallery in Hong Kong, Burtynsky employs his aerial and wide-angle lens perspective to create sweeping images that reveal the scale of industrial development and its impact on the environment.
History / Culture
Every “Body” Dance Now: How a Chinese Troupe Is Moving Differently (May 21, 2025, The World of Chinese)
Since its founding in 2008 by Tao, Duan Ni, and Wang Hao, TAO Dance Theater has become one of China’s most internationally recognized contemporary dance companies. Best known for its “Numerical Series”—each showcasing a test of the body’s limits and represented by a digit—the troupe has toured more than 40 countries across five continents, performing at over a hundred art festivals worldwide.
Translation of Chai Jing Interview with Chinese Civil War Survivor Gao Binghan, Part 1 (May 23 2025, China Digital Times)
Amid recurrent China-Taiwan tensions and rising geopolitical instability, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker Chai Jing has revisited and updated her iconic 2012 interview with Gao Binghan, a survivor of the Chinese Civil War who escaped with the Nationalists to Taiwan at the age of 13. Now 90 years old, Gao saw his family torn apart by civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists, and says he fears that the two sides are once again inching toward war. “Politics is ruthless,” says Gao in his recent interview with Chai. “Those who forget that history of suffering are destined to suffer again.”
Travel / Food
Tourists Scramble as 600-Year-Old Chinese Tower Partially Collapses (May 21, 2025, CNN)
Visitors to a centuries-old tourist site in eastern China were sent scrambling after hundreds of roof tiles came loose and cascaded more than two stories to the ground. The Fengyang Drum Tower—built in 1375 and used to announce the beginning of ceremonies and the time of day—is one of the largest such towers in China, according to state media.
Health / Environment
Cold Fix: Inside China’s Audacious Effort to Save a Dying Glacier (May 22 2025, Sixth Tone)
Glacier scientist Wang Feiteng has run the numbers, tracked the symptoms, and watched an ice sheet the size of 56 football fields shrink, year after year. Everything points to one outcome: without urgent intervention, the Dagu Glacier will be gone by 2029. “It’s like a patient with terminal cancer. No one can stop the inevitable,” the 45-year-old scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing, admits. “But as the doctor, can you just walk away?”
Arts / Entertainment / Media
A Taiwan Slip on Chinese Television (May 23, 2025, China Media Project)
It was meant to be a stiff and routine recitation of the official news — just like every other newscast China Central Television anchor Hu Die had delivered in her 17-year career. But a simple slip of the tongue brought a landslide of repercussions for Hu, who joined the state broadcaster in 2008 after winning its prestigious host competition the year before.
Exploring Shadow Puppetry: A Timeless Chinese Art (May 26, 2025, The Beijinger Blog)
Originating more than two thousand years ago, shadow puppetry is considered one of China’s oldest performing arts. Its beginnings can be traced to the Western Han dynasty, flourishing during the Tang dynasty, and reaching its peak in the Qing dynasty. The art form later spread to West Asia and Europe during the Yuan dynasty, showcasing its far-reaching influence.
China’s Pro-Wrestlers Search for a Star to Bring the Sport Out of the Shadows (May 26, 2025, The Guardian)
Wang is the 25-year-old poster boy for an industry that has struggled for years to gain a foothold in China, despite a huge potential market and a culture that enjoys its own rich history of martial arts and professional fighting. Less than 10% of households with internet access watch pro-wrestling, according to a 2023 survey by S&P Global, a market intelligence company. For sports like basketball and football, the figure is over 50%.
Pray for China
May 23 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On May 23, 1943, the Back to Jerusalem Evangelistic Band was formally established at the Northwest Bible Institute in Fengxiang, Shaanxi, under the leadership of Vice-Principal Mark Ma Peixuan (马培萱). The actual Chinese name adopted by the group of Chinese believers that day was中国基督徒遍传福音团 (literally the Preach the Gospel Everywhere Band), which they took from Matthew 24:14, but the alternative English version was used by their missionary colleagues. All told in that decade, God raised up five separate groups of Chinese Christians with the vision of reaching Muslims in western China and beyond. Pray for Chinese churches to effectively partner with one another in the Mission China 2030 goal of commissioning 20,000 cross-cultural missionaries from China by the year 2030. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Praying for China | Prayercast (January, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Pray for China (China Partnership)