Featured Article
A Chinese Coffee Shop Called Itself People’s Cafe. That Name Got it Roasted (November 9, 2025, CNN)
A Chinese coffee chain has apologized and changed its name after state media roasted it for misusing a word revered by the nation’s communist government. People’s Cafe decorates most of its branches in bright red, often with a star on their storefront, evoking a very Chinese Communist Party aesthetic – as well as using a typeface inspired by the calligraphy of China’s first communist leader, Mao Zedong. The company issued an apology Saturday, days after state media singled it out for riding on the “gimmick economy.”
Spotlight
Seminar: The Church in China Beyond the Headlines (The North Church and ChinaSource)
This seminar, presented by Joann Pittman, will provide an introduction to the complexity of the church in China, moving beyond common narratives to look at the key issues and challenges that Christians face today. This will include a historical overview of Christianity in China, as well as gospel-centered stories of what God is doing among his people despite the challenging social and political environment. Finally, we will consider lessons that Christians in the West can learn from Christians in China.
Date: November 22, 2025
Time: 9:00 am to 11:00 am (in the chapel)
Location: The North Church, 5151 Program Ave., Mounds View, MN, 55112
No registration necessary. Please just show up!
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
ChinaFile Presents: ‘Made in Ethiopia’ (November 4, 2025, ChinaFile)
Following a screening of Made in Ethiopia at Asia Society on October 6, co-directors Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan joined ChinaFile Editor-in-Chief Susan Jakes, who was also an executive producer of the film, to discuss their making of the documentary. Filmed over four years of intensive interviews and unique access, Made in Ethiopia lifts the curtain on China’s historic but misunderstood impact on Africa, and explores contemporary Ethiopia at a moment of profound crisis.
What Are China’s Nuclear Ambitions? (subscription required) (November 4, 2025, Foreign Policy – China Brief)
China’s nuclear weapons program is opaque even by the standards of the Chinese military. There are no official numbers on how many nuclear weapons China has—only outside estimates, which vary widely and often get entangled in US political debates. The general consensus is that China has several hundred nuclear warheads, far behind Russia and the United States, which have more than 5,000 each.
China’s Exit Bans Are Breaking a Decades-Long Social Contract (November 6, 2025, The Diplomat)
The concept of exit bans is not new in China, and limitations on travelling abroad for even high-ranking government officials are commonplace. With the recent media coverage surrounding the rising number of bans on businesspeople from leaving the mainland, more people are justifiably becoming more concerned about their human rights. However, what is even more alarming is the broadening of such exit bans to ordinary citizens who are not big business tycoons or public officials.
China Showcases Hong Kong-Mainland Unity at National Games (November 11, 2025, Domino Theory)
The National Games are China’s largest multi-sport event and a feeder for the Chinese Olympic team. Yet nearly every piece of media that has been released about the games reinforces the message that Hong Kong’s economy and its role as a gateway into China, administered under the “one country, two systems” framework, remain strong.
Religion
The Chinese Church in Modern Society (November 6, 2025, China Partnership)
How can people in today’s China understand what the church is? How will Chinese see and understand the church’s role? House church pastor Zhang Fuyou believes the Chinese church has an important role in today’s world: to show those around it what the kingdom of heaven looks like. This is not an easy task. But as Christians come together to display community and live out an unwavering commitment to truth, people will be attracted to the Chinese church—and to the God who established that church.
Crisis and Critique, 1862–1927 (Part 3) (November 7, 2025, ChinaSource)
In Part 2, we set the premodern frame: Confucian governance, Daoist and folk practice, Buddhist devotion, and an imperial habit of classifying “heterodoxy.” Here, we enter a modern crucible—roughly 1862–1927—when China wrestled with foreign power, internal revolt, and the search for meaning. Across these decades, Christianity was alternately tolerated, utilized, suspected, and opposed. The labels changed—from “heterodox” to “imperial tool,” from “foreign” to “anti-modern”—but the ambivalence remained.
Christian Witness in Chinese–African Encounters (November 10, 2025, ChinaSource)
If Chinese and African Christians are to rise in maturity and come together as one, such healthy relationships can become a model of how two of the fastest growing populations of Christianity in the twenty-first century can come together to learn from and work with one another mutually for God’s kingdom witness.
Dalian: Post-Pandemic Depression (November 10, 2025, China Partnership)
Dalian sits on a peninsula jutting into the sea, and although the city is in northern China, the sea breezes moderate Dalian’s temperature, keeping it cool in summer and less frigid in winter. Because of the city’s history of colonization by both Russia and Japan, Dalian’s architecture is different than most other Chinese cities, with European-style buildings. Dalian is also known as a “garden city,” with forests, fountains, parks, and green spaces throughout the metropolis.
From Church to the Marketplace, From Local to Global: Dr. Victor Lee’s Vision for Church and Theology (November 10, 2025, China Christian Daily)
At the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order held at St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, from October 24-28, Dr. Victor Lee, president of the Bible College of Malaysia and pastor of First Assembly of God (Chinese) in Kuala Lumpur, shared with China Christian Daily about his ministry in theological education, his role in the World Council of Churches (WCC) as a Pentecostal representative, and his encouragement to Christians in China to contextualize the gospel and think globally.
The Joy of Discipline (November 11, 2025, ChinaSource)
Another weary mother sits next to me, drained and fatigued because her children do not listen to her. She and her husband experience continual frustration and marital conflict because of their children’s lack of obedience. Their home lacks joy. Instead, it is filled with angry voices and aggravated cries. On the mainland, the current generation of Christian parents are often the first believers in their family. These parents did not have the privilege of growing up with a mom and dad who showed godly love and discipline.
Chinese House Churches Play Matchmaker (November 11, 2025, Christianity Today) (subscription required)
“All the eligible girls in the village have gotten married this year, except for you two,” she said, referring to Luo and her sister. “You really need someone by your side.”
Society / Life
The ‘Training Loan’ Scam Trapping Young Chinese in Debt (November 5, 2025, Sixth Tone)
“No experience needed, high pay, daily wages, flexible hours,” reads an online part-time job ad targeting young job seekers in China—perfect for fresh graduates and university students. The catch? Shelling out thousands of yuan for “training.” In an investigation published Sunday by state broadcaster CCTV, more than 40 job seekers had fallen victim to a scam advertising part-time roles at a company in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan province.
Making Noodles in a Cave, Our China Writer Gets a Slice of Country Life (November 5, 2025, Christian Science Monitor)
A rooster crows. Li Jinlan rises in darkness from an earthen bed in her village farmhouse. She starts a fire, and sips a warm bowl of milk. Then she picks up a worn, wood-handled cleaver, and starts cutting seed potatoes to ready for planting. Living high in a ravine in China’s rugged Shaanxi province, Ms. Li is one of the most well-connected women I’ve met. Not in the modern sense, but in an ancient, earthy sense. It’s her bond to the land.
In China, Victims of Abuse Are Told to ‘Keep It in the Family’ (November 6, 2025, The New York Times) (subscription required)
They called the police. They showed their wounds. They begged for protection. But when two women in China tried to escape their violent husbands, the system that promised to protect them looked the other way, until it was too late. One woman died from being beaten. The other woman was left severely injured. Their stories rippled across the Chinese internet, setting off a wave of anger over how the authorities treat domestic violence as a private family matter, even as state media has called for “zero tolerance” of abuses.
Single Mothers in China Find a New Kind of Partner – Other Single Mothers (November 6, 2025, The Guardian)
As divorce rates rise and the cost of living bites, single mothers in China are searching for a new kind of partner: each other. Across social media are posts from harried mothers seeking like-minded parents to share a home and child-rearing responsibilities. “I’m hoping to find another single mom to share an apartment with, so we can take care of each other,” said a popular post on Xiaohongshu, a platform known overseas as Rednote. “If our children are around the same age, that would be even better – they can be companions. Those raising kids alone know how tough it is; sometimes you’re so busy you barely have time to eat.”
Thousands of Chinese Lured Abroad and Forced to Be Scammers – Now Beijing Is Cracking Down (November 8, 2025, BBC)
There are few chickens bigger than the Weis, Lius, Mings and Bais—Godfather-esque families who rose to power in Laukkaing in the early 2000s. Under their rule, the impoverished backwater was transformed into a flashy hub of casinos and red-light districts. More recent are the scam farms—which hold people against their will, forcing them to defraud strangers online, or face brutal punishment or even death. Many of those trapped were Chinese and targeted people in China.
Eat, Pay, Love: Dining With Strangers Is China’s New Social Fix (November 11, 2025, Sixth Tone)
This July, six strangers sat down to dinner in an upscale Korean restaurant in Shanghai. None of them knows who planned it, only that an algorithm thought they might get along. One of those in attendance, Jin Ling, a 21-year-old college student, describes how she paid 59 yuan ($8) for an algorithm-matched “blind box dinner” in an attempt to break the monotony of her “dormitory-to-classroom” routine.
Economics / Trade / Business
Driving Competition: China’s Carmakers in Race to Dominate Europe’s Roads (November 7, 2025, The Guardian)
Chinese cars are on a roll across Europe – they outsold Korean rivals in western Europe for the first time in September. That success is highly reliant on the UK. Of the half a million Chinese cars sold in western Europe between January and September, 30% were bought by Britons, according to Matthias Schmidt, a Berlin-based automotive analyst.
China’s Economic Policy Holds Line as Growth Weakens (November 7, 2025, MERICS)
The increasingly turbulent global environment, marked by the Trump administration’s frequent tariff announcements, export controls, or hikes of port fees, has heightened the uncertainties surrounding global trade. However, China’s leadership has remained unfazed and seems well-prepared to face US pressure, responding swiftly with targeted retaliatory measures. Beijing is leveraging its dominance in critical supply chains, such as rare earths, and its purchasing power in key commodities like soybeans.
Science / Technology
Alibaba’s Amap Rides China Car Boom in Challenge to Google Maps (November 4, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Drawing on experience from partnerships with more than 40 domestic car manufacturers, the company said the new AutoSDK would “enable Chinese carmakers to bring proven success to foreign markets and build intelligent competitiveness”. The international version of AutoSDK covers more than 170 countries across Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America, with support for 19 major languages, according to Amap.
Have Chinese Chemists Cracked the Code for Cheaper Medicine Production (November 9, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Scientists in China have solved a 140-year-old chemistry problem in a breakthrough that could overturn traditional production methods and slash the cost of cancer treatments and other expensive medicinal compounds. The research was co-led by Zhang Xiaheng, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, and Xue Xiaosong, a professor with the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, and published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.
Travel / Food
Beijing Jianbing: Exploring the Many Varieties of Chinese Bings (November 5, 2025, The Beijinger Blog)
If you’ve lived in China for any length of time, odds are you’ve probably tried China’s famous breakfast pancake, the jianbing (煎饼 jiānbǐng), before, but what about one of China’s many other bings (饼 bǐng)? The word bing itself is used to refer to a broad variety of foods that can resemble anything from a pancake to a flatbread. Here we’re going to take a look at some of the most famous variations, plus some different types of Chinese flatbread that fall into the bing-adjacent category.
The Magic of Konjac: What’s Behind China’s Obsession with the Toxic Plant (November 10, 2025, The World of Chinese)
What if I told you there is an ingredient that is mildly toxic, features almost no calorific content, and requires complex processing to be edible—yet has managed to captivate China? Believe it or not, such a food exists: konjac. From tofu-like jelly cubes in hot pot to staple alternatives favored by fitness enthusiasts, konjac has become a true “crossover star” in the culinary world in recent years. Yet few realize that it’s not a modern sensation—konjac’s history as a foodstuff in China dates back over 2,000 years, evolving from a toxic plant to a weapon against famine and the base ingredient for some of the most popular snacks in the country today.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
A New Global Scene for Independent Chinese Film (November 4, 2025, ChinaFile)
As China’s space for independent film continues to shrink, two filmmakers-turned-curators have established festivals in Berlin and New York, creating vital platforms for Chinese cinema that can no longer be shown at home.
Beyond Blue and White (November 10, 2025, China Media Project)
Hu’s reference to “blue background” statements points to the tongbao (通报), official notices increasingly used by local police and government agencies to announce incidents without allowing the most basic reporting, to say nothing of more in-depth journalistic investigation. These terse, formulaic “white on blue” (蓝底白字) announcements have proliferated across Chinese social media in recent years, often serving as the sole official word on accidents, deaths, and other sensitive local news events.
Events
Public Lecture: Continuity and Change in China’s Religious Policy (China Academic Consortium)
ChinaSource Founder Dr. Brent Fulton will deliver a free public lecture on November 15 entitled “Continuity and Change in China’s Religious Policy.”
Location: Calvin Room in the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, CA.
2407 Dana Street, Berkeley, CA
Time: Light meal with beverages at 5:00 pm, followed by lecture and Q&A.
Please click here to register as an attendee or to request a video recording of the event.
For more information, please send inquiries to [email protected] by November 13, 2025.
Online Book Club Discussion (ERRChina)
How did China become the world’s largest supplier of Bibles? There was a time when people smuggled Bibles into China. Now, millions of copies are printed there annually. In the process, God’s word has impacted different segments of Chinese society, including the poor and blind, young and old, ethnic minorities, pastors, and opinion shapers of the country. How did this happen? Unveiling a hidden chapter in China’s history, From Banned Book to Bestseller, by Cynthia Oh, explores the impact of the Bible and its message on the lives of ordinary people. It recounts how the Bible Press in China has helped to make Scripture available in China and around the world. This book is based on first-hand accounts and testimonies from the archives, records, and reports of the United Bible Societies. Please read the book, and then join us for a discussion.
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Time: 8:00 pm EST / 7:00 pm CST / 6:00 pm EST / 5:00 PST
Location: Zoom
Please go here to register for the event.
A Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church – Focus on Southeast and East Asia (Lausanne Movement)
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Virtual Gathering at 8:00 am – 9:30 am CST (USA)
Go here to register.
Pray for China
November 11 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
Nov. 11 is the unofficial Singles Day (光棍节) holiday in China. The name comes from 11/11 being a representation of four individuals. Young Chinese, particularly in urban areas, are staying single longer, and retailers have seized upon this day to promote buying a present for oneself. In 2017, shoppers spent US$44.5 billion with just two major online retailers. The day also highlights the profound gender disparity brought about by the One Child Policy sex-selection abortions that will leave many men with no prospect of ever being married. One study showed that the killing of 1.3 million unborn girls annually in sex-selection abortions have left China with nearly 34 million more boys than girls. This is expected to create a culture where lonely men without families fill their lives with pets, video games, and anime. Pray for healing in the land. If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Seeking the Salvation of East Asia’s Unreached Through Intentional Prayer (October 28, 2025, ChinaSource)
Praying Through ZGBriefs (August 29, 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 (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)