Featured Article
Traveling to China? Here Are the Apps You’ll Need to Survive (September 14, 2026, CNET)
So, you’re going to China and you need to get your phone in order, but you don’t know where to start. That was me, a month ago. Now I’ve been there, for a week of work and another week of personal travel in and around Shenzhen. In that time, I got a good grasp on the ecosystem of apps and mini-apps. Enough, at least, to get you started if you’re venturing to China anytime soon.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Examining Borderland Relations Between China and North Korea (August 13, 2026, Borderlands – Mapping 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-US 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.
Young Chinese Turn to Mao Zedong for Life Advice, 50 Years after His Death (September 8, 2026, South China Morning Post)
When you are denied a pay rise, when you feel anxious about your children’s education, or when you are alienated by colleagues, Chairman Mao can help. At least, that is what China’s online influencers and their hundreds of thousands of followers believe. Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Mao Zedong, founding father of the People’s Republic of China. Chinese authorities have not announced any plans to mark the date, as former state leaders are usually commemorated on the anniversaries of their birth.
Why Is China’s Officer Corps So Sprawling? (subscription required) (September 8, 2026, Foreign Policy – China Brief)
Last year, we explored what life is like for soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army. This week, in lieu of our usual news coverage, we’re turning our attention to the officer corps and what their jobs entail—especially in some of the Chinese military’s more unique roles.
Xi Jinping Gets Red Carpet at Brics Summit Amid Thaw in India-China Relations (September 12, 2026, The Guardian)
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has received a red-carpet welcome in India for a summit of Brics developing nations, as regional rivals Beijing and Delhi make a public display of thawing relations while quietly competing to lead at a time of shaky US global dominance.
Religion
Yantai: How It’s Changed (September 10, 2026, China Partnership)
Yantai is an ancient city that today has a population of about seven million. Local church leaders say the city is aging rapidly, and that although the economy is doing well on paper, in real life it’s very tough for young people to stay and find good jobs. In recent years, Yantai churches have built stronger connections among themselves, and the Christian community is doing a better job caring for one another and the needs of the city.
What If the Church Does Not Need Another Christian AI? (September 11, 2026, ChinaSource)
Should Christians use AI? Over the past two years, I have been asked this question in many forms. Sometimes it is very practical: Is it safe to use ChatGPT for Bible study? Should pastors use AI to prepare sermons? Sometimes the concern goes deeper: as AI becomes more powerful, could it eventually replace pastors, or even the church?
Don’t Treat AI as a Person (September 14, 2026, ChinaSource)
Earlier this year, a friend shared with me the record of several weeks of conversations with AI. The transcript ran to tens of thousands of words. Sharing it was an act of considerable trust. He was not exactly seeking my approval. He seemed more like someone who had found a treasure and could not help telling a friend about it. In those conversations, I saw someone open his heart to AI.
Learning to Be Still (September 15, 2026, ChinaSource)
There are things I miss about being a student that I never expected to miss. It is not the examinations or the long nights spent worrying about deadlines, nor even the peculiar uncertainty of not knowing exactly what would come after graduation. What I sometimes miss is the sense of spaciousness that existed around those uncertainties. Even when college felt overwhelming, there was always a feeling that there was time left to figure things out, to change one’s mind, to read something simply because it was interesting, or to spend an afternoon doing very little without feeling that something else was being neglected.
Society / Life
Chinese Men Warned Over Bridal Scams as ‘Marriage Squeeze’ Drives Wife Search in Africa (September 12, 2026, South China Morning Post)
A young Malagasy woman was stopped at Madagascar’s Ivato International Airport last month as she prepared to travel to China for a proposed marriage, according to local media reports citing police. She had reportedly been promised 10 million ariary (US$2,300) once she arrived and married a Chinese man. The case led police to investigate a suspected network involved in arranging similar marriages.
Knife Attack in China’s Guangzhou Leaves Multiple People Injured (September 14, 2026, South China Morning Post)
Police in Guangzhou said on Monday they had apprehended a man in the southern Chinese city’s university town district after receiving reports that he was wielding a knife and injuring pedestrians. Emergency services started receiving calls around 5.20pm local time about multiple stabbings in front of a hotpot restaurant in the Xiaoguwei Island area of Panyu district, according to an alert sent out by the district branch of the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau.
The Chinese Dating App Promising Marriage—or Your Money Back (September 15, 2026, Sixth Tone)
A new Chinese dating app is betting that AI can do more than keep users chatting — it wagers it can see them married in three years or less. If it fails, the team behind Liangpei—roughly “good match” in Chinese—promises to refund the user’s one-time fee of 2,000 yuan ($275). The guarantee comes as marriage rates fall in China, with only 6.76 million couples tying the knot in 2025, about half the number a decade earlier.
Economics / Trade / Business
Europe’s China Shock (September 11, 2026, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
Trade between the EU and China account for almost 30% of global trade and 35% of global GDP, but the balance and structure of their trade relationship has changed in recent years. As China’s exports moved up the value chain, the goods it sent to Europe started competing with products already manufactured in Europe, creating tension. However, it’s difficult for the EU to confront and change its economic relationship with China since individual European nations feel trade frictions differently and economic relations with the United States are also under pressure. How will the EU move forward with China and the United States?
Podcast: China’s Changing Commercial Landscape on the Eve of the Summit: A Conversation with Eric Zheng (September 14, 2026, Center for Strategic and International Studies)
In this episode of China Field Notes, Scott Kennedy talks with Eric Zheng, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. After describing his pathway from growing up in Shanghai to working in consulting and the insurance industry, Zheng assesses China’s evolving business climate, including the challenges facing American companies, why China remains an important market and manufacturing base, and how American firms are adapting their global strategies.
History / Culture
How China Fakes Its Success with Frank Dikotter (September 5, 2026, Triggernometry)
Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster discuss Mao and the birth and rise of the Communist Party in China as well as the Great Leap Forward and the reason why outsiders keep getting China wrong with scholar and historian Frank Dikotter.
China at the Bat: Can the Latest National League Revive Baseball’s Popularity? (September 11, 2026, The World of Chinese)
From soldiers playing to sharpen their bomb-throwing to a new professional league drawing thousands to newly built riverside stadiums, baseball has a longer and stranger history in China than most realize—and its biggest moment may finally be at hand.
Travel / Food
Pizza Bao, Spaghetti Stir-Fry: Chinese Students Hack Home Cooking Abroad (September 11, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Liu Zhenchao stands at a kitchen counter in Germany, filming himself making baozi, or Chinese steamed buns. The 27-year-old student from Hefei, capital of China’s eastern Anhui province, chops onions and minces beef for the filling, then seasons it and mixes it by hand in a bowl. But when it comes time to make the dough, he suddenly reaches for a cardboard box from a local supermarket. Inside is a sheet of premade pizza dough.
China Tightens Travel Restrictions for Citizens (subscription required) (September 15, 2026, BBC News)
China has imposed a range of sweeping new rules restricting travel in and out of the country in a move that observers say will give the government even more control over its citizens.
Science / Technology
Beijing Hits Back at Anthropic CEO’s Call to Curb China’s AI Development (September 14, 2026, NPR)
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday bristled at the Anthropic CEO’s call for the US to curb China’s artificial intelligence capabilities as part of a wider argument for a global slowdown on AI development.
China Postponed Its Chang’e 7 Lunar Mission. What Does That Mean for Its Space Program? (September 15, 2026, The Diplomat)
China’s postponement of it’s Chang’e 7 lunar mission on August 23 came with a curt explanation from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA): “China’s Chang’e-7 lunar probe does not meet launch conditions, and its launch therefore cannot take place during the planned window this year.”
Language / Language Learning
Learning Chinese Sign Language (September 11, 2026, The Diplomat)
Learning Chinese Sign Language is a bewildering experience. To begin with, Chinese Sign Language (CSL) is in itself best understood as an umbrella term rather than a well-defined language.
No, ChatGPT Can’t Analyze your Mandarin Pronunciation (September 13, 2026, Hacking Chinese)
I recently asked ChatGPT to help me improve Mandarin pronunciation. I told it I would upload a recording and asked it to suggest what to improve, then rate the pronunciation from 1 to 10, where 10 meant native-like. I then uploaded again and asked for follow-up feedback.
Education
UNC Shuts the Door on Shanghai (For the Right Reasons) (September 14, 2026, Martin Center for Academic Renewal)
For years, Fudan University offered UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduates a taste of Shanghai academic life. Now, that door is closed. The reason isn’t budget cuts or falling enrollment—it’s national security. And how UNC arrived at that decision reveals a lot about the balance between global engagement and common sense.
China’s Tutoring Crackdown Has Created a Black Market (subscription required) (September 14, 2026, The Economist)
The inspection team barged in as business was in full swing. An official confronted the front-desk staff, a cop snapped photos of incriminating evidence, an investigator questioned customers. Next, they got inside the computer system, scoping out prices paid and services rendered. Finally, when it was all done, the authorities in Huiyang, a southern city, posted a video of the sting, set to stirring music. For this had been a raid on a most dangerous scourge: an after-school tutoring centre. Heaven forbid children study even more maths!
Arts / Entertainment / Media
Fields of View: Wuhan’s Sports Venues from the Sky | Photo Story (September 14, 2026, The World of Chinese)
Zheng Binjie has driven almost daily along Guanggu Avenue, an arterial road in Wuhan dotted with sports venues. Among these are the striking Lingjiashan soccer field and 66 Sports Park, opened in 2021 and 2022 respectively, their facilities nestled dramatically beneath two of the city’s overpasses, embedded in the urban landscape along the route. Both venues are located just kilometers away from Zheng’s apartment and planted the seeds for his aerial photography series “Sports Grounds in the City.”
A Family Dispute (September 14, 2026, China Media Project)
In late July, a publicly-traded local television distributor in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi was sued by the content distributor of five national entertainment channels after failing to pay three years of subscription fees. In most national television markets around the world, such circumstances would be unimaginable.
Pray for China
September 20 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On September 20, 1929, Mrs. Xi Shengmo (席胜魔师母) went to be with the Lord in Zhaocheng, Shanxi. Pastor and Mrs. Xi were some of the first Chinese to come to Christ from a scholarly family. After their conversions in 1879 and 1883 respectively, they ministered to opium addicts for many years. They often housed 50-60 new Christians who studied the Bible and worked the fields. The year after her conversion, Mrs. Xi gave her husband all the jewelry that had been his wedding gift to her so that a mission station could be opened in a nearby city. Pray for families in Shanxi to worship the Eternal King Jesus. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. Revelation 17:14
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)