Featured Article
Inside China–Vatican Diplomacy: From Pope Francis to the Future (September 2, 2025, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
In a conversation recorded on August 17, Ian Johnson, Francesco Sisci, and Karrie Koessel discuss the key issues currently shaping China–Vatican relations and how they may evolve under the new pope.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Xi, Putin and Modi Are Grinning and Smiling, but At Whom? (September 1, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Three major world powers – China, India and Russia – all with various frictions with the United States, projected an image of solidarity on Monday in front of the international media during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.
What New Weapons on Show at Huge Parade Say About China’s Military Strength (September 3, 2025, BBC)
It was a display of Xi’s growing power on the world stage, and of China’s military prowess – the show included the “Guam killer” missile, the “loyal wingman” drone and even robotic wolves.
Military Reveals and Bold Messaging: Five Key Takeaways from China’s Big Parade (September 3, 2025, The Guardian)
A highly choreographed display and formidable guest list were designed to send a message to the US and its allies about China’s strength Xi Jinping has presided over China’s largest-ever military parade, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
In Pictures: China’s 80th Victory Day Parade (September 3, 2025, CNN)
Religion
AI—Amplifying Virtues and Vices (August 18, 2025, ChinaSource)
Almost every day brings some new announcement about advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and its adoption by governments, companies, and individuals. More news warns us of future impacts of AI, including job losses, AI hallucinations that make it into court proceedings, impacts on content creators, and dangers of unrestrained AI agents.
Looking to the Future of Diasporic Chinese in Cross-Cultural Ministries (August 26, 2025, ChinaSource)
Christian ministries have long engaged the diasporic Chinese population, initially viewing them as an audience of Christian outreach, then envisioning them as a conduit for bringing the gospel to their families and compatriots. However, in recent years, a shift in thinking has begun among Christian leaders that anticipates the diasporic Chinese becoming a significant source for cross-cultural Christian work, reaching beyond their co-ethnics.
Wenzhou: Verses for the City (August 28, 2025, China Partnership)
Wenzhou pastors share Scripture passages that they feel exemplify their city. They hope their city will mature into its rich Christian heritage, and that this generation will go out to share the gospel with those who have not yet followed Jesus.
Xuzhou: Connecting China (September 1, 2025, China Partnership)
Xuzhou is an ancient Chinese city located in northwestern Jiangsu Province. The city of 9 million has been a transportation hub for many centuries, and was often fought over by warring lords. The city is known for its history and culture, and has terra cotta warriors second only to those found in Xi’an.
Understanding Modern Christians in China: Becoming Who You Are in Christ (September 2, 2025, Chinese Christian Voices)
What does it mean to truly become ourselves? This article explores the effects of existentialism and individualism on the modern Christian and poses how the church may need to adjust in order to be relevant and reach this generation. We hope this reprint from China Christian Daily encourages readers to reflect on how to be sheep truly following the shepherd.
Society / Life
Painkillers, Tickets, Labubu: What China’s Gen Z Is Leaving at Tombs (August 27, 2025, Sixth Tone)
Painkillers for a warlord’s migraines. Train tickets for a legendary statesman who never made it north. And a Labubu doll for the father of modern socialism. There are among the modern tributes young Chinese are now leaving at the tombs of historical figures — across China and beyond — each one matched to a legend, a quirk, or just a running joke.
Hooked on Serenity: China’s Gen Z Fishing Revival (September 1, 2025, The World of Chinese)
On a drizzly summer afternoon along Beijing’s Yuan dynasty city ruins, Wu Xing sneaks out from his office during lunch break with a collapsible fishing rod. The 30-year-old, who works as an algorithm researcher, describes these piecemeal stolen moments as his mental reset button. “I don’t meditate—I fish,” Wu pronounces, watching his float bob in the canal.
Economics / Trade / Business
IKEA China Was Onto Something with Elderly – Before It Got Too Popular (September 2, 2025, ChinaSkinny)
China’s senior segment is one of the most anticipated demographics in the world, yet remains one of the least-tapped by foreign brands. Already, around 300 million Chinese are aged 60 or older, a number expected to exceed 500 million by 2050. This surge stems from both Mao-era family policies and soaring life expectancy, up from 46.6 years in 1950 to 77.5 years today.
Why Labubu Craze Is Just the Start of China’s Branding Boom (September 3, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Labubu did its job. The little gremlin doll made it clear that a brand being from China is no longer shorthand for cheap. Pop Mart has built trust to such an extent that company management is now forecasting US$4 billion in sales this year. So what’s next?
Science / Technology
China Races to Embed AI Use Across Major Industries with Ambitious 2030 Target (August 27, South China Morning Post)
In its latest road map for artificial intelligence, China has set targets for the adoption of AI-powered devices across various industries – aiming for over 70 per cent by 2027 and over 90 per cent by 2030. The targets, unveiled in guidelines by the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Tuesday, are part of Beijing’s “AI Plus” strategy, which seeks to integrate the cutting-edge technology across manufacturing, agriculture and services.
Books
Book Review: A Guide to Hope and Wisdom in the Age of AI (August 18, 2025, ChinaSource)
Revolution offers a rare and invaluable perspective: a guide that is at once technologically informed, philosophically rigorous, and theologically profound. Lennox, an Oxford Professor of Mathematics and one of the world’s most respected Christian apologists, is uniquely positioned to bridge the often-separate worlds of science and faith.
A Snapshot of Korean Missionary Challenges: A Book Review of “Missionaries, Mental Health and Accountability (September 1, 2025, ChinaSource)
Since 2011, the Korean Global Mission Leaders Forum (KGMLF) has met to address “complex issues relating to financial, administrative, strategic and pastoral accountability practices and lapses in Korea.” The fifth KGMLF produced Missionaries, Mental Health, and Accountability (MMH&A, 2019). The volume’s case studies mirror many of the challenges Chinese cross-cultural workers and churches face today. The book covers not only culture-specific pressures on the field but also how national churches and agencies responded—or did not respond—to missionary stresses.
Travel / Food
Beyond Seasoning: The Story of Chinese Vinegar (August 29, 2024, The World of Chinese)
Chinese vinegar has a long history dating back to at least the Zhou dynasty (1046 – 256 BCE). Back then, it was so important that the classic text Rites of Zhou (《周礼》) describes how the Zhou court appointed a specialized official, known as the “xiren (醯人)”—xi being the ancient term for vinegar—to oversee vinegar supplies. Foods preserved in vinegar held ceremonial importance and were served at state sacrifices, court banquets, and important feasts—marking it as a cultural emblem outside of its role for mere sustenance.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
WeChat Tips and Tricks You Might Not Know (September 2, 2025, The Beijinger Blog)
We use it every day, but how well do you really know WeChat? With updated versions adding new features each time, bets are there are probably some functions that you’ve never discovered before. Here, we’re taking a look at some of the most useful but perhaps lesser-known functionalities.
History / Culture
What Is Qixi Festival and Why Do People Celebrate It? (August 28, 2025, Timeout)
Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine’s Day, falls annually on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar, which is why you’ll also see it called the Double Seventh Festival. This year, Qixi falls on Friday, August 29. While it’s not as commonly celebrated nowadays, the Qixi Festival has been observed for over 2,000 years and dates back to a legendary romantic tale from the Han dynasty.
As China Commemorates 80th Anniversary of WWII, Battle Over Legacy of War Continues (September 2, 2025, NPR)
Although World War II began in Europe in 1939, some historians say fighting in East Asia was ongoing as far back as 1931 when Japan invaded China’s northeastern region of Manchuria. “China’s experience of World War II was devastating. It was the longest theater of war of any of the Allied powers,” said Rana Mitter, China historian at the Harvard Kennedy School. At least 20 million people died in China during the years of war against Japan, although some historians put the number much higher.
The ‘Archeologists’ Unearthing China’s Pre-Digital Fonts (September 2, Sixth Tone)
Wang Tingrui spends much of his free time searching online bookstores for dictionaries, novels, and other publications from the last century. He carefully looks at the product photos, zooming in on the Chinese characters to examine their structure and strokes. He’s on the hunt for a specific font: the 61-1 Songti movable type, developed in 1961 by Beijing Xinhua Type Matrix Factory.
From Cinema to Tian’anmen: How China Got Its National Anthem (September 3, 2025, Sixth Tone)
In 1949, with the Japanese and the Kuomintang defeated, the Communist Party decided on “March of the Volunteers” as its provisional national anthem. On Oct. 1, the day the People’s Republic of China was declared, “March of the Volunteers” rang through Tian’anmen Square.
Education
Interview with Dr. Gyal Lo: Tibetan Children Are Becoming “Strangers in Their Own Homes” (August 28, 2025, China Digital Times)
In 2021, Tibet Action Institute (TAI) published a groundbreaking report exposing the extensive use of colonial boarding schools to indoctrinate and forcibly assimilate Tibetan children into Han Chinese culture and society. (See CDT’s two-part interview with TAI’s Lhadon Tethong on this topic.) This May, TAI issued a follow-up report that looked more closely at the conditions and treatment of children in these schools, exposing widespread abuse and the use of boarding preschools for children as young as four.
Pray for China
August 29 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On Aug. 29, 1842, the First Opium War (第一次鸦片战争) ended with opium importation legalized by the Treaty of Nanjing (南京条约) that was forced on China by Great Britain. Chinese watched countless ships from imperialist nations enter their harbors, some with merchants and their opium, some with military personnel and their guns, and some with missionaries and their Bibles. By 1879, opium imports equaled 15 million lbs. and the domestic crop added another 56 million lbs. Millions of lives were destroyed by opium. With the support of missionaries, especially those with medical training, the opium trade was abolished just before the empire fell in 1911. Nonetheless, Hudson Taylor (戴德生) once wrote, “I am profoundly convinced that the opium traffic is doing more evil in China in a week than Missions are doing good in a year.” Pray for the millions of Chinese addicted to drugs to hear from Chinese Christians what the Lord has done for their souls and to turn to the Lord Jesus for deliverance. Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. Psalm 66:16
Praying Through ZGBriefs (August 29, 2025, ChinaSource)
Beyond simply providing interesting information about China, ZGBriefs can also be a helpful guide to praying for China, providing readers with specific issues or situations to take to the throne of God. To help you get started in using ZGBriefs as a prayer guide, I have identified seven prayer items based on the last three issues.
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Pray for China (China Partnership)