Sick and Tired of Hearing About Rising China?

Arguments Against the Narrative of China’s Ascendance and America’s Decline

Booming China—and its perils and possibilities—has become a genre all its own in the 21st century. Economists write books about the country’s dragon economy. Environmentalists warn of China’s growing need for water and oil. Political scientists predict a new world order. Meanwhile, the U.S. recession drags on, and pundits on all sides and with all manners of expertise decry America’s falling fortune. But is it inevitable that these nations’ trajectories resemble a seesaw: If one goes up, must the other go down? In advance of the Zócalo event “Is China …

How I Learned to Stop Worrying, Love China, and Be OK With Spying

Charles Kenny on the Myth of American Decline and Kevin Bankston and Katherine Mangu-Ward on Obama and the NSA

Economist Charles Kenny, currently a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, explains to Anne-Marie Slaughter why a rising China is something Americans should embrace rather than fear. Kevin …

Reforms at Home, and Abroad

Hao Wu on the Promise of Transformation in China and Kevin Bankston and Rebecca MacKinnon on Curbing the NSA

Documentarian and New America fellow Hao Wu explains to Anne-Marie Slaughter why the Chinese government has announced a recent slew of economic and social reforms. But he’s not sure they’ll …

China’s Kinder, Gentler Show Trial

Rigged Or Not, the Riveting Proceedings Against Communist Official Bo Xilai Have Meant Progress

The century is still young, but China has already witnessed its “trial of the century.” Bo Xilai, the charismatic ex-party secretary of sprawling mega-city Chongqing and one-time favorite to join …

What It’s Like To Be Hacked By China

It’s Hard To Appreciate the Value of Privacy Before Someone Thoroughly Invades It. That’s What ‘Eric’ Did.

In 2007 I opened an e-mail from an unknown sender. The message greeted me by a nickname known only to family and close friends. I was in Shanghai, unwinding late …

French Fry Brother

A Fruitcake Epiphany Leads to Unexpected Fame in China

Hard to believe, but I am a minor celebrity in China. For two weeks, I have had unrelenting calls from reporters, strangers recognize me on the street, and my media …