China Neican is a weekly column of the China Story blog that brings you concise, timely, and policy-focused analysis. Neican 内参 or “internal reference” are limited circulation reports only for the eyes of high-ranking officials in China, dealing with topics deemed too sensitive for public consumption. But rest assured, everyone is welcome to read what we write. … more
For many years, China has been a major contributor to global development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Much of this Chinese South-South Cooperation (SSC) has flown under the radar of Western media and traditional aid discourse. Chinese aid, including its humanitarian assistance, is political and a core element of the country’s foreign policy. In … more
With rising tension between Beijing and the West, China needs friends now more than ever. But repeated racially-motivated discrimination against Africans in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are undermining decades of China’s efforts to build a reservoir of diplomatic goodwill across Africa. Spike in attacks on Africans in Guangzhou Anxiety and anger are rising … more
Is China’s ‘mask diplomacy’ a novel form of statecraft? At first glance, it might not look that distinct from humanitarian assistance delivered to victims of natural disasters. Yet there are several notable differences that make this emerging practice worthy of closer attention. The strategic effectiveness of Beijing’s ‘mask diplomacy’ remains unclear and somewhat dubious. If … more
China Neican is a weekly analysis of China-related current affairs edited by Yun Jiang and Adam Ni. Many of us are drowning in China news and analyses. There is just so much of it out there. Trying to make sense of it all is time-consuming, difficult and exhausting work. Neican aims to keep you updated on … more
We remain in the early stages of understanding what the COVID-19 crisis means to us—as individuals, families, citizens, and fellow travellers on a fevered planet. Much may change, but—more importantly—much will not. If anything, this crisis will solidify trends already in motion prior to the pandemic. That certainly seems true for China’s approach to the … more
