Editor’s note for Tuesday, March 2, 2021

My thoughts today:

China’s top banker is worried about a Western financial bubble: Guō Shùqīng 郭树清, once known as “Whirlwind Guo” and now China’s top banking regulator, called out high levels of leverage and too much real estate speculation in China, but said he was “really afraid the bubble for foreign financial assets will burst someday.”

In chirpier news, Chinese National Geography has published a new Field Guide to the Birds of China. You can read about it here, or purchase it from the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society here. The new book is in Chinese only. The best English language guide to the birds of China is by John MacKinnon and Karen Phillipps, and available on Amazon.

It’s Women’s History Month. Our celebratory link today is to a profile of poet Lǐ Qīngzhào 李清照, sometimes called “the most talented woman in history.”

Upcoming events:

• March 4: A live China Corner Office podcast on the past, present, and future of green finance in China.
• March 11: A video screening and panel discussion about the consequences of the U.S. government’s China Initiative and its future under the Biden administration.

Our word of the day is 10 recommendations for contact between employees of the opposite sex (异性员工相处10条倡议 yìxìng yuángōng xiāngchǔ shí tiáo chàngyì).

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief