China Newsbase
Fast, easy search of the China news that matters
The China News Database was last updated at 01:47AM today.
Database searches currently perform best when a tag filter is used. We suggest trying out these tags: Xi Jinping, Russia, Taiwan, COVID-19, climate change, electric vehicles, gaming, IPOs, Belt and Road Initiative.
You may also filter by articles featured in our daily members-only Access newsletter, to get a curated overview of the top news and analysis about Chinese politics, business, and society. Select one option:
- All top news and analysis
- The China Project top news and analysis
- Top news and analysis from elsewhere — Stories in the “News briefing,” previously known as “Recommended links”
This product is in beta testing and development. If you would like to share feedback on the content or user experience, please email editors@thechinaproject.com.
120 articles matching the search query.
Editor’s note for March 30, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
This week on TikTok: China’s gold mines attacked, Xi’s Russia visit, and the TikTok ban
Want more like this? Subscribe to The China Project’s official TikTok channel, The China Project, where Susan St.Denis explains complex topics about China clearly and simply in TikTok’s fast evolving visual and verbal language.
China and Russia’s ‘journey of friendship’ continues as battle rages in Ukraine
Putin and Xi speak about mutually beneficial cooperation, but Beijing’s ties to Moscow fuel tension with the West.
Editor’s note for March 22, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Editor’s note for March 21, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Xi is in Russia for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war
The strongmen of China and Russia talked for over four hours in Moscow today.
Editor’s note for March 20, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Editor’s note for March 17, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Uneasy smiles between China and India at G20 meeting
The Chinese and Indian foreign ministers met, in the latest awkward dance move between the two Asian giants who have an unresolved border dispute and different reasons for saying nothing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
China and Belarus pledge deeper ties
Deeper ties between two of Putin’s staunchest allies have fanned concern that some of that assistance might indirectly go to Russia.
Editor’s note for February 24, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Editor’s note for February 22, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
China’s top diplomat goes on an uncharming charm offensive in Europe
At the Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi urged for a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine as part of a broader effort to mend ties with the EU, but he failed to read the room. He also doubled down on criticisms of Washington, dashing hopes for an ease in tensions after the infamous balloon incident.
Editor’s note for February 21, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Against a monolithic “Chinese perspective” on Ukraine | Live with Lizzi Lee
Kristy Bryant, a doctoral candidate in China studies at the University of Oxford, digs deeper into China’s “neutral” stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
China is losing Europe’s east to Taiwan
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Czech President-Elect Petr Pavel had a cordial phone chat Monday, underscoring China’s waning influence in a region that was once under Beijing’s spell. Meanwhile, Taiwanese diplomacy is quietly making its biggest post-Cold War gains, with ties between Kyiv and Taipei increasingly warm.
China shows signs of backing OPEC’s pro-Russia oil production cut
In this week’s Russia-China update: The PRC demonstrates more “pro-Russia neutrality,” and Elon Musk says Beijing pressured him to drop Starlink coverage for Ukraine.
Putin threatens potential nuclear escalation; Beijing’s public response muted
Putin doubles down on the war despite disastrous setbacks, threatens nuclear response to loss of claimed territory, and says, “This is not a bluff.”
Putin and Xi prepare for two in-person meetings
The latest in China-Russia ties: The two heads of state are reportedly preparing to meet at upcoming summits in Uzbekistan and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Caspian Pipeline oil exports are closed again, for the fourth time this year, amid a mysterious outage.
Beijing is trying to weaken sanctions on Russia
Chinese state media attempts to weaken Western sanctions resolve, while NATO’s Strategic Concept slams the Sino-Russia strategic partnership.
Chinese drone-maker DJI suspends operations in Russia, Ukraine over war use
World drone leader DJI has stopped selling to Russia and Ukraine: DJI, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial drones, has suspended operations due to the ongoing war. A company spokesperson said it was “not a statement targeting any particular country but rather a statement about our principles.”
Yale Management School is tracking how companies are responding to the Russian invasion: Over 750 companies have curtailed operations in Russia — but some remain. Meanwhile, “Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing was forced to reopen its Russian operations after facing a homegrown nationalist backlash over its plans to leave the market,” while “computer giant Lenovo met similar domestic condemnation for exiting Russia,” notes the Financial Times.
Twitter users are exposing pro-Russian sentiment in China, and Beijing is not happy | CNN
Twitter users are exposing nationalists and pro-Russia talk in China by translating content from popular social media platforms under the hashtag “The Great Translation Movement,” which Beijing has rebuked as “cherry picked content.” Meanwhile, inside China, social media users expressed frustration with a once popular nationalist blogger’s patriotic clickbait.
China UN Envoy Calls Bucha, Ukraine Disturbing Without Condemning Russia
China called the killings in Bucha, Ukraine, “deeply disturbing,” but not much else, after Zhāng Jūn 张军, China’s envoy to the United Nations, expressed dismay but stopped short of condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin for the violence.
China's foreign minister speaks with Ukrainian counterpart
Will Xi speak with Zelenskyy? China’s Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in a phone call yesterday (as mentioned in our Editor’s Note) on Monday, reiterating China’s desire for a cease-fire. But Wang made no new commitments that signaled China would take a role in mediating the conflict.
China, Russia 'more determined' to boost ties, Beijing says
China and Russia are “more determined” to strengthen ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 said on Wednesday, after he met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in the eastern province of Anhui amid the Ukraine crisis.
China, U.S., Russia and Pakistan to hold talks on Afghanistan
China, U.S., Russia, and Pakistan will lead talks on Afghanistan: A top U.S. diplomat will meet this week in China to discuss Afghanistan with his Chinese, Russian, and Pakistani counterparts, even as U.S.-Russia and U.S.-China relations take a nosedive following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The meetings come after the Taliban’s abrupt U-turn last week on permitting girls to attend public high schools.
Taiwan Looks to Ukraine War for Ideas to Defend Against China
The war in Ukraine is “adding momentum” for Taiwan’s efforts to upgrade its national defense, the Wall Street Journal reports today, citing an “extension of Taiwan’s four-month mandatory military service for men” as one potential change under serious consideration.
DJI Tells Ukraine It Can’t Disable Drones Used by Russian Military
DJI claimed it is unable to ground drones used by the Russian military after Ukraine’s vice prime minister accused the world’s largest drone maker of “helping Russia to kill Ukrainians.”
UN council defeats Russia humanitarian resolution on Ukraine
The UN Security Council has defeated a Russian resolution on Ukraine, which did not mention that Putin’s invasion caused the escalating humanitarian crisis. China was the only member that backed the resolution, reflecting Moscow’s failure to get widespread support for its war in Ukraine.
Press Briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, March 22, 2022 | The White House
The U.S. “has not seen any evidence” of Chinese military equipment to Russia, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, following reports from U.S. officials earlier this month warning that China had “signaled its willingness” to send aid to Russia amid the Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine: China’s Desired Endgame • Stimson Center
China has a “window of strategic opportunity” in Ukraine, writes Yun Sun for the Stimson Center, especially in U.S.-China relations: The key to the nation’s success “lies in the maintenance of a neutrality — even if self-perceived — that leaves room for imagination and other’s efforts to gain China’s cooperation.”
‘I’ve Forgotten How to Kneel in Front of You!’
“Sorry, I’m used to standing upright and I’ve forgotten how to kneel in front of you!” Odesa-based computer programmer Wáng Jíxián 王吉贤 responded in a YouTube video after being verbally attacked and censored for his personal, on-the-ground recordings of Putin’s invasion. Read a translation of the video by Geremie R. Barmé.
Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng Attends and Addresses the Fourth International Forum on Security and Strategy
Has China sided with Russia over the Ukraine war? Many experts on Twitter seem to think so, after state media outlets and speeches from Chinese officials blasted NATO as the “root cause” for the war, denounced Western sanctions, and hinted at further alignment with Russia.
Global Times commentator Hú Xījìn 胡锡进 also wrote a screed on Weibo about why China should support Russia, which has since been translated on Twitter. State broadcaster CGTN host Liú Xīn 刘欣 tweeted, “Can you help me fight your friend so that I can concentrate on fighting you later?”
‘I’m on the frontline in Mariupol’: the Chinese reporter embedded with Russian troops
A Chinese reporter has exclusive access to Moscow’s side of Ukraine: Lú Yǔguāng 卢宇光, a veteran journalist for Chinese news outlet Phoenix TV, is “on the frontline in Mariupol” as perhaps the only foreign correspondent embedded with Russian troops. Beijing has been tilting toward Moscow’s version of the conflict, though some in China have dared to speak against the pro-Russia tide.
Opinion | Chinese ambassador: Where we stand on Ukraine
China calls for peace but does not criticize Russia: After Beijing rebuked the U.S. claim that Moscow had asked it for aid in its war on Ukraine, China’s ambassador to the U.S., Qín Gāng 秦刚, published an opinion piece in the Washington Post denying that China was complicit in the invasion and saying, without criticizing Russia at all, that “China is committed to an independent foreign policy of peace.”
China backs Russian allegations about US biological weapons
China has backed Russia’s claim on U.S. bioweapons in Ukraine, both on the front page of state-run news outlet Xinhua and after Zhāng Jūn 张军, China’s permanent envoy to the UN, said that the “concerns raised by Russia should be properly addressed.”
Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say
Did Russia ask China for aid? U.S. officials told the New York Times that Russia asked China for military and economic support after Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which China has rebuked as “disinformation.”
Top Biden official Jake Sullivan and Beijing diplomat Yáng Jiéchí 杨洁篪 discussed the “range of issues in U.S.-China relations, with substantial discussion of Russia’s war against Ukraine” in Rome today.
Russia says China refuses to supply aircraft parts after sanctions
Boeing and Airbus won’t give Russia aircraft parts, says local media, after the two firms halted the supply of components to the nation amid Western sanctions over the war on Ukraine.
Opinion: What keeps China from stopping Russia's war
China is “out of its depth” on the war in Ukraine, writes the scholar Ian Johnson, and Xi’s “myopic focus on domestic concerns” will likely keep China on a neutral course while still showing sympathies for Russia.
China to provide 5 mln yuan worth of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine
The Red Cross Society of China will send $791,540 worth of emergency aid to Ukraine, consisting of daily necessities, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhào Lìjiān 赵立坚 said on Wednesday. Stranded Ukrainians are running out of electricity, heat, food, and drinking water after more than a week of sustained attacks from the Russian military.
