By Gordon G. Chang "Isn't slower better?" asks Dai Genyou. When it comes to certain things, he is surely right. But Dai is an official at the People's Bank of China, the central bank of the People's Republic, and he is talking about banking reform.... MORE

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam There seems little question that, given the constraints of Chinese politics, Vice Premier Wen Jiabao is a reasonably suitable candidate to succeed Zhu Rongji as premier next March. The big question is whether Wen has what it takes to defuse China's... MORE

By Josh Schrei In October 2000, an international economic conference was held in Beijing. Among the invited guests: Oil company representatives, World Bank executives, members of the media, Chinese Communist party officials and a host of international businessmen and businesswomen. The conference was the inauguration... MORE

By David Da-hua Yang Wealth begets glory in today's China. But whether it will also beget democracy is an open question. True, an extensive network of civic organizations has sprung up across the country. But the government has cultivated it--as a way to maintain its... MORE

By Gordon G. Chang There are two things to know about the banking system in China. First, the major state banks, the so-called Big Four, are insolvent. Second, the effort to bail them out is not working. Everything else is simply detail. The most important... MORE

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam China watchers worldwide are focused on leadership changes expected at the 16th Communist Party congress this autumn. But reshuffles of perhaps equal significance are taking place now in the provinces and major cities. In the past year, about half of China's... MORE

By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. China's new ex-Soviet, ex-Ukrainian aircraft carrier is now in a Dalian navy shipyard. Could the partially completed Kuznetsov-class carrier Varyag become the first aircraft carrier of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)? Or will it instead be a Macao gambling... MORE

by William R. Hawkins The February meeting between President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing was cordial, but uneventful. Beijing was clearly not prepared to give an inch on any of the issues which divide the two Asian powers. On key... MORE

Precisely thirty years to the day after Richard Nixon's historic visit to the People's Republic of China, President George W. Bush arrived in Beijing. Although the Chinese press made much of the symbolism, the two visits were quite different. Nixon, an unpopular president trying to... MORE

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam After President George W. Bush's visit to China, whether--and how--Hu Jintao will modify Beijing's long-standing U.S. policy has become one of the most crucial questions in bilateral ties. For some brief moments last Friday, the little-known Chinese vice president was basking... MORE