Xi Jinping
Letter from Biden’s Washington
The Left Comes for Biden on Israel
As the Israel-Hamas war divides the Democrats, what does it mean that young activists are protesting the President, not Xi Jinping or Donald Trump?
Q. & A.
Did Authoritarianism Cause China’s Economic Crisis?
An erosion of trust between the government and its people now threatens the country’s decades-long boom.
Comment
Sliding Toward a New Cold War
Not since the Berlin Wall fell has the world been cleaved so deeply by the kind of conflict that John F. Kennedy called a “long, twilight struggle.”
Q. & A.
What’s Behind the Chinese Spy Balloon
President Xi Jinping has modernized and expanded his military, but the balloon incident may indicate the challenges he faces in consolidating its power.
2022 in Review
What the Wars and Crises of 2022 Foreshadow for 2023
Tyrants and thugocrats have tightened their hold amid challenges to democracies, but they face problems, too.
Q. & A.
Why Xi Jinping Changed His Mind on “Zero COVID”
After weeks of protests, China will ease its stringent pandemic restrictions. The reversal could be a boon for the economy—and lead to a wave of deaths.
Daily Comment
How Dissent Grows in China
The protests of recent weeks carry an echo, and a warning, from the Maoist era.
News Desk
What Chinese People Think of Their Government’s “Zero COVID” Policy
Many citizens don’t know anyone who’s had the disease, yet their faith in the country’s restrictive rules is waning.
Q. & A.
How COVID Policies and Party Politics Set the Stage for the Protests in China
Frustrations with Xi Jinping’s harsh approach to the virus have led to the most widespread public demonstrations in decades.
Daily Comment
Chinese Protesters Warily Tell Xi Jinping, “Don’t Push Me”
The nation’s most defiant public demonstrations in years oppose “zero COVID” policies, but their roots run deeper.
Daily Comment
Did Joe Biden and Xi Jinping Lower the Risk of War Over Taiwan?
The first meeting between the two heads of state ended with no concessions on either side, but it represented a positive step at a precarious moment in U.S.-China relations.
The Political Scene Podcast
How COVID Strengthened Authoritarianism in China
Two former China correspondents for The New Yorker on how the pandemic enabled Xi Jinping to win over young supporters.
Second Read
How a Book About America’s History Foretold China’s Future
In 1989, a young Chinese academic spent six months travelling in the United States. His insights are now central to Xi Jinping’s cultural crackdown.
The Political Scene Podcast
What Does China Think of Putin’s War?
While most of the world has ostracized Russia, China’s response has been hard to parse.
Daily Comment
What Is China Learning from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?
Xi Jinping’s unusually close bond with Vladimir Putin puts China in risky company.
Daily Comment
What the “Involution” Olympics in Beijing Suggest About China’s Future
The Winter Games are constrained not only by the pandemic but also by the Communist Party’s determination to suppress any challenge that could test its grip.
The Political Scene Podcast
What the Beijing Olympics Reveal About China
As Xi Jinping clashes with the West, China’s leadership is using the Olympics to project national unity and strength.
Daily Comment
Russia and China Unveil a Pact Against America and the West
In a sweeping long-term agreement, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the two most powerful autocrats, challenge the current political and military order.
Q. & A.
The Fraying of U.S.-China Relations
The sinologist Jude Blanchette discusses the Biden-Xi summit and whether we are seeing the beginnings of a new cold war.
Daily Comment
Does Xi Jinping’s Seizure of History Threaten His Future?
The struggles of the first century of Communist Party rule are being buried by the need to cohere around what Xi calls “the great rejuvenation” of China.