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Intelligence for the New World Economy

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Intelligence for the New World Economy
Semafor World Economy
Andy Browne

Andy Browne

Managing Editor, Live Journalism

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The essential China reading list

We asked 51 China watchers for the best book on the country they’ve read this year.
Three top China booksStanford University Press/W. W. Norton & Co./Scribner

China’s soft power is pouring out of its censored internet

Cute dolls and video games have done more to boost ‘Cool China’ on the global stage than decades of state-led efforts.
An influencer takes a selfie with a Labubu.Isabel Infantes/Reuters

Beijing’s best bet in Taiwan is a firebrand who once railed against China

Cheng Li-Wun’s surprising rise to the top of the Kuomintang speaks to powerful political currents stirring in Taiwan at a grassroots level.
Cheng Li-wun, the new chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party.Ann Wang/Reuters

How African nations got stuck with China

Superpower policies toward Africa ahead of the G20 showcase how Beijing makes inroads, even by default.
A train launched to operate on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital NairobiThomas Mukoya/Reuters

China’s ‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’ ambition

The country is bucking economists’ predictions, with huge consequences for the developing world.
Employees install car components at an assembly line at a Ford manufacturing plant in Chongqing municipality.Stringer/Reuters

The Shipping News for the US is not good

The danger for Washington is that China, sensing US weakness, will start weaponizing its other industrial strengths.
A fleet of ships sail out at sea as China and Russia’s naval joint drill concludes in Zhanjiang, Guangdong ProvinceStringer/Reuters

The US made three bets on China. All backfired.

For more than 50 years, what appeared to be smart policy at the time had troubling consequences for the US.

China’s two economy problem

China is moving fast and slow at the same time, making the current spat with the US a sideshow to the real issue.

The US is paying the price for complacency with China. Time is running out.

Washington did not heed the lessons of an episode a generation ago. Now it’s paying the price.

The US and China are more alike than you think

The ‘lawyerly state versus engineering state’ framing creates a false binary.

Why the US may have to sue for economic peace with China

Despite the bellicose rhetoric often emanating from the White House and Capitol Hill, don’t be surprised if the two sides reach a pragmatic deal.