Profile Archives - The Wire China

Walz’s China Chops

Eliot Chen — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 19:00:00 +0000

A look at Tim Walz's China background.

The post Walz’s China Chops appeared first on The Wire China.

Where’s Jack?

Aaron Mc Nicholas — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

A timeline of the once-ubiquitous Alibaba founder's public appearances in recent years.

The post Where’s Jack? appeared first on The Wire China.

Making Sense of Xiao Jianhua’s Empire

The Wire — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

How reporters traced China's most notorious businessman back to Jack Ma.

The post Making Sense of Xiao Jianhua’s Empire appeared first on The Wire China.

The Billionaire Criminal Who Secretly Profited Off Jack Ma’s Deals

Michael Forsythe — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Confidential documents show that Xiao Jianhua, a corrupt investor tied to China’s political elite, backed the country’s most successful and revered entrepreneur.

The post The Billionaire Criminal Who Secretly Profited Off Jack Ma’s Deals appeared first on The Wire China.

Access Denied

Brent Crane — Sun, 26 May 2024 23:00:00 +0000

Jen Easterly, the eccentric director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has huge support when it comes to her number one priority: fighting back against Chinese cyber attacks. But to actually solve the China hacking problem, she'll have to figure out how to line up both the private sector and the politicians who are skeptical of CISA.

The post Access Denied appeared first on The Wire China.

The Divine Disruptor

Grady McGregor — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 23:00:00 +0000

Bob Fu's relationship with China has gone through phases. First, he thought money would solve his problems there; then he joined protesters at Tiananmen Square, thinking the politics could change. In the end, he determined, only God could save China, and he's been fighting for religious freedom in China ever since he resettled in Texas. With his nonprofit, ChinaAid, prospering like never before, he says the U.S. is finally catching on.

The post The Divine Disruptor appeared first on The Wire China.

The China Whisperer

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 23:00:00 +0000

John Garnaut is one of the men most responsible for the global shift in China policy. As a journalist and then Australian government official, he was early to argue that the West was misunderstanding China's ideological underpinning. Now, with Garnaut Global, a consultancy for financial firms, he has teamed up with U.S. China hawk Matthew Pottinger to guide the private sector's relationship with China. But can Garnaut continue to get China right?

The post The China Whisperer appeared first on The Wire China.

Crimes of Passion

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 23:00:00 +0000

The Chinese billionaire who pled guilty this week to illegally funneling money to New York politicians has a colorful business history in China, owning a notorious Beijing nightclub and amassing a media empire — all while stacking up a long list of legal troubles.

The post Crimes of Passion appeared first on The Wire China.

Chairman Mike

Brent Crane — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Rep. Mike Gallagher is both a rising political star and Capitol Hill’s loudest China hawk. As chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, he is also — for better or worse — driving America's China policy.

The post Chairman Mike appeared first on The Wire China.

‘The Plan to Destroy Taiwan’

Chris Horton — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 23:00:00 +0000

Why is one of Taiwan's largest media groups — Want Want China Times Media Group — spreading anti-U.S. rhetoric? Largely because its billionaire owner, Tsai Eng-meng, is known to sympathize with the Chinese Communist Party and favors unification with the mainland. Now, with Taiwan gearing up for a critical presidential election, Want Want’s efforts are picking up and helping to normalize CCP talking points.

The post ‘The Plan to Destroy Taiwan’ appeared first on The Wire China.

Tesla Tom

Katrina Northrop — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Tom Zhu accomplished Herculean tasks in China for Tesla, including building the company's supercharger network and its Shanghai Gigafactory, which produces more than 80,000 cars a month. But now that Zhu has been promoted to oversee Tesla's U.S. plants as well — making him the most senior executive behind Elon Musk — his famed pedal-to-the-metal approach might stall.

The post Tesla Tom appeared first on The Wire China.

Patriot Games

Katrina Northrop — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Did Eric Dai expose a Chinese scheme to steal critical military technology? Or did he steal millions of dollars from a Chinese company by exploiting geopolitical tensions? It's not entirely clear, but Dai's saga hits all the high notes of current U.S.-China tensions, including convoluted plots to illicitly acquire U.S. semiconductor technology and extraterritorial schemes to harass, intimidate and coerce the Chinese diaspora. What is clear is that, for Dai, who founded a successful Chinese investment firm but is now seeking asylum in the U.S., it feels like World War III.

The post Patriot Games appeared first on The Wire China.

Jimmy Lai’s Day in Court

Eliot Chen — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The drawn-out trial of the media mogul and pro-democracy advocate is reshaping Hong Kong’s judiciary.

The post Jimmy Lai’s Day in Court appeared first on The Wire China.

The Last of the Reformers?

Eliot Chen — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Wang Qishan, China's vice president, was once one of Xi Jinping's closest deputies. But with multiple people in Wang's orbit recently imprisoned or investigated, many think the revered champion of economic reforms has been sidelined. With no obvious successor, the U.S. business community — long Wang's biggest fan club — is especially concerned.

The post The Last of the Reformers? appeared first on The Wire China.

The Semiconductor Madman

Brent Crane — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

When Zhao Weiguo was named CEO of Tsinghua Unigroup, he was just the kind of hard-charging and daring businessman needed to rescue the state-backed company. But with China's big chip ambitions now stalling — and Zhao now in jail — the path forward for one of China's most elite semiconductor companies is less clear.

The post The Semiconductor Madman appeared first on The Wire China.

Sue-Lin Wong on Getting to Know Xi Jinping

Katrina Northrop — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The journalist talks about making her podcast, 'The Prince,' and what she learned — and didn't learn — about Xi Jinping in the process.

The post Sue-Lin Wong on Getting to Know Xi Jinping appeared first on The Wire China.

The Brothers He

Katrina Northrop — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A decade ago, Wynn Resorts did a $50 million deal in Macau with two men no one had heard of: Ho Ho and Ho Hoi. For the first time, The Wire is confirming that these were aliases for two brothers from an elite Beijing military family. And far from quelling any longstanding rumors, the He brothers' background and involvement in the deal only raise more questions about the murky waters that U.S. casino companies waded through to set up shop in the Chinese territory. This is Part Two of Katrina Northrop's special investigation.

The post The Brothers He appeared first on The Wire China.

The $50 Million Question

Katrina Northrop — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 00:15:00 +0000

Ten years ago, as Steve Wynn expanded his gambling empire in Macau, his company made a $50 million payment to two mysterious businessmen, raising eyebrows on both sides of the Pacific. But scrutiny of the deal eventually died down, and Wynn Resorts' Macau operations went on to constitute an astonishing 75 percent of the company's revenue. Now, an investigation by The Wire has uncovered new evidence about the identities of Wynn's Macau partners, and the discovery sheds light on the often impenetrable universe of high stakes dealmaking in Macau, one of the world’s biggest gambling hubs.

The post The $50 Million Question appeared first on The Wire China.

Xi Jinping By the Numbers

Eliot Chen — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Ten years after Xi Jinping ascended to China’s top leadership position, the Chinese Communist Party is a party remade. More than at any point in the post-Mao period, it is an organization constructed around personalistic rule, with power consolidated in the hands of a single man. Now, on the eve of the expected coronation of Xi's third term, we gathered a variety of figures that illustrate his power.

The post Xi Jinping By the Numbers appeared first on The Wire China.

Xiao Jianhua’s Lost Empire

Eliot Chen — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 23:00:00 +0000

A look at Xiao Jianhua’s financial empire: the companies involved, what’s happened to them, and what, if anything, remains.

The post Xiao Jianhua’s Lost Empire appeared first on The Wire China.

The News Anchor Caught in the Sino-Australian Crossfire

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 11 Sep 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Cheng Lei, a prominent Australian journalist, has been detained in China for two years. Can the new Australian administration reset relations and finally help set her free?

The post The News Anchor Caught in the Sino-Australian Crossfire appeared first on The Wire China.

Insuring Engagement

Brent Crane — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 23:00:00 +0000

At age 97, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the former CEO of AIG, has advocated for deeper U.S. engagement with China for longer than perhaps any living American businessman. While his positioning as a private sector statesman seems out of touch given the current state of U.S.-China relations, his son, Evan Greenberg, who is CEO of Chubb, is updating the Greenberg engagement slogan for the current moment.

The post Insuring Engagement appeared first on The Wire China.

New Kid on the Block

Chang Che — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Thanks to He Yifan, China is pioneering its own state-backed version of Web3, internet infrastructure that runs on blockchain. But now that He's network is ready to go international, many are wondering how the West will react to a Chinese-made internet.

The post New Kid on the Block appeared first on The Wire China.

The Bridge Builder

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 23:00:00 +0000

As the U.S. government doubles down on its tech competition with China, it needs people like Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, to help inform policy. But how much influence for someone like Schmidt, a private individual armed with billions of dollars and extensive government contacts, is too much?

The post The Bridge Builder appeared first on The Wire China.

Born to Run

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 08 May 2022 23:00:00 +0000

After capitalizing on China's crypto boom, Binance CEO "CZ" fled China just in the nick of time. But critics say he's been running ever since, "jurisdiction hopping" as authorities around the world are trying to pin down the $92 billion crypto exchange. Katrina Northrop investigates Binance's Shanghai past, nomadic present and unknown future.

The post Born to Run appeared first on The Wire China.

Fall Guy

Ashley Yablon — Sun, 01 May 2022 23:00:00 +0000

After the U.S. government started investigating ZTE for sanctions violations, the company's American General Counsel, Ashley Yablon, turned to the FBI and spilled the billion dollar beans. In this excerpt from his new book, Yablon tells what it was like inside the company during those chaotic days.

The post Fall Guy appeared first on The Wire China.

Friedland’s Revenge

Isabella Borshoff — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Robert Friedland says the renewable energy transition won’t be achieved without people like him digging up the critical metals needed “to electrify the world economy.” He might be right, but his decision to team up with some of China's biggest players to dig up copper in the Congo represents a conundrum for the West.

The post Friedland’s Revenge appeared first on The Wire China.

Hard Knocks

Brent Crane — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Last summer, when Beijing effectively banned private tutoring companies, an entire industry was wiped out in a single day. Yu Minhong, the CEO of New Oriental and a former model entrepreneur in China, saw his company's market value fall 90 percent. While Beijing blamed the industry for getting out of hand, analysts say officials also hoped the ban would clear the blackboard on some of the biggest societal ills weighing down China. But, as a veteran educator like Yu knows well, simple solutions don't always solve complex problems.

The post Hard Knocks appeared first on The Wire China.

The Nickel Empire

Eliot Chen — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 23:00:00 +0000

After fluctuations in the nickel market caused Xiang Guangda to lose $8 billion, we take a look at his other big bets.

The post The Nickel Empire appeared first on The Wire China.

The Thornton Touch

John Pomfret — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Since his retirement from Goldman Sachs in 2003, John Thornton has done everything in his power to be seen as a trusted intermediary between the U.S. and China. So far, the closest he’s gotten was when he helped orchestrate an intimate meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017 — a pyrrhic victory that, from today’s vantage point, may have cost Thornton his long-held dream of serving as a U.S.-China bridge.

The post The Thornton Touch appeared first on The Wire China.

The China Bull

Brent Crane — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Beijing's recent regulatory actions have erased over $1 trillion of market value from Chinese equities — a disruption that hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio refers to as mere "wiggles" in an otherwise strong economy. Indeed, for Dalio, who has spent 40 years nurturing his Beijing connections, now is the time double down on China.

The post The China Bull appeared first on The Wire China.

Game Over

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 23:00:00 +0000

The guanxi game has defined China's modern business culture — and no one played it better than Xu Jiayin, the CEO of Evergrande. Now, however, the game seems to have changed on him.

The post Game Over appeared first on The Wire China.

The Missing Mogul

Desmond Shum — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Whitney Duan was one of China's most successful female entrepreneurs. She built multi-billion dollar developments and was closely connected to political elites. But in 2017, she disappeared off the streets of Beijing. Now, her business partner and ex-husband, Desmond Shum, wants to tell their story.

The post The Missing Mogul appeared first on The Wire China.

Hemmed In

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Marjorie Yang has staked much of her textile empire on being socially responsible, and yet her firm, Esquel Group, ended up on the Entity List. Has the U.S. government gone too far by sanctioning Esquel Group? Or does the listing further support the idea that no company — no matter how well intentioned — can navigate business in Xinjiang without compromising its values?

The post Hemmed In appeared first on The Wire China.

Peddling the President

David Barboza — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 23:15:00 +0000

Elliott Broidy’s scheme to lobby the president on behalf of Beijing came uncomfortably close to succeeding. That he got as far as he did, experts say, exposes the gaps in the system.

The post Peddling the President appeared first on The Wire China.

The Czech Man in China

Eli Binder — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Before Petr Kellner died last month, he was the richest man in the Czech Republic — in large part because of his Home Credit business in China.

The post The Czech Man in China appeared first on The Wire China.

The New Influencers

David Barboza — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 23:00:00 +0000

While the U.S. was focused on investigating Russian interference in U.S. politics, China was plotting its own campaign to influence the young Trump administration. With the help of Elliott Broidy, it got uncomfortably close. With the number of foreign influence campaigns increasing, is the Foreign Agents Registration Act, an obscure 1930s-era law, enough to thwart foreign actors?

The post The New Influencers appeared first on The Wire China.

The Climate Crusaders

Katrina Northrop — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 23:00:00 +0000

John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua were brought out of retirement, in part, because they are seen as uniquely capable of getting the U.S. and China to cooperate on climate change. But when it comes to the world’s two biggest emitters, a rivalry might be just as useful.

The post The Climate Crusaders appeared first on The Wire China.

The Soul of Lu Xun

Orville Schell — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Those looking for China’s national spirit won’t find it in Xi Jinping’s writing. But the works of Lu Xun offer a homegrown example that contemporary Chinese can follow as the country writes a script for its next act.

The post The Soul of Lu Xun appeared first on The Wire China.

‘Superman’ is Still Flying High

Hannah Reale — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 00:05:00 +0000

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is still funding an empire from his (semi-)retirement.

The post ‘Superman’ is Still Flying High appeared first on The Wire China.

The Crypto Kid

Eli Binder — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 00:10:25 +0000

Earlier this month, rioters at the U.S. Capitol chanted anti-China slogans on a Chinese-owned app. This is the story of how a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Justin Sun found his vision for the internet overlapping with far-right extremists.

The post The Crypto Kid appeared first on The Wire China.

The Empire Jack Built

Hannah Reale — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 00:15:56 +0000

While the business world wonders where Jack Ma is, we asked another question: Who else in his circle should we be watching?

The post The Empire Jack Built appeared first on The Wire China.

The Red Capitalist

Neil Thomas — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 00:05:10 +0000

With his recent actions against Jack Ma and with measures to increase control of private firms, Xi Jinping has alarmed the corporate world. But the extraordinary life of Rong Yiren shows how the Communist Party has always sought to harness business for political ends.

The post The Red Capitalist appeared first on The Wire China.

The Snowden Effect

Eli Binder — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 00:00:56 +0000

Seven years ago, Edward Snowden's leaked documents had an unintended impact in Beijing. Today, as most U.S.-China tensions revolve around technology and cyberspace, we're dealing with the consequences.

The post The Snowden Effect appeared first on The Wire China.

Mr. China

Jason Fry — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 00:00:35 +0000

Jerome A. Cohen pioneered the study of Chinese law in the United States. He met with Zhou Enlai, trained Chinese officials and helped American firms set up in China. Now, even at 90, he presses Beijing on its human rights record.

The post Mr. China appeared first on The Wire China.

Broken Tooth’s BRI Bluff

Ankur Shah — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A notorious ex-gangster is reportedly launching an illicit gambling project in Myanmar under the banner of the Belt and Road Initiative. What does that say about Beijing’s most important foreign policy initiative?

The post Broken Tooth’s BRI Bluff appeared first on The Wire China.

Inside Man

Matt Schiavenza — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 23:48:39 +0000

After a career spent currying favor with China's top leadership, is there still a U.S. audience for Robert L. Kuhn's message?

The post Inside Man appeared first on The Wire China.

Hidden Talents

Alex W. Palmer — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 23:00:08 +0000

Now that Charles Lieber has been arrested, everyone has questions about his involvement in China's Thousand Talents Program — to include, perhaps, Lieber himself.

The post Hidden Talents appeared first on The Wire China.

L.A. Confidential

David Barboza — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 23:00:59 +0000

How a group of Chinese developers found a City Councilman, made over L.A.'s downtown, and caused the city's biggest corruption scandal in decades.

The post L.A. Confidential appeared first on The Wire China.

Ant Group’s Colony

Emma Bingham — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 23:00:43 +0000

As one of the world’s most valuable private companies prepares to list, we take a look at who will benefit most from its IPO.

The post Ant Group’s Colony appeared first on The Wire China.