Tag: Beijing (China)

China’s Endless Housing Crisis Shows Faint Signs of Hope

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During China’s slow-moving housing crash, there have been brief stretches when prices stabilized, raising hopes that the multiyear slide was finally over. Each time, those reprieves have proved short-lived — pauses before the market resumed its decline. After housing prices in several of China’s biggest cities leveled off in the first few months of the year, the market is again at a crossroads. Analysts and economists are split over whether this constitutes a bottom for a downturn that has eroded much of the country’s middle-class savings or merely another lull…

Homeowners Fight for Control of Their Community in China

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The drum team arrived late to the rally, its members wearing bright red costumes as they spilled out of a minivan. Other attendees were already dancing to music blaring from a nearby speaker or chanting the name of their favored candidate. It had all the hallmarks of a rollicking election campaign. But the dozens of people who had gathered on a winter morning in January, about two hours northwest of Beijing, were not there to support a politician. This was about their homeowners’ association. In the United States, homeowners’ associations…

Robot Finishes Half Marathon Faster Than Human World Record

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new video loaded: Robot Finishes Half Marathon Faster Than Human World Record <img alt="A bright-red 5-foot-5 humanoid robot strides on a road in Beijing." src="https://www.chinastrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/robot-finishes-half-marathon-faster-than-human-world-record.jpg" data-testid="betamax-poster" sizes="(width < 1024px) 100vw, (width A humanoid robot named Lightning ran a half-marathon race in Beijing in 50 minutes and 26 seconds — faster than the human world record for the distance. By Christina Kelso and Zach Wasser April 19, 2026 NYT

Why Elon Musk Needs China

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When Elon Musk first set up Tesla’s factory in China, he appeared to have the upper hand. He gained access to top leaders and secured policy changes that benefited Tesla. He also got workers accustomed to long hours and fewer protections, after clashing with U.S. regulators over labor conditions at his California plant. The Shanghai factory helped make Tesla the most valuable car company in the world and Mr. Musk ultrarich. But Tesla is now struggling. Mr. Musk helped create his competition, Chinese E.V. makers that are taking market share…

Hong Kong Adopts Sweeping Security Laws, Bowing to Beijing

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Hong Kong on Tuesday passed national security laws at the behest of Beijing, thwarting decades of public resistance in a move that critics say will strike a lasting blow to the partial autonomy the city had been promised by China. The new legislation, which was passed with extraordinary speed, grants the authorities even more powers to crack down on opposition to Beijing and the Hong Kong government, establishing penalties — including life imprisonment — for political crimes like treason and insurrection, which are vaguely defined. It also targets offenses like…

Hong Kong Security Law Could Damage City’s Image as Financial Hub

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Paul Chan, the top finance official of Hong Kong, traveled to Paris, London, Frankfurt and Berlin last September to lure foreign investors. Last month he abolished taxes on foreigners’ purchases of Hong Kong real estate. And he is soon set to host an international art show, as well as conferences for big money funds and advisers to wealthy families. Mr. Chan’s brisk work pace represents an attempt to shore up Hong Kong’s role and image as the financial hub of Asia. But that effort is now colliding with a move…

Hong Kong Pushes Strict New Security Law With Unusual Speed

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Under pressure from Beijing, officials in Hong Kong are scrambling to pass a long-shelved national security law that could impose life imprisonment for treason, insurrection and colluding with external forces, stiff penalties aimed at further curbing dissent in the Asian financial center. The law known as Article 23 has long been a source of public discontent in Hong Kong, a former British colony that had been promised certain freedoms when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Now, it is expected to be enacted with unusual speed in the…

These Downtown Los Angeles Towers Became a Graffiti Skyline

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It was a billion-dollar aspiration meant to transform a neighborhood. A trio of shimmering skyscrapers would feature luxury condos, a five-star hotel and an open-air galleria with retailers and restaurants. Among the amenities: private screening rooms, a two-acre park, pet grooming services and a rooftop pool. A celebrity fitness trainer would help curate a wellness lifestyle for residents. The vision was called Oceanwide Plaza, and the chief executive said it would “redefine the Los Angeles skyline.” An executive for the design firm said it would create “a vibrant streetscape.” The…

Bao Fan, Missing Chinese Banker, Resigns After Investigation

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After disappearing nearly a year ago as part of an investigation by Chinese authorities, prominent investment banker Bao Fan has resigned as chairman and chief executive of China Renaissance Holdings, the company said on Friday. Mr. Bao, a deal-making banker for Chinese internet giants Alibaba and Tencent, went missing last February. China Renaissance initially said it had lost contact with Mr. Bao before later stating that he was cooperating with an investigation being carried out by the authorities in China. Mr. Bao’s disappearance signaled an escalation in Beijing’s crackdown on…

Hong Kong Pushes New Security Law to Root Out ‘Seeds of Unrest’

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The Hong Kong government will enact a long-shelved security law to curb foreign influence and expand the definition of offenses like stealing state secrets and treason, officials announced on Tuesday, in a move expected to further silence dissent in the once-freewheeling Chinese territory. The proposed law would lay out five major areas of offenses: treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets, sabotage and external interference. Some of the definitions would echo mainland Chinese treatments of those offenses. “Foreign intelligence organizations, the C.I.A. and British intelligence agencies have publicly stated that they…