By Mei-Ling Chen
Shanghai-based correspondent covering Chinese politics, economy, cross-Strait relations and the Party apparatus.
China's Housing Market in Free Fall as Buyers Wait for Lower Prices
China's home prices fell again in June 2026, with 88 of 100 major cities reporting declines. Buyers are deferring purchases, betting on furt
China's 40 Million EVs Are Becoming a Distributed AI Computing Network
China's 40 million electric vehicles, idle most of the day, could be repurposed as a distributed AI computing network. CATL's Robin Zeng out
US Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship, Rejects Trump's Executive Order
The US Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 that children born on American soil are citizens regardless of their parents' immigration status. The dec
Nvidia's Beijing Pitch Fails as China Doubles Down on Tech Self-Sufficiency
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang flew to Beijing with President Trump's delegation to sell H200 chips, but China refused. Beijing is prioritizing tec
A Father's Gamble: Sending a Westernized Son to Tsinghua Pays Off
A Hong Kong family took a gamble sending their Westernized son to Tsinghua University, despite his weak Mandarin. Four years later, he gradu
US Clinical Trial Reform: Trust, Not Speed, Key to Competing with China
The US is losing ground to China in clinical drug trials, with China accounting for 39% of global trials in 2024. The FDA's new pilot progra
Why AI Will Never Master Diplomacy: The Limits of Algorithmic Prediction
AI can process thousands of documents in minutes, but diplomacy hinges on leaders who deliberately defy patterns. From Trump's tariff revers
Asia's Space Race: China, Japan, India Challenge US Dominance
NASA's Artemis III mission marks a step toward returning humans to the Moon, but Asian powers are closing the gap. China plans a crewed luna
China retaliates against US with dual sanctions on defense and rare earth firms
China's Ministry of Finance banned procurement from 46 US defense firms, including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The Commerce Ministry added
Chinese Investors Secretly Acquired SpaceX Stakes Before IPO, Records Show
A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among overseas investors who acquired SpaceX stakes before its IPO. An entity li
Why Gaza's True Death Toll Is Deliberately Underreported
The official Gaza death toll of around 73,000 is widely considered a severe undercount. Independent estimates range from hundreds of thousan
Xiaomi's AI Model Rises from Obscurity to Challenge China's Frontier Labs
Xiaomi's MiMo AI model, launched in April 2025, has rapidly climbed to rival top Chinese models like DeepSeek. The company's trillion-parame