William C. Kirby
@BillKirbyHBS
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Professor of Chinese History and Business @Harvard , Chair of Harvard China Fund, Author of Empire of Ideas: Creating the Modern University
Cambridge, MA
Joined April 2020
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Commemorating the largest, peaceful demonstrations in world history.
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I’m excited to announce that my new book, Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China, will be released this July.
The next battleground for U.S.-China competition: higher education.
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This is a no-brainer for anyone who understands the world of universities. Self-isolation is a death sentence for universities—or countries, for that matter. Any research university that is not engaged with Chinese counterparts is on a path to decline.
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There is no such thing as Zero COVID. And there is no such thing as endless patience.
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Good news that
@Stanford
is launching a pilot initiative on US-China relations and diplomacy at its Peking University Center. Academic re-engagement with China is critical for all of us.
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What an honor to receive this endorsement from such an august reviewer!
Good academic’s set up. Art. Books. French doors. Love the view of chair. 10/10
@BillKirbyHBS
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First hard copy arrived today! The book will be available in early July. Looking forward to discussing with many of you.
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It is a myth that Chinese students in the U.S. are all wealthy and well-connected. 40% of families with children studying abroad have an annual income lower than USD $41,150.
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Over the weekend, the Chinese government took a small but significant equity stake in Kuaishou, the short video company. How much control could a 1% share really entail? Everything.
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Li Rui was a principled man who had the courage to challenge Mao at the height of the Great Leap Forward. We were honored to have him as a guest at the Fairbank Center, where his calligraphy still adorns our walls.
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大家好, Twitter! As we all spend more time at home and online, I am stepping into this virtually social universe to share my
@HarvardHBS
research on the world of Chinese businesses and our engagement with them.
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China now has two universities in the top 15 in the world, and 13 in the top 200 according to
@timeshighered
. We need to be engaging the top institutions of the future, not decoupling from them.
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1/ Empires of Ideas is officially in stores! Through case studies, the book chronicles the rise and fall of great universities and the challenges of leadership. As Chinese universities become “world-class,” will they surpass the best the US and Europe have to offer? A thread 🧵
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Why does academic engagement with China matter? See my latest piece in
@thewirechina
.
Education may be our last (and best) chance for collaboration. We cannot waste it.
Harvard professor and former dean
@BillKirbyHBS
-- author of a new book on global universities -- argues here about the risk of academic disengagement with China.
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A dark day for Chinese universities, the leading nine of which pledged (in 2013) to uphold “A tolerance, recognition and welcoming of competing views, perspectives, frameworks and positions.” Worsening political headwinds jeopardize their potential.
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How a regime founded in the thought of a 19th century German (Karl Marx) seeks legitimacy through a 20th century German (Carl Schmitt), who wrote in 1934: “The Führer Protects the Law.” Nice company.
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China’s rise over the past century has been because, not despite, its integration in global economic and political structures. “Self-reliance” was tried in the 1960s, and just remember the results.
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Jonathan Spence was one of generation of giants in the China field in the United States. His extraordinarily sophisticated, beautifully written and accessible books educated several generations. He will be deeply missed.
And to get a sense of Jonathan Spence as a speaker, there are his BBC Reith Lectures
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An incredibly dumb move. Ending the Fulbright Program with China and Hong Kong hurts the U.S. and hurts the young scholars on both sides of the Pacific who are part of the future of U.S.-China relations.
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A courageous statement by five eminent scholars who know their history. We at Harvard are proud of our alumnus, Professor Xu Guoqi.
‘They were fooled by Putin’: Chinese historians speak out against Russian invasion
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@Stanford
's Steven Kivelson and Peter Michelson and the 1,000 signatories of this letter are correct. The renewal of the US-China Protocol on Scientific and Technological Cooperation would be in the best interest of all parties. Not to renew would be simply self-destructive.
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Universities have seen political campaigns, such as those ongoing in both China and the U.S., come and go. They have learned to take the long view, to build for the future. It is in our mutual interest to do the same. After all, universities outlive political regimes.
OPINION: The leaders of Chinese and American universities must swim against the political tide of disengagement, writes William C. Kirby.
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More than 80% of China’s one billion private firms are family enterprises. From 2017 to 2022, 75% of these enterprises were in the midst of a leadership transition—one made more daunting by the legacy of ‘one-child families.’
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My
@HarvardHBS
colleague Meg Rithmire debunks the notion that Beijing controls even private Chinese companies. While the government has influence over firms, the results are often not what it had in mind.
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We remember Merle Goldman, who for decades was the heart, soul, and memory of Harvard’s Fairbank Center.
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My editorial on China’s zero-COVID strategy and its consequences for scientific collaboration. ‘Science with Chinese characteristics’ is a threat to China and a loss to the world.
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How did Taiwan become so important for semiconductor supply?
@syaru
, Shelley Rigger, and I give our views to
@david_g_landry
&
@marceldirsus
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A provocative essay on the New Cold War debate from my
@Harvard_History
colleague Jim Hankins, who teaches comparative history with China historian Peter Bol:
“Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity.”
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How do American universities, in their engagement with China, serve U.S. interests? Here is one way: attracting and retaining Chinese tech talent.
Important work from
@MacroPoloChina
@PaulsonInst
in
@NYTimes
.
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Ezra Vogel passed away today. We have lost a real leader in the international study of China and a man who believed firmly that China and the United States can and must have a mutually productive and enduring relationship. We will miss Ezra and his optimism enormously.
I am overwhelmed with messages asking if there is anything that can be done. I will reply with details as I can. But I know what Ezra would want: for us to exert ourselves to improving the US-China relationship in ways that are beneficial to the peoples of both countries
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From my wise
@FairbankCenter
colleague Ezra Vogel, who has lived through multiple ups and downs in U.S.-China relations:
The Overreach of the China Hawks
Aggression is the wrong response to Beijing.
www.foreignaffairs.com
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This trend is not new. Under Xi, these “Golden Shares” are another tool to increase the CCP’s control of the private sector, especially media companies. Last year, other SOEs took a 1% stake in ByteDance and Weibo, enabling the SOE the right to appoint a board director. Not good.
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Having authored 50+ HBS cases on Chinese companies from
@Huawei
to HNA, directed
@FairbankCenter
, and served as
@Harvard
’s Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, I would like to join in discussions about the future of US-China relations and higher education here on Twitter.
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Jiang Zemin was educated at National Central University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. As president, he began the enormous investment in higher education that has taken Chinese universities to the upper ranks.
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This is a bizarre turn for Xi’an Jiaotong University. They will disadvantage students who seek scientific careers. This is more about currying political favor than favoring sound academics.
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Had a great time at Duke, discussing (among other things) its amazing Duke Kunshan University—a venture that is even more important in these turbulent times.
Wonderful book talk by
@BillKirbyHBS
on
#EmpiresOfIdeas
today - what I appreciate about this particular history of the modern research university is his centering of the origins and development (and challenges) of Chinese universities - not an afterthought as it often is.
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China’s internationalism and passion for higher education could propel its schools past great American institutions—including Harvard.
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Pleased to share “China and Europe on the New Silk Road: Connecting Universities Across Eurasia,” which I was privileged to co-edit, will launch on Zoom today. I invite you to explore Eurasian collaboration and competition in higher education with us:
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Greetings from Berkeley, CA! This fall, I’m on sabbatical leave from HBS and continuing my research here on the West Coast. Please reach out if you’re in the area!
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Surely this is more than a private correspondence. Mr. Xi has given a diplomatic signal. One hopes that someone beyond Iowa will hear it.
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Professor Chu was a most gracious, modest, and impactful scholar. He worked to ensure that Taiwan would be a fulcrum of free academic research, supporting scholarship in Asia, Europe, across the Pacific, and across the Strait.
I will miss him greatly.
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On Ezra's passing. A sad day in Asia as well as America.
Ezra Vogel, China expert lauded for urging Sino-US understanding, dies aged 90 via
@scmpnews
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I talk global cooperation in higher education with
@Hari
:
“If you don’t compete against the best, you won't be the best. Competition is what makes for great universities. The moment we are not willing to do that, our university systems will decline.”
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The University Services Center at the Chinese University of Hong Kong served as a critical research window into China in the 1960s and 70s. Its archives do need to be preserved and made broadly available. I trust CUHK, with its history of unfettered research, to do this right.
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My latest piece in the Winter Issue of
@BC_CIHE
“The Argument for Academic Engagement with China”
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Another retreat from existing global systems? Renmin U is an excellent university surely capable of competing with the world’s best. Under this political pressure, “education with Chinese characteristics” threatens to do more harm than good.
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.
@KeithBradsher
's excellent article points to a basic fact: China may be communist, but it is not really socialist. The lack of social security means that hundreds of millions remain too poor to consume. The promising policies of the Hu/Wen era have not been deepened.
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China bans Beethoven? Not for the first time.
In the second stage of the Cultural Revolution, there was a leftist movement to: “Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius, Criticize Beethoven!” 批林，批孔，批貝多芬!
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This is all happening just as officials from China’s Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) spoke to Huawei and Kuaishou about the key takeaways from the National Congress. For Kuaishou, CAC urged the company to improve personal data collection and toe the line with Beijing...
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How effective have US import restrictions been? Not very. Over a quarter of garment shipments to the US have been found to contain Xinjiang cotton. Why? Because it is one of the best in the world, and Uyghur farmers depend on it for their livelihoods.
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The U.S. Administration—like its predecessor—has given conflicting versions of its Taiwan policy. This is not an issue that should be taken lightly. Beijing and Taipei are listening and recalculating their strategies. And the possibility of miscalculation grows on all sides.
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Really enjoyed speaking with
@KaiserKuo
. Hope you can give it a listen.
@thechinaproj
is doing excellent work!
"Empires of Ideas," William Kirby's book on higher education in Germany, the U.S., and China, is a terrific read. Hear him discuss the book on this week's Sinica Podcast:
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Have a minute?
Just because you’re the best now, doesn’t mean you always will be.
William C. Kirby, professor of China Studies at
@Harvard
, Spangler Family Professor or Business Administration at
@HarvardHBS
, details how American academic leadership may be threatened.
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"China invests substantial resources in efforts to translate and explore the contours of American culture and politics. But...the USG and private sector have failed to invest in the language skills and expertise to compete" with China.
A compelling op-ed:
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Good to see that despite political tensions, the number of Chinese students coming to the U.S. for postgraduate education is increasing. In 2021-2022, the number of Chinese postgraduate students studying at American universities increased by 3.64%.
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Please join me and these excellent panelists on December 7 on Zoom to discuss the US-China relationship as both countries enter a new era.
Register here:
China and the US in 2021 and Beyond
William Kirby, Fred Hu, Shelley Rigger, David Daokui Li, Yuan Ming, and Winnie (Chi-Man) Yip discuss the future of US-China relations.
Registration via Zoom:
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Steve Orlins—a smart, practical, and principled steward of US-China relations—makes excellent recommendations on what Biden should do in his first days.
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I'll be at
@UCBerkeley
tomorrow for what should be a great conversation on the state of higher education. Hope to see some of you there.
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Those who have been pessimistic about the Chinese economy in recent decades have been proven wrong at nearly every turn. China’s revival has been led by the private sector, and—despite growing state regulation—it would be foolish to bet against Chinese entrepreneurialism.
Is investing in China worth the risks? For Ray Dalio, who has spent 40 years nurturing his Beijing connections, the answer is easy.
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Looking forward to joining this discussion. Dr.
@npickus
played a huge role in creating Duke Kunshan and in crafting its innovative curriculum. In my book, I argue that Duke is the fastest rising research university in the US, not the least because of its international commitment
Will
#China
pass the U.S. to become
#1
in
#HigherEducation
? On 6/22 online,
@BillKirbyHBS
will consider that question in a discussion of his new book Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China. More info:
@npickus
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Kivelson and Michelson: "We can attest that cutting off ties with China would directly and negatively impact our own research, the work of our immediate colleagues, and/or the educational mission of our universities.”
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In what world is selling real estate unpatriotic? Especially in a country where the government owns all the land?
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New Oriental, a champion of China’s opening up, is closing its main business. The company has empowered and prepared so many young Chinese to study globally - to the benefit of themselves, the world, and China. A very sad day.
新东方在线：董事会已决定，集团将停止经营中国内地义务教育阶段学科类校外培训服务，其乃提供予中国内地幼儿园至九年级（K-9或义务教育）的学生。终止预计于2021年11月末之前生效。(来自财联社APP)
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Chinese universities extend their lead in engineering rankings, while famous American institutions slip further down the list. Times change.
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I would trust Morris Chang’s judgment over that of anyone in Congress.
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Really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with David Firestein about how the U.S. and China can reset the relationship. Both sides need to approach the table with a real willingness to listen to one another. Thank you to
@GHWBushChina
for the invitation and excellent work.
📣NEW podcast with
@Harvard
's
@BillKirbyHBS
entitled "Building Sustainable Trust with China in Education, Business & Policymaking." Dr. Kirby, a historian and professor of business, shares his insights on the most pressing issues in U.S.-China relations.
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"It’s not just a Hong Kong thing, but university governance matters, predictable governance matters, accountable government matters."
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So this is what the fight over Jack Ma’s Ant Group is really about: state-owned banks, hopeless on their own, want to seize the business and steal the customers.
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Tomorrow, I moderate an
@HarvardChina
panel on Globalization with Chas Freeman,
@sorlins
, and Ezra Vogel at 8:30 am EDT. Is “The Global Decade” over?
I hope you will join us:
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China's plans to regulate algorithms will greatly impact ByteDance, which owns TikTok and Douyin. The Chinese government would be the first to regulate this industry and force companies to be more transparent.
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Honored to join such a great list of authors. My reading list just got much longer...
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A superb critique from
@jessicacweiss
on the false choices confronting US-China relations. Mutual paranoia is no substitute for sober statesmanship.
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The 1% share was acquired through Beijing Radio and Television Station, a media company controlled by the Beijing municipal government.
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Bad for business, bad for China. Restricting Chinese companies’ access to global capital markets is self-sabotage. Limiting them to on-shore listings ties one hand behind the back of China’s innovative and ambitious enterprises.
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@Huawei
's reported success in developing its own 5G chips, featured in its new Mate 60 Pro smartphones, should remind Washington of the futility of some of its export controls and restrictions.
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Why has Huawei been caught in the crossfire of the US-China tech war? What are the company’s prospects? I just published an HBS case on Huawei’s strategy to pushback against the US pressure campaign, which I discuss in an HBS Cold Call podcast with
@hbscmo
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This must be the mother of all “upgrades.” Not good news for WeChat’s one billion users, and certainly not good news for Tencent.
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Grateful for the opportunity to join Margot Landman &
@NCUSCR
to discuss the rise of China in the world of universities.
▶️ NEW INTERVIEW: Will
#China
become the global leader in higher
#education
in the 21st century?
@BillKirbyHBS
of
@Harvard
joins
@NCUSCR
to discuss his new book examining the challenges facing higher education institutions in China, the U.S., and
#Germany
.
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With this whirlwind of a (now virtual) semester wrapping up here
@Harvard
, I am so impressed with how my students, scattered across the world, have managed the transition to Zoom. Here’s our first class:
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Does the United States need its own Thousand Talents Plan to keep top researchers?
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That same day, Kuaishou appointed Shi Yesen, an official at the Beijing Radio and Television Station, to its Board of Directors. It’s unclear if the new director is this person or happens to share the same name. I’m guessing it’s the same person.
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The trade war damaged the American economy and US-China relations without achieving the Trump administration’s stated aims. Will a tech war suffer the same fate? Reading this
@thewirechina
article, from
@davidbarboza2
’s new venture, to consider road ahead.
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A wonderful collection of the field's rising stars. Follow these folks.
As we start the fall semester, we'd like to give a
#FollowFriday
shout out to junior scholars, researchers, and practitioners working in
#China
Studies.
Comment below and introduce yourself if you're a junior scholar working on China (all fields welcome!)
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A thoughtful collection of short essays on how COVID-19 is changing China's global relations from my colleague
@erezmanela
and graduate student associates
@HarvardWCFIA
.
Privileged to join
@HarvardWCFIA
Grad Student Associates
@naimagreenriley
@ruodiduan
and Kibrom Teweldebirhan to reflect on "China in a Changed World":
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An excellent article on how Huawei was able to overcome U.S. sanctions to create its cutting-edge chip.
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China has been an innovator in online education. Limiting it will not end the pressures felt by parents and students in China’s examination culture: it will simply force tutoring underground.
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With Chinese investment into the US plunging to $200M last quarter, it is important to remember how the US can benefit from Chinese investments - even at a time of heightened strategic tensions.
My 2019 USCC testimony explains:
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The beginning of the end of Zero-COVID? Let's hope so.
Sound like obituary of zero-Covid? VP Sun Chunlan: "With the weakening of the pathogenicity of Omicron, the popularization of vaccination, and the accumulation of prevention & control experience, our country's epidemic prevention & control is facing new situations and new tasks."
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How should we view China and the world after February 24? The answer may lie in looking to the past. I’ll be speaking more about it shortly. Please join us online.
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Educational exchanges have been the backbone of the U.S.-China relationship, re-emerging after every downturn. It’s deeply concerning to see fewer than 300 American students in China. There is a lot of building to do, and we need to get started.
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Our loss is Europe’s gain. Between 2011 and 2022, co-publications between Chinese and European (including British) authors in fields related to artificial intelligence and machine learning grew more than 1000%.
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To be sure, the drops beginning in 2021 were due largely to COVID. But where will we be in 2024?
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Avoiding the collapse of US-China relations: A thoughtful essay by Wang Jisi 王缉思, one of China's leading scholars of international relations.
Uphold three bottom lines for China-US relations - Global Times
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Important analysis from
@yingyi_ma
on the dominance of STEM majors in China.
The most popular college major in China consistently from 2020-2022: Artificial Intelligence. The top three are all in STEM. A decade ago, business and English were among the top.
@ryanl_hass
@CSISFreeman
may be interested in this trend. A short thread
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The hypocrisy of U.S. China policy on full display in this article. We condemn China’s business ethics, and yet we practice this sleaze. The Trump administration is a case study in systemic corruption and up to its neck in its Swamp.
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Guanghua is such a distinguished school. Let's hope that it does not have to change its name to the Guanghua School of Political Management.
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How to do business in China, the Apple Way. Just don’t trust Apple Maps for your cruise to the Diaoyu Islands.
Apple CEO Tim Cook secretly signed a five-year investment agreement with Beijing in 2016. Internal Apple documents provide a rare glimpse at Apple's interaction with Chinese officials over the years. My latest scoop for
@theinformation
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