Julia Fiedler

Corruption scandals and China’s economic weakness are weighing on the People’s Liberation Army – but it is nevertheless continuing its massive arms build-up. According to the latest Pentagon report, China has developed into a highly modern armed force and its actual military expenditure could be significantly higher than officially stated. China is also rapidly expanding […]

Almost a decade ago, China launched its “Made in China 2025” plan, a comprehensive industrial modernization strategy that seemed very ambitious. Beijing has set development goals for ten key industries – from shipbuilding to semiconductor research – and proved that targeted industrial policy can lead to success. A prominent example of this is the Chinese […]

It takes a little imagination to realize that these cuddly toys are supposed to be snakes. But it’s the symbol that counts. The Year of the Wooden Snake is just a few weeks away in China. Naturally, a flood of snake merchandise will be produced to mark the occasion, as here in Handan, Hebei.

According to a Financial Times report, Taiwan has asked South Korea for help with the investigation after an undersea cable was damaged off the northern coast of Taiwan. Telecommunications operator Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan’s coast guard suspect the cargo ship “Shunxing 39” of deliberately destroying the cable. Satellite data had shown that the ship had […]

According to a report in the Global Times, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to Africa from January 5 to 11. A total of four countries are on the itinerary:Wang is thus following a tradition: For 35 years, the first foreign trip of the year has taken Chinese foreign ministers to Africa.Mao Ning, spokesperson […]

China has announced plans to boost the development of its western provinces through the construction of logistics infrastructure. According to state media reports citing the General Administration of Customs, a total of 15 measures are planned.Among other things:China’s western regions, which make up around two-thirds of the country’s territory, continue to lag far behind the […]

China’s political decision-makers are keenly aware of the tense economic situation. In September, Xi Jinping personally spoke of a “sense of urgency” regarding the government’s economic management. And still, big changes have yet to happen. A commentary in the People’s Daily, published shortly before the Central Economic Conference in early December, gives an indication of […]

China has permitted representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board the Yi Peng 3 – the cargo ship under investigation for the destruction of undersea cables. However, the Swedish police stated they had only been on board the ship as observers while the Chinese authorities conducted investigations.“In parallel, the preliminary investigation into sabotage […]

While we have a name for each finger, the Chinese neglect one of them – at least as far as naming is concerned. The ring finger is often referred to as the “finger without a name” (无 wú “without,” 名 míng “name,” 指 zhǐ “finger; pointing”). Fortunately, not everywhere – in some places, it is […]

What do the Dutch and Chinese have in common? Both call penguins “goose.” The Dutch use the term “fat goose” (vetgans is a synonym for penguin in Dutch). The Chinese see the cute, flightless seabirds as “geese standing on their tiptoes,” at least that’s what the Chinese term 企鹅 qǐ’é for “penguin” suggests (企 qǐ […]