Recent Articles

Behind the story of China’s rapid economic development is the growing instability of life for the country’s young migrant workers, who are increasingly ditching factory work for short-term, informal jobs.

Greta Thunberg has gained massive support from the youth across Europe. However, the question "how dare you" has not resonated among young people in China. How and why do Chinese youth differ from their European peers?

The idea persists that China’s political system and culture makes it uniquely adept at planning ahead for the distant future. But is the Chinese Communist Party really in it for the long-term?

In China, the world's largest contract electronics maker, Taiwan's Foxconn, has long been synonymous with worker exploitation and the heartlessness of low-wage manufacturing. In the Czech Republic, the company presents another face – which may reveal just how much national contexts make a difference. 

One of the most persistent myths about China is that its system works with great efficiency, enabling concerted action and long-term planning. But such rosy assessments overlook key costs – not least to the rights and protection of citizens.

As popular western social media platforms remain inaccessible in mainland China, Chinese social media platforms have become an important way for universities in the UK to reach out to their largest source of foreign students. 

Even as a consensus has emerged that coal must be phased out, Chinese investment is empowering the growth of coal power across the globe. At the crossroads of this debate in Europe is a series of new coal power projects in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Polluting coal facilities in southwestern Romania have adversely affected the well-being of the local population and the environment. But rather than phase them out, the EU member state is planning to build a new coal-fired plant, drawing on Chinese investment – even as the EU moves toward a zero-coal future. 

Even as China has pledged reduction of carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement, it has actively pursued coal projects in the Balkans in recent years that seem to go against those commitments.