Where have all of Shanghai's newsstands gone?

Jul 21, 2021
The kiosks have dwindled in Shanghai, and since the U.S.-China trade war began, it's hard to get people to answer even simple questions.
Gao Dongde, left, has been buying newspapers from Qu Yali's family for decades. He no longer lives in the neighborhood, but he still comes to pick up his newspapers from Qu because there are no newsstands near his current home.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

China dominates the solar energy industry. Can the U.S. catch up?

Jul 7, 2021
It will take a lot to make the U.S. a meaningful competitor in the production of solar equipment.
China went from producing very little of the world's solar equipment 20 years ago to becoming the leading producer.
John Moore/Getty Images

As the CCP celebrates its centennial, how communist is China's economy?

Jul 6, 2021
Starting in 1978, China’s ruling Communist Party has steadily embraced market reforms and transformed the country into the world’s second largest economy. What remains of the Chinese socialist system?
Young Chinese listening to punk music at the MIDI rock music festival in June.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

China's competitive coffee shop scene keeps owners on their toes

Jun 21, 2021
Nearly 19% of small and micro-sized businesses in China shut down during the pandemic. What does it take for a coffee shop to stay standing?
Keiichi Nakayama said his coffee shop, Rumors, was the first in Shanghai to specialize in hand-poured coffee more than a decade ago.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Chinese citizens greet new 3-child policy with humor

Jun 21, 2021
Women in China have taken to social media to push back against having one more child.
A father with his son on a low-cost train heading into the Chinese countryside. People in rural China cite the cost of raising a child as a main reason they don't want to have more children.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

U.S., EU suspend subsidies dispute to focus on China

Jun 16, 2021
Importers on both sides of the Atlantic will save billions in retaliatory tariffs for imports.
While the U.S. and the EU have been fighting over which side unfairly subsidizes aircraft production, China has been building up its own aircraft industry, said Eswar Prasad at Cornell University.
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

Truce on Airbus/Boeing subsidies lets sides focus on emerging competitor

Jun 15, 2021
U.S.-EU pact suspends punitive tariffs and could spur collaboration to fend off Chinese expansion in the commercial aircraft industry.
Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Major scientific and technological investment sought to better compete against China

Jun 9, 2021
U.S. government funding for even basic research has been in decline for decades.
Misha Friedman/Getty Images

Chinese students, parents stressed by demands of extracurricular classes

Jun 9, 2021
Academic competition pressures families to enroll children in tutoring courses. But some parents are resisting.
Fifth-grader Ziyou cracks under pressure in "A Love for Dilemma," a Chinese TV series about the education rat race.
"A Love for Dilemma"

China's 3-child policy met with tepid public reception

There's skepticism about whether the policy change will actually address China's shrinking workforce and older population.
One reason? "The work of raising a child, like in many countries, falls disproportionately on women, and women in China have complained of being penalized at workplaces for being a mother," says Marketplace China correspondent Jennifer Pak.
Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images