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China Watch

Geopolitics, domestic life, and the view from inside. China through Chinese eyes.

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Coverage

Why Iran’s Hormuz Move Matters Far Beyond the Gulf

Why Iran’s Hormuz Move Matters Far Beyond the Gulf

Iran says stop. The U.S. says it is open. The world now has to decide whom to believe....

A Midnight Smell Panic in Shanxi: What Might Have Filled Yuncheng’s Air?

A Midnight Smell Panic in Shanxi: What Might Have Filled Yuncheng’s Air?

A whole city woke up choking on a strange smell that disappeared by sunrise....

Why the Next Global Conflict May Not Look Like a World War

Why the Next Global Conflict May Not Look Like a World War

The West Is Not Marching Toward World War III. It Is Drifting Toward Something Stranger and More Dangerous....

The Spectacle and the Quagmire: Why Global Adversaries are Humoring a Waning Empire

The Spectacle and the Quagmire: Why Global Adversaries are Humoring a Waning Empire

A superpower can survive setbacks. What it may not survive is the widening gap between its image and its actual capacity....

Why Putin Announced a China Visit Right After Trump Left Beijing

Why Putin Announced a China Visit Right After Trump Left Beijing

Trump leaves Beijing. Putin announces he is next....

Bringing a 20th Century Military to a 21st Century War

Bringing a 20th Century Military to a 21st Century War

For decades, Washington assumed money, bases and firepower guaranteed control. The confrontation with Iran is exposing how outdated that assumption has become....

Why Iran’s Foreign Minister Rushed to Beijing

Why Iran’s Foreign Minister Rushed to Beijing

Iran’s foreign minister is in Beijing, and the timing is everything....

Did Iran Just Fire on a U.S. Warship in Hormuz?

Did Iran Just Fire on a U.S. Warship in Hormuz?

Iran says it fired. America says nothing was hit. The real story is what happens next....

Israel Gets 6,500 Tons of Arms. What Comes Next?

Israel Gets 6,500 Tons of Arms. What Comes Next?

Israel says it may act again soon. Washington’s latest shipment says a lot....

What Happens When a Superpower Can No Longer Sustain War

What Happens When a Superpower Can No Longer Sustain War

Wars do not only destroy cities and stockpiles. They destroy myths. This one may have shattered the biggest myth of all....

China Sounds Alarm on Japan’s Nuclear Ambitions

China Sounds Alarm on Japan’s Nuclear Ambitions

Japan’s plutonium stockpile is back in the spotlight, and Beijing wants answers....

King Charles’s Trump Joke Just Went Global

King Charles’s Trump Joke Just Went Global

Why one royal one-liner sparked a full-blown history debate online....

UAE Quits OPEC: What Just Broke in the Gulf?

UAE Quits OPEC: What Just Broke in the Gulf?

The UAE walked away from OPEC and crude prices moved fast. Here is why....

Iran’s Putin Visit: Peace Bid or War Upgrade?

Iran’s Putin Visit: Peace Bid or War Upgrade?

Is Tehran chasing peace, or preparing for a harder fight?...

Why Trump Blinked First in the Iran Standoff

Why Trump Blinked First in the Iran Standoff

Trump threatened escalation, then extended the ceasefire hours later. So what changed?...

Is the US Really Preparing to Hit Iran Again?

Is the US Really Preparing to Hit Iran Again?

A leaked US plan, moving ships, and a shaky ceasefire. Here’s what Chinese observers are seeing....

China’s AI Boom Is Here. So Why Do So Many Feel Left Out?

China’s AI Boom Is Here. So Why Do So Many Feel Left Out?

A viral Zhihu post exposed China’s deepest AI fear: seeing the wave, but missing it....

Why the West Still Believes China Has a Social Credit Score

Why the West Still Believes China Has a Social Credit Score

Black Mirror helped. Headlines helped more. The facts never caught up....

CATL Says 6-Minute Charging Is Here. China Wants Proof

CATL Says 6-Minute Charging Is Here. China Wants Proof

CATL says 10% to 98% takes 6 minutes 27 seconds. China’s EV crowd has questions....

When Military Power Becomes Strategic Failure

When Military Power Becomes Strategic Failure

Explosions make for compelling images, but spectacle is not strategy. The current conflict may prove how badly power can misread its own limits....

Tokyo's New Arms Policy Is Raising Alarms in Asia

Tokyo's New Arms Policy Is Raising Alarms in Asia

Tokyo calls it modernization. Critics call it remilitarization....

What Iran’s New Hormuz Corridor Really Means

What Iran’s New Hormuz Corridor Really Means

What looks like traffic management may actually be a power play with global consequences....

The War Washington Cannot Quite Admit It Is Losing

The War Washington Cannot Quite Admit It Is Losing

For years, Washington treated Iran as a weaker regional power. This war is exposing how costly that miscalculation may be....

Ukraine Began the Unraveling. Iran Is Accelerating It

Ukraine Began the Unraveling. Iran Is Accelerating It

The war in Ukraine exposed the strain on U.S. power. A conflict involving Iran may be showing just how far that erosion has already gone....

Iran Opens Hormuz Again. Here’s the Catch

Iran Opens Hormuz Again. Here’s the Catch

This was not a peace deal. It was a tactical pause dressed as one....

Tokyo Embassy Scare: Why China Is Losing Patience

Tokyo Embassy Scare: Why China Is Losing Patience

Three incidents, nearly 30 protests, and still no clear answers from Japan....

What the West Still Refuses to Say About Israel

What the West Still Refuses to Say About Israel

Diplomatic caution has become a form of denial. The world knows what is driving this crisis, yet still refuses to say it plainly....

US Stumbles, Russia and China Step Up in the Middle East

US Stumbles, Russia and China Step Up in the Middle East

The US stumbled in the Middle East. Now, China and Russia are stepping in. Discover what Zhihu users are saying....

France Votes To Return China’s Looted Art, But There Is a Catch

France Votes To Return China’s Looted Art, But There Is a Catch

A unanimous vote in Paris promises to return stolen art. Is it a genuine apology or a calculated geopolitical move?...

China’s Seven Day Return Rule Faces a Trust Test

China’s Seven Day Return Rule Faces a Trust Test

What happens when convenience beats honesty in online shopping?...

US Hormuz Blockade: What It Means for China and Oil

US Hormuz Blockade: What It Means for China and Oil

This is not just an Iran story. It is an energy and China story too....

Hormuz Falls Silent Again: How Bad Is the Global Shock?

Hormuz Falls Silent Again: How Bad Is the Global Shock?

Shipping has stalled again in Hormuz. The global ripple effects could be huge....

60,000 Venomous Snakes and a Viral Million RMB Claim

60,000 Venomous Snakes and a Viral Million RMB Claim

China is obsessed with this young woman’s snake farm. We looked at the numbers behind the hype....

21 Hours, No Deal: Inside the US-Iran Breakdown

21 Hours, No Deal: Inside the US-Iran Breakdown

21 hours of talks, no deal, and Hormuz is back at the center of the crisis....

Lebanon Is Now the Test of US-Iran Diplomacy

Lebanon Is Now the Test of US-Iran Diplomacy

Iran says the US agreed. Washington has not confirmed. So, what is really going on?...

Why Wired Earphones Are Suddenly Cool Again in China

Why Wired Earphones Are Suddenly Cool Again in China

No charging, no pairing, no stress. Why the humble wired earphone is back....

The Vanishing 24 Hour McDonald’s in China

The Vanishing 24 Hour McDonald’s in China

The 24 hour McDonald’s was once a city lifeline. Why is it disappearing now?...

The War Isn’t Over. It’s Just Changing Shape

The War Isn’t Over. It’s Just Changing Shape

The headlines say pause. The region says prepare for round two....

Iran Deletes Islamabad Post. Is Diplomacy Collapsing?

Iran Deletes Islamabad Post. Is Diplomacy Collapsing?

One deleted post. One huge signal. What is Iran really saying?...

China Bridge Collapse Report Reveals Shocking Failures

China Bridge Collapse Report Reveals Shocking Failures

Fake paperwork, bad bolts, fatal consequences. Inside the collapse report....

The Harsh Truth Behind China’s AI Job Panic

The Harsh Truth Behind China’s AI Job Panic

If AI can write, code and design, what is left for new graduates?...

Iran Says It Won. China’s Internet Isn’t Buying It

Iran Says It Won. China’s Internet Isn’t Buying It

Iran says it won. Trump says peace is coming. The facts are much murkier....

A Mother Spoke to Her Dead Son’s AI for a Year

A Mother Spoke to Her Dead Son’s AI for a Year

A mother talked to her dead son’s AI for a year. China is asking if that is comfort or cruelty....

Why RMB Payments Just Had a Breakout Moment

Why RMB Payments Just Had a Breakout Moment

CIPS just surged to a new high. Here’s why global money is suddenly paying attention to China....

Did America Win the Rescue but Lose the Narrative?

Did America Win the Rescue but Lose the Narrative?

Washington says success. Tehran says failure. The truth may be both....

Why Chinese Expats Are Falling Out of Love With Germany

Why Chinese Expats Are Falling Out of Love With Germany

Germany still looks good on postcards. Daily life is telling a different story....

China Issues Urgent Warning for Millions of iPhone Users

China Issues Urgent Warning for Millions of iPhone Users

Why China Just Issued an Emergency Alert for Apple Users...

Did Israel Frame Iran in the Riyadh Embassy Attack?

Did Israel Frame Iran in the Riyadh Embassy Attack?

Iran says it was not behind the Riyadh embassy strike. So who was?...

The Path of Escalation Has No Natural End

The Path of Escalation Has No Natural End

This crisis is becoming more than a regional war. It is testing whether the world can restrain powers addicted to escalation....

Another F-35 Down?

Another F-35 Down?

Tail markings, debris, and one big question: what really went down?...

Why Warm Light Feels Western and White Light Feels Chinese

Why Warm Light Feels Western and White Light Feels Chinese

Why does warm light feel cozy abroad but “too yellow” in China? This is why....

Are US Ground Troops Heading To Iran? Zhihu Says Yes

Are US Ground Troops Heading To Iran? Zhihu Says Yes

Is the US emptying the Pacific to fight Iran? Chinese OSINT trackers just spotted highly unusual naval movements....

US vs Iran: How Chinese Netizens Decode the Troop Buildup

US vs Iran: How Chinese Netizens Decode the Troop Buildup

The Next Gulf War? Chinese Netizens Decode the US Military Buildup in the Middle East...

Beijing Offers Energy Security to Post-Reunification Taiwan

Beijing Offers Energy Security to Post-Reunification Taiwan

Taiwan's Energy Crunch: Beijing Offers a Lifeline, But Netizens Say Make Them Pay...

Why China Thinks Prince Andrew Was Arrested

Why China Thinks Prince Andrew Was Arrested

While the West screams "Sex Scandal," the Chinese internet is whispering "Espionage."...

The Great WeChat Silence & The Plastic "Prayer" Problem

The Great WeChat Silence & The Plastic "Prayer" Problem

Why 40% of young Chinese have stopped posting, plus a bizarre ritual in Foshan....

An extremely crowded train carriage packed with passengers.

No House, No Hukou: Why China’s Youth Refuse to Leave

With housing prices in Tier 1 cities out of reach and the infamous "age 35 layoff" curse looming, why do millions of young Chinese continue to flock to Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen? They know they will likely never buy a home or gain residency. They know they might eventually be forced to leave. Yet, the consensus from a massive online debate this week is clear. The hometown is not a sanctuary. It is a trap.

Mugshot of Jeffrey Epstein (left) and a headshot of Bill Gates (right).

Bill Gates in China: Escaping the Epstein Shadow?

While Gates may have hoped for a warm reception, Chinese social media users on platforms like Zhihu have been less than forgiving. The prevailing sentiment is not one of awe but of suspicion. Netizens have pointed out the convenience of his timing. With legal and social pressure mounting in the United States, China represents a friendly environment where his status as an "old friend" grants him a certain level of immunity from aggressive questioning.