The end of October will mark the 3rd anniversary of China Translated.
Per tradition, I will do two things for this occasion. First, I will update the Master Plan to reflect the more significant writings of the last year.
Second, of course, is your chance to ask me anything.
Previous anniversary Q&As include my candid answers on whether I can criticize President Xi, whether Chinese people still spit in public, and why I picked fights with Noah Smith. It’s all great fun.
So send me any questions by either commenting on this post or replying to my emails. I will do my utmost to answer all your questions sincerely (without naming you, of course).
Finally, ICYMI, below is a selection of my personally favorite writings in the last 12 months.
On Taiwan:
Why is China not attacking Taiwan? (Full version)
The US is getting bogged down in a disaster in Iran right now, and despite Trump’s many lies, the war doesn’t seem to end anytime soon.
On technology:
From Huawei to DeepSeek: the galapagosization of Chinese tech deepens
AI is a parallel computing problem, isn’t it? Why can’t they just put 4x, 10x, as many chips together… If they wanted to, they just gang up more chips, even if they’re 7nm.
Jensen and the losers who can't get him
The idea that I consider completely ridiculous is, why should American companies go compete in foreign countries? You’re going to lose it anyway.
Manus Unwinds
In an unprecedented move, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has formally blocked Meta’s acquisition of the startup Manus and ordered all parties to unwind the deal, citing a foreign investment security review. Per NDRC, Meta is now required to cease using the firm’s algorithms and divest its stake, reversing the 2-billion-dollar …
On US-China
The Asymmetry of Paranoia between US and China
Trade tensions between the US and China have intensified again.
2025 is a watershed year
For decades, the world ran on a deeply internalised assumption: the United States is ultimately in control of the world order, of history’s direction, and of the dollar.
What do Chinese people think of the US? How has the sentiment changed over the last 10–15 years?
Today’s piece is another Q&A with Simone Pieranni, of Il Partito. If you remember, we also did another Q&A together regarding the Century of Humiliation and the topic of “Party vs People” a few months ago.
Travelogue and personal anecdotes:
An anecdote about surveillance at the tomb of "China's Himmler"
A while ago, I conducted a poll here asking for your preference about the next topics to write about. The overwhelming majority chose the one about my observation of the “lying flat” phenomenon. True to my word, I have already published that one as a free post
How do people preserve history in China, secretly, sometimes with the help of a miracle
My grandpa passed away more than 4 years ago.
Other geopolitics
How does Beijing really see Maduro's capture?
Only a few days after we left the eventful 2025, this new year has already presented us with yet more Hollywood-level theatrics. On January 3, the world witnessed an extraordinary display of American power. "Operation Absolute Resolve" saw U.S. forces extract Nicolás Maduro and his wife from the heart of Caracas. To Washington, this was a long-delayed act of justice against a "narco-terror-dictator." To everyone else, it was imperialism distilled in its purest form.