Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Americans bought fewer Chinese imports in 2023, but Chinese exporters aren't necessarily hurting

Feb 8, 2024
We bought more imports from Mexico — and Chinese companies have been investing heavily there.
U.S. imports from China. were down more than 20% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The federal government is investing in solar. Chinese companies are getting a share of it.

Feb 7, 2024
Chinese manufacturers are building solar panel factories on U.S. soil to avoid tariffs and garner subsidies, reports WSJ's Phred Dvorak.
Subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act are meant to offset some of the costs of manufacturing solar panels in the United States.
Rodrigo Arangua/AFP via Getty Images

Wellington marches on Shanghai, but at a cost

Jan 30, 2024
A detailed look how a food trend starts in China's financial hub, Shanghai.
Coquille restaurant's beef Wellington comes with a sign. The number 75,437 means that is the 75,437th beef Wellington the restaurant has served since the dish was rolled out in 2015 in Shanghai.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

With Chinese developer Evergrande set to liquidate, impact may spread beyond investors

Jan 29, 2024
Unwinding the debt-burdened company will likely create large losses among creditors and could trigger some capital flight.
An Evergrande Group residential complex in Beijing. The company has $300 billion in total liabilities.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

In Taiwan's election, young voters focus on inflation, wages and war

Jan 12, 2024
The U.S. and China loom large over Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13, but so do domestic bread-and-butter issues.
A man wearing a Team Taiwan jacket from the governing DPP party takes a photo of a group of supporters at a political rally in central Taipei.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

Economy and cost of living at top of mind in Taiwan's election

Jan 12, 2024
The U.S. ally's increasingly tense relationship with Beijing has dominated the election campaign. But many ordinary people in Taiwan are struggling to earn enough money.
A man sells fruit at Fu De Market ahead of the general election in Taipei, Taiwan.
Annice Lyn/Getty Images

In Shanghai, vacant storefronts abound, but it's still a struggle to find space

Jan 9, 2024
China's housing bubble has popped, and the commercial property market is going through a rough patch.
For lease signs are posted on an empty Shanghai coffee shop. The commercial property market is going through a transition after the city's severe pandemic lockdown.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

An iron ore mine near Kathu, South Africa. With 70% of global demand for iron ore coming from China, prices are partially dictated by the Chinese property market.
Emmanuel Croset/AFP via Getty Images

Inside Malaysia's $100 billion "ghost city"

Dec 14, 2023
In 2016, Country Garden unveiled a $100 billion project in Malaysia called Forest City. It was supposed to accommodate nearly 1 million people. Eight years on, the complex is virtually empty.
Forest City, a development in Malaysia that was supposed to house nearly 1 million people, now sits largely empty.
Mohd Rasfan/AFP via Getty Images

Who's better at my job, Chinese AI or me?

Dec 4, 2023
Makers of AI chatbots have promised it would change how we work. Our reporter put that theory to the test with China's Ernie Bot.
Baidu's AI chatbot, Ernie Bot, gives an error message on Aug. 31 in response to a question about a potential war over Taiwan.  It reads, "Try another question."
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images