Good evening. You are likely familiar with Tencent because of its signature offering: WeChat. But did you know that Tencent is also the world’s most successful video game company? Whether you’re a gamer or not, you’ll enjoy this week’s cover story on how the gaming business helped propel Tencent to be China’s most valuable company — and how industry trends and geopolitics could now knock it down. Elsewhere, we have infographics on how China’s relationship with the Middle East has progressed; an interview with Robert Daly on keeping close to China; a reported piece on the barriers to exit for foreign business people in China; and an obituary for David Dollar, an economist at the heart of U.S.-China engagement. If you’re not already a paid subscriber to The Wire, please sign up here.
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Leveling Up
For the past decade, Tencent’s mammoth success in the gaming industry has helped propel the company to new heights: It is China’s most valuable company by market capitalization. But with Beijing’s recent crackdown on gaming affecting the environment at home, and industry trends shifting Tencent’s investment strategy abroad, the gaming giant needs a new strategy in order to keep winning. Lu-Hai Liang reports.
The Big Picture: China’s Road to the Middle East
The resumption of violent hostilities in the Middle East this week underscores the difficulties China will face as it looks to elevate its profile in the region. This week, infographics by Aaron Mc Nicholas look at how China’s relationship with the Middle East has progressed, and assesses how China’s soft approach to diplomacy is likely to fare during times of crisis.
A Q&A with Robert Daly
Robert Daly is the Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. He began his China career as Cultural Exchanges Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. After leaving the Foreign Service, he taught Chinese at Cornell and worked on television and theater projects in China. He is a director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and American Mandarin Society and is a member of the Task Force on U.S. China Policy. In this week’s Q&A with Scott Savitt, he discusses the worrying signs of racism in the U.S.-China relationship and Xi Jinping’s errors of judgment.
Robert Daly
Illustration by Lauren Crow
Barriers to Exit
The risk of not being allowed out of China is adding to the list of concerns for foreign business people operating in the country. Katrina Northrop reports.
An Economist at the Heart of U.S.-China Engagement
Bob Davis writes an obituary for David Dollar, whose work argued for the benefits of more open trade and investment for poor countries.
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