Rachel Cheung

Staff Writer

rachel.cheung@thewire.media

Articles

The Chip Catalyst

The Chip Catalyst

The U.S.’s latest attempt to contain China’s chip ambitions lasted little more than a month. Back in May, the Trump administration introduced a ban on exports of electronic design automation (EDA) software to China, a suite of tools used by chip designers to create the...

The Company that Refuses to Decouple

The Company that Refuses to Decouple

Walmart should be in trouble in China, where its competitors are in retreat and its sourcing operations have been criticised by both Beijing and Washington. But the American retailer seems to have found a way forward in a difficult sector and remains one of the...

Nicholas Borst on China’s Complicated Relationship with the Private Sector

Nicholas Borst on China’s Complicated Relationship with the Private Sector

The analyst on how Beijing’s need for control hamstrings its businesses and entrepreneurs.

The One Chinese Toy that Even Trump Tariffs Can’t Kill

The One Chinese Toy that Even Trump Tariffs Can’t Kill

Pop Mart, the company behind Labubu, is a rare example of a Chinese toy company finding global success with its own product.

China’s Aging Migrant Workforce

China’s Aging Migrant Workforce

Some 300 million Chinese workers are facing a more precarious future amid the country’s economic transition.

The Hunt for an Heir

The Hunt for an Heir

The entrepreneurs at the forefront of China’s economic emergence in the 1980s and '90s are retiring. Who will succeed them?

Hong Kong’s ‘Conscience’ Leaves the Stage

David Webb, who for years fought for fairer markets and better-run companies in Hong Kong, passed away on January 13, 2026. In tribute, we are resurfacing this article about his career, first published in May 2025.

Paul G. Clifford on How China Made it Easier to Move Things Around

Paul G. Clifford on How China Made it Easier to Move Things Around

The business strategist and historian of modern China talks about robots in Chinese warehouses and fixing broken links.

“A Vicious Cycle”

“A Vicious Cycle”

Squeezed by commercial and political pressures, China’s book publishers face an existential crisis.

China’s Self-driving Danger

China’s Self-driving Danger

Automakers are striving to offer ever more advanced car models, but are they taking too many risks with driver safety?

U.S.-China Drugs Tie-ups Come Under Threat

U.S.-China Drugs Tie-ups Come Under Threat

A surge in dealmaking that's helped Chinese biotech and healthcare firms sell their products globally faces several headwinds.

Beijing’s Uranium Edge

Beijing’s Uranium Edge

China has the upper hand in the battle for nuclear fuel but is on the hunt for more.