Analysis / MicrofeaturesGovernance by Data: How China’s Party-State Keeps Its Pulse on the People Dec 21, 2022Ilaria Mazzocco The 20th Party Congress in Beijing in November highlighted just how much power Xi Jinping and his closest allies have concentrated in their hands. Control is more centralized than ever, and surveillance is ubiquitous in China. While these trends have consolidated the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) power and further reduced public opposition, such a system… Chinese Politics, Public Opinion
Analysis / FeaturesHow U.S.-China Tensions Have Hurt American Science Dec 9, 2022Ilaria Mazzocco and Qin (Maya) Mei There is a growing concern in Washington that the United States government, its companies, and universities have helped drive the rapid growth of China’s high-tech sector to the detriment of America’s overall national interest. Accusations of intellectual property (IP) theft and state-sponsored industrial espionage by China have loomed large in the bilateral relationship. These concerns… Decoupling, Economics, Science, US-China Competition, US-China Cooperation
Analysis / FeaturesThe China Shock: Reevaluating the Debate Oct 14, 2022Scott Kennedy and Ilaria Mazzocco As the U.S.- China relationship continues to deteriorate, the role of trade has come under increasing scrutiny. Commercial exchanges between the two countries used to be the ballast of the relationship. Trade was understood to benefit both countries economically and helped reduce tensions on political and strategic issues. Over the past decade, this has changed… Economics, Manufacturing, Trade, Trade War, US-China Competition
Analysis / MultimediaDoing Fieldwork in China: Evolution and Prospects Aug 29, 2022Scott Kennedy and Ilaria Mazzocco Field research over the last four decades has been critical to increasing the world’s understanding of China. There are many other research methods including careful reading of documents and the media, surveys, databases, scraping websites, satellite imagery, but field research provides unique learning opportunities. One would be hard-pressed to legitimately call someone who rarely if…
Analysis / MultimediaWhy “Big Data China” Is Needed More Than Ever Aug 12, 2022Scott Kennedy and Ilaria Mazzocco Scott Kennedy, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at CSIS, and Scott Rozelle, Co-Director of the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, discuss Big Data China, a new project aimed at bridging the gap between cutting-edge academic research on China and the Washington policy community.
Analysis / FeaturesThe AI-Surveillance Symbiosis in China Jul 27, 2022Ilaria Mazzocco Artificial Intelligence and the U.S.-China Relationship Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is already playing a role in people’s daily lives through applications ranging from driver-assistance systems, to medical diagnostics and financial management. AI is a general-purpose technology that, like electricity, has the potential to deeply change and restructure many economic and social activities. However, AI’s potential… AI, Decoupling, National Security, Tech, US-China Competition
Analysis / FeaturesHow Inequality is Undermining China’s Prosperity May 26, 2022Ilaria Mazzocco China’s Inequality Challenge Chinese policymakers are confronting a visibly faltering economy that may no longer grow at the rate needed to achieve the country’s development goals. The challenge is compounded by the country’s persistent inequality. Stanford University professor Scott Rozelle and his research collaborators at other universities around the world have been at the forefront of research on inequality and… Common Prosperity, Economics, Education, Inequality
Analysis / FeaturesPublic Opinion in China: A Liberal Silent Majority? Feb 9, 2022Ilaria Mazzocco and Scott Kennedy This first feature analyzes data which sheds new light on the views of Chinese citizens, challenging some mainstream scholarship on the topic. Survey data shows that Chinese citizens hold diverse views on many policy topics and do not always support government choices. Politics, Public Opinion