Spotlight
ChinaSource Begins Presidential Transition and Search (June 9, 2026, ChinaSource)
ChinaSource is entering a new season of leadership transition. After prayerful reflection and conversation with the Board, Rev. Kerry Schottelkorb has shared his intention to retire from his role as President of ChinaSource. In response, the ChinaSource Board has begun a thoughtful process to identify the next leader who will help guide the organization into its next chapter of ministry.
Featured Article
How Emojis Have Become a Language Within a Language in China (June 9, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Ever since emojis became part of everyday lexicon, the Chinese internet has been rife with wordplay and absurdist substitution. But are they bringing people together, or pushing them further apart?
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Video: Hearing: PRC’s Threats to Americans: Transnational Repression & State-Level Responses (June 4, 2026, Congressional-Executive Commission on China)
Xi and Kim express hopes for greater ties between China and North Korea (June 8, 2026, NPR)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un underscored their commitment to deepen cooperation in a closely watched summit on Monday, as Xi made a rare visit to Pyongyang in a likely attempt to reassert Beijing’s unique influence over its socialist neighbor. It’s Xi’s first visit to North Korea in seven years. Earlier Monday, he was given a lavish welcome upon arrival at Pyongyang’s international airport.
Philippines protests China’s floating ‘structure’ on disputed South China Sea shoal (June 9, 2026, NBC News)
The Philippines‘ foreign ministry has undertaken appropriate diplomatic action against China in connection with the “illegal presence” of a floating structure in a disputed atoll, the country’s South China Sea task force said on Tuesday. […] The structure, initially spotted at the entrance to the shoal and later inside its lagoon, appeared to be manned, the task force said, citing the latest images from the armed forces.
Visualizing Power in China’s Press (June 10, 2026, China Media Project)
Despite speculation about Xi Jinping’s political troubles, our latest analysis reveals his continued dominance in Chinese state media, overshadowing all known potential rivals.
Religion
Fuyang: A Long Christian History (June 5, 2026, China Partnership)
Fuyang has many believers, thanks to the rural revival that swept through the area in the 1980s and 90s. Church leaders say they have experienced significant persecution over the last few years, but that God has matured them and their churches through the difficulty.
Listening to the Voices of Majority World Theology (June 9, 2026, ChinaSource)
We must move toward a global dialogue where the Western scholar, the African pastor, the Asian theologian, and the Latin American activist sit together as equals. […] Without the voices of the Majority World, our understanding of the Christian faith remains a monochrome sketch; with them, it becomes a vibrant, multi-dimensional masterpiece.
How Did Christianity Enter China? (June 9, 2026, China Partnership)
Here’s a short excerpt from that conversation. In this part of the conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity, we looked at Christianity in China from around 1900 to 1950.
Society / Life
China goes after ‘ghost kitchens’ to rein in cut-throat food delivery apps (June 2, 2026, BBC)
Chinese authorities have taken aim at a new target as they rein in the country’s cut-throat food delivery industry: “ghost kitchens”, or restaurants that don’t actually exist but appear on apps. The “ghost kitchens” outsource orders to third-party vendors, which fulfill them at lower costs, allowing merchants to push down prices and maximise profits.
Translation: Foreign Forces, Fake Patriots, and Adulterated Berries (June 8, 2026, China Digital Times)
Hostile foreign forces have long been accused of fomenting unrest and other ills in China. The Ministry of State Security sparked widespread ridicule recently with its claim that external influence has been fomenting slackerism among the country’s youth.
The Precarious Business of Being a Book Influencer in China (June 8, 2026, The World of Chinese)
As reading influencers increasingly become an indispensable marketing asset for publishers, concerns over authenticity, credibility, and a manufactured reading culture are also intensifying.
Livestreamed Readings of Hit Chinese Novel Spark Debate (June 9, 2026, Sixth Tone)
The recent TV adaptation of Chen Yan’s “The Protagonist” has inspired hosts to read the novel aloud during livestreams, potentially infringing on copyright.
Swipe Right for the Motherland (June 9, 2026, Lingua Sinica)
When China’s flagship official newspaper introduces a dating app and starts hosting singles mixers for troops and government workers, you know the demographic issue has entered a new phase.
Economics / Trade / Business
Pentagon labels tech giant Alibaba and electric car maker BYD as aiding Chinese military (June 9, 2026, AP)
The Pentagon has added several prominent Chinese businesses, including the tech giant Alibaba, electric car maker BYD and search engine Baidu, to its list of Chinese military companies, preventing them from getting US defense contracts. The list, updated and published Monday by the Pentagon, now sanctions well-known, non-state-owned Chinese companies that are not traditionally considered to be in the defense or security sector.
China Preps $295 Billion Plan to Fund Nationwide AI Buildout (June 9, 2026, Bloomberg, via Yahoo! Finance)
China is preparing to spend around 2 trillion yuan ($295 billion) over the next five years on building data centers across the country, fueling Beijing’s ambition to propel the domestic AI sector and surpass the US in a potentially game-changing technology.
Travel / Food
China on track to surpass US as world’s leading travel and tourism economy (June 7, 2026, The Independent)
Expanded visa-free stays of up to 30 days for more than 50 countries, investment in air and rail infrastructure, and the rollout of biometric systems at entry points have enabled more international tourists to travel to China, said the report. China welcomed more than 68 million international visitors in 2025, a 15.5 per cent increase year-on-year.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
US journalist pleads guilty to working as China’s agent (June 5, 2026, BBC)
A US journalist who had been living and working in China for over a decade has pleaded guilty in a US court to working as an illegal agent for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Thomas Weir Pauken II, 50, “admitted to being part of a conspiracy to obtain sensitive information from the US government” for China, US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A Eisenberg said.
History / Culture
‘The story of Hong Kong is the sound of it’: the cross-cultural joy of the city’s Cantopop music | Pop and rock (June 2, 2026, The Guardian)
Emma-Lee Moss, AKA singer-songwriter Emmy the Great, has written a memoir rooted in her love of Hong Kong’s east-meets-west pop. She picks her favorite track.
Books
Video: Frank Dikotter: How the Chinese Communist Party Rose to Power (June 2, 2026, Asia Society, via YouTube)
Historian Frank Dikötter discusses his book “Red Dawn Over China,” offering a provocative reexamination of the Chinese Communist Party’s rise to power and the forces that shaped China’s communist revolution. Orville Schell, Arthur Ross vice president of the Center on US-China Relations at Asia Society, moderates the conversation.
Events
Online Book Club Discussion (ERRChina)
Join us for a discussion of the book Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, by Dan Wang. Now would be a great time to purchase the book and start reading it in order to be ready for a lively and vibrant discussion.
Date: August 5, 2026:
Time: 5pm PST / 6pm MST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (US)
Platform: Zoom.
Register here.
Pray for China
June 11 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On June 11, 2004, 100 leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship (中华福音团契), a major rural house church network, were detained in Wuhan. Such networks flourished during the rural revival that swept places like Henan and Anhui in the last part of the 20th century. Pray for the Merciful Father to strengthen the rural churches that have seen many young members leave to find work in cities. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11
Activating Prayer for China (February 23, 2026, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)
