2026 Issue 6

Like social media and the broader Sino-internet, PRC AI models, like Alibaba’s Qwen3, are designed to amplify positive stories about the Chinese Communist Party and suppress negative perceptions.  The South China Morning Post reports on similar efforts by Western influencers who amplify positive stories of the PRC.

Noah Barkin at Rhodium Group writes on Germany’s ‘China Shock’ and how Berlin appears unprepared for its impacts on the German economy.

Harvard computer science professor warns that university rankings that place PRC universities at the top should not be trusted since the Chinese Government has skewed the incentives for researchers and universities to achieve high rankings, making the metrics these lists measure unreliable. 

Jason Douglas and Austin Ramzy write in the Wall Street Journal how Xi’s coercion campaign against Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi backfired badly for Beijing.