Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Newsletter
How Tencent makes its money
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Although WeChat is the most popular part of the Tencent empire and is deeply embedded in the everyday lives of Chinese, it doesn’t generate most of the company’s revenues. This week we look at Tencent and how it generated US$54 billion in revenue last year.
Where do people buy stuff now?
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With more and more of our everyday shopping taking place digitally, we looked into who the big players are in the U.S. and China through four charts.
TikTok in three charts
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President Trump is worried that user data from the 45.4 million Americans on TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, could be handed over to the Chinese government and set a September 15th deadline for the app to be sold to a U.S. company or risk being banned.
Hedging with new and old currencies
![](https://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumbnail_scale_crop_300x150/public/article/featured-image/3063c951-be52-4487-8fcd-af0e31d04a0d.jpg?itok=RQvOrK4i)
Gold is an ancient store of value. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are recent inventions. Price swings for both can be dramatic. Gold has almost reached its 2011 peak. Bitcoin has climbed rapidly, but is still only a bit more than half the price it was in December 2017.
Politics and public health
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The COVID-19 pandemic reconfigured human activity across the globe. Differing political systems, priorities and social norms have yielded significantly different outcomes between China and the U.S. and within the two countries.
Administration waffling on trade
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Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign included a pledge to reduce America’s trade deficit with China but after a January trade deal, things started to unwind
Increasing acceptance of LGBTQ
![](https://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumbnail_scale_crop_300x150/public/article/featured-image/ad0f2b42-c4ec-44c2-b264-9f289d16142f.jpg?itok=PB3UqJnK)
With the 50th anniversary of the world’s first gay pride parade in Los Angeles, we look across the Pacific at the two very different climates provided to LGBTQ individuals in China and Taiwan.
Talent for tomorrow
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Early on, the Trump administration identified access to American universities as helping China advance. The administration has been pushing back against this in several ways, including the Department of Justice’s China Initiative which has American academics among its targets. Now students from China are under greater scrutiny.
How Taipei tries to make public transit safe
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Packed trains and buses are the perfect place for viruses to spread. Cities in the U.S. are looking to Taipei as an example of what to do right.
China protecting wildlife
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How does the U.S. and China diverge when it comes to combatting illicit wildlife trafficking and protecting the ecosystem? The answer might surprise you.
Pages
Featured Articles
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?