Chris O'Brien

Beijing pays little heed to U.S. rhetoric

The U.S. presidential race traditionally has been a time for tough talk on China, and a period of unease for the Chinese leadership as it waits to see whether words become actions.

October 24, 2008

Bargains await cash-rich China

BEIJING | When the world's economies bottom out, the most populous nation will be better poised than others to turn the financial implosion to its advantage, leading Chinese economists say.

October 9, 2008

Beijing beneficiary of U.S.-Russia rift

As tensions escalate between the United States and Russia over the conflict in the Caucasus, China is a likely beneficiary.

September 7, 2008

With Olympics, China earns medals, respect

A spectacular closing ceremony at nightfall Sunday will culminate in the extinguishing of the Olympic flame that for the last two weeks has burned above the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

August 24, 2008

Censors vie to keep control of Olympics

It has been a busy Olympics for China's censors, for whom image control in front of a domestic audience of more than 1.3 billion is even more important than China's image before the world.

August 20, 2008

For China, a star is mourned

For a few hours Monday, China's collective obsession with topping the Olympics medal table for the first time in its history weakened to a distraction, the golds already won no compensation for losing the one it craved most.

August 19, 2008

Protest zones in Beijing parks empty

Protesting during the Beijing Olympics should be easy. Yet not a grunt of discontent has been heard in any of the three parks.

August 17, 2008

Bush wraps up visit on diplomatic terms

President Bush ended what is probably his final trip to East Asia as president Monday, a diplomatic tightrope walk in Beijing that many analysts consider a public-relations triumph for the Chinese government.

August 12, 2008

Bush visits Beijing church, urges freedom

President Bush continued his Olympics juggling act on Sunday, settling for a pointed remark in public to push for wider religious freedom in China and raising further political concerns privately with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

August 11, 2008

In-law of U.S. coach stabbed to death in Beijing

The father-in-law of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball coach was stabbed to death and his wife was seriously injured Saturday when a Chinese man attacked them in Beijing before hurling himself to his death.

August 9, 2008

China rebukes Bush challenge of ‘basic rights’

The Chinese welcomed President Bush to the Olympics on Friday by declaring their commitment to "citizens' basic rights and freedom" and detaining the White House press corps on Beijing's airport runway for three hours.

August 8, 2008

‘Retrievers’ keep petitioners off Beijing streets

The street outside the State Bureau of Letters and Visits in the south of Beijing is packed with about 200 unconvincing actors.

August 6, 2008

Beijing walls hide neighborhood’s blight

Beijing's Olympic beautification drive has left little unspruced. No amount of cosmetic artistry, however, can conceal the scar carved into the landscape a 10-minute walk southeast of Tiananmen Square.

August 4, 2008