Made in China Journal

The new issue of MIC is out! In it, we focus on what remains of cultural differences at the end of the dream of communist pluralism and ethnic autonomy and on how Blackness has been imagined, defined, or practiced in Chinese history. Download for free at madeinchinajournal.com/2024/08/27/ben…

Raw, defiant, and unflinchingly honest—Mu Cao’s poetry gives voice to those at the margins of China’s underclass. In our latest, @PatrickBao1 and Maghiel Van Crevel explore how his work challenges mainstream narratives on queerness, class, and survival. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/03/04/on-…

The new GCP will focus on China’s historical and contemporary roles in the extractive industries (see call in the link below). In both cases the deadline for pitches is in early May. 2/2 globalchinapulse.net/calls-for-pape…

The new calls for papers for the Made in China Journal and Global China Pulse are out! Later this year, we are going to have one issue of MIC focused on gender and sexuality in China. For more details you can see the link below. 1/2 madeinchinajournal.com/calls-for-pape…

Many African students learn Mandarin hoping for jobs with China—but are they getting what they were promised? Drawing from the case of the CI at the University of Zimbabwe, in this essay Simbarashe Gukurume examines the gap between aspirations and reality. globalchinapulse.net/confucius-inst…

China’s push for Mandarin as a 'neutral' language clashes with Tibetan efforts to preserve their linguistic heritage. As pressures mount, the fight for language becomes a fight for identity, power, and cultural survival, writes Dak Lhagyal. globalchinapulse.net/navigating-lin…

Looking back over decades, Li Jun explores how Chinese feminists have strategically used media platforms to advance their causes and how shifts in the media system have, in turn, shaped their activism. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/02/19/new…

From the 19th-century gold rushes to the current scramble for lithium, Chinese labour and capital have been key to the making of the global capitalist system. Join us in Lund from 16-19 June for the 2025 Global China Summer School. Deadline 14 March. ace.lu.se/article/global…

Thanks to the popularity of digital platforms, feminism, and disabled women’s increased educational attainment, a growing number of female-led disabled persons’ organisations has emerged in China, write Luanjiao Hu and Ling Han. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/02/13/gen…

Our new module is up! In it, we offer some perspectives on the challenges of doing research in and on China these days, specifically the ways in which various authors have grappled with the ethical and epistemic dimensions of studying China. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/02/11/app…

Given the influx of tourists from China, the ability to speak Chinese has become essential to boost tourism in Thailand. However, in the north of the country, this is resulting in a linguistic challenge that is at once psychological, social, and political. globalchinapulse.net/two-chinas-and…

Good journalism is often assumed to be dead in China. Yet, according to @fangkc, Chinese quality journalism remains remarkably resilient. It has adapted, evolved, lost some strongholds, and found new life in alternative spaces. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/01/28/qua…

On Chinese construction sites in Ghana, language barriers often cause misunderstandings. However, using a mix of Chinese and English, Chinese supervisors and local construction workers can communicate and even joke, writes Costanza Franceschini. globalchinapulse.net/chinese-englis…

Studies of the spread of Mandarin Chinese in the Middle East and beyond often highlight the role of the Chinese state and official actors. However, contributing to the globalisation of Mandarin are also humble grassroots initiatives, writes Jie Wang. globalchinapulse.net/a-chinese-conv…

In this essay, Dan Chen examines the evolution of minsheng xinwen (民生新闻) in China as a mechanism of controlled criticism, illustrating how local television news resolves citizen grievances, disciplines bureaucrats, and reinforces state legitimacy. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/01/16/leg…

One in four English-language learners globally is Chinese, amounting to 400 million students. In this essay, Eric Henry explores the roots of this phenomenon, highlighting how it aligns with a long tradition in China of self-transformation through language.globalchinapulse.net/making-global-…

||NEW PROFILE|| The Chancay Multipurpose Port Terminal is a logistics complex being developed and managed primarily by COSCO in Chancay, Peru. It promises to become an important hub connecting Asian and South American markets, writes Alexandra Pizarro Choy.thepeoplesmap.net/project/chanca…

Another proud supervisor moment--excellent essay by my former student, Ziyi Li, based on her MSc thesis project.

In recent years, many young urban mothers in China have embraced ‘mum blogging’ as a profession on Xiaohongshu. Motivated by a desire for freedom, mum blogging, however, is marked by precarity under the platform’s algorithmic governance, writes Ziyi Li. madeinchinajournal.com/2025/01/07/blo…

The latest issue of Global China Pulse is out! This one delves deep into the online scam industry, and the human trafficking and cyber slavery that accompanies it. As always, it is fully Open Access and free to download. globalchinapulse.net/global-china-p…

While vulgarity has a long history in China, three decades of internet development seem to have amplified its relevance. In this essay, @SanNuvola describes how different registers of vulgarity overlap across Chinese everyday life and media contexts. globalchinapulse.net/ball-ache-cow-…