Sean Williams - The Wire China

Articles

Cleaning Up

Chinese money laundering syndicates are the partners-of-choice for Latin American cartels who flood the U.S. with fentanyl. But despite Sino-American cooperation on the issue, the U.S. is just barely grasping what is at stake. Fentanyl, it turns out, is merely the deadliest chapter in a...

Going for Gold

Thanks to economic turbulence and geopolitics, China is buying up gold like never before — and it's looking to places like Papua New Guinea to supply it. But with aggressive tactics and irresponsible mining practices, China's 'gold rush' diplomacy is alarming locals and sparking concern...

Aging Opportunity

Beijing and Western financial giants have a mutual interest: Fixing China's pensions system. But can they figure out how to do it?

India’s Chance for Chips

India wants to capitalize on over concentrated supply chains and the Washington-Beijing chip war to burst onto the global semiconductor stage. Its great hope? Vedanta Resources, a mining firm.

Fentanyl’s New Flow

After years of U.S. pressure, Beijing finally banned fentanyl in 2019. Many celebrated the announcement, thinking it would help turn the tide in America's deadly opioid crisis. But today, there is more Chinese-made fentanyl flooding U.S. streets than ever before. Experts say it's because of...

Stalled Dreams

When China loaned Ethiopia more than $2.5 billion to build a railway, it was cultivating a unique relationship in Africa that it hoped would unlock enormous economic potential. But now, with the debts unpaid and Ethiopia on the brink of collapse, China's decades-old Africa strategy...

China’s Own Goal

In 2015, Xi Jinping decided that soccer, the world’s most popular sport, would improve China’s fitness, both on and off the field. But in the wake of his reforms and ambitious goals, China’s ultra-wealthy have poured more than $2.5 billion into the sport with very...

VW’s New Dynasty?

The People’s Car is attempting to remake itself in the People’s Republic. With massive new investments, VW is doubling down on China’s electric vehicle market like no one else. But even with China’s thirst for electric vehicles, can the 87-year-old giant transform itself?