China Unbound

What an emboldened China means for the world. [NPR] [Honor guards attend a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square in 2017. Under President Xi Jinping, China has ambitiously pressed its advantage almost everywhere at once.]( VCG via Getty Images Welcome to our special China Unbound newsletter. The series is one of the most ambitious projects NPR’s International Desk has ever undertaken. Our reporters and photographers traveled to more than a dozen countries across six continents to bring you the kinds of stories you’ve come to expect from NPR — this time, about what a modern, emboldened China means for the rest of the world and how it is making its mark. China’s reach can be felt around the globe. We followed it from the train stations of Kenya to the factory floors of Germany, from the deep-water ports of Belgium to the soccer pitches of Brazil. It's a story that extends from England's oldest universities to the shiny new startups of Silicon Valley. Whatever the answer, China is increasingly dictating the terms. Here are five stories from [China Unbound]( we think you’ll enjoy. Angela Hsieh/NPR China makes a big play in Silicon Valley. Instead of buying an existing U.S. business, Chinese tech giants come to the U.S. and [build new companies from the ground up](. They hire away a lot of U.S. employees who might otherwise work for American businesses, and have supplied Chinese venture capital to fuel a lot of minority investments in U.S. tech startups over the past few years. Angela Hsieh/NPR Australia and New Zealand are ground zero for Chinese influence. China's rise has had a profound impact on Australia. The country is Australia's biggest trading partner, accounting for nearly a quarter of Australia's trade. Wealthy visitors from China frequently travel to Australia as tourists or to buy property, leading to a historic rise in home values along the country's coasts. But some Australians are beginning to question whether [these economic benefits have come at too steep a price](. [Chinese border patrol gunboats come downriver from the Yunnan province about once a month in a show of force to keep the Mekong River safe, as China's Xinhua News Agency puts it.]( Michael Sullivan for NPR Reshaping the mighty Mekong River to power a nation. The Mekong starts in China and runs nearly 3,000 miles through five Southeast Asian countries before emptying into the South China Sea. And 60 million people downstream — in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam — depend on the river for most of their food and/or income. China is building a series of hydropower dams on the Mekong, which analysts say will produce needed electricity while posing major threats to the environment — and will further expand its control in the region. China also plans to make parts of the Mekong wider and deeper to fit larger vessels and increase commerce along the river. The river is [one of the keys to China’s control of its backyard](. [David Liu, the COSCO chief executive at the Zeebrugge port, has retained local managers at the terminal. ]( Joanna Kakissis/NPR Chinese firms now hold stakes in European ports. In the past decade, [Chinese companies have acquired stakes in 13 ports across Europe]( including Greece, Spain and, most recently, Belgium. The port purchases have raised a slew of questions about issues ranging from military defense to labor conditions. But the fact remains that China’s new “silk road” projects are building a maritime network of shipping routes to better connect the country to commercial hubs in Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. [People cheer and throw confetti after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta flags off a cargo train for its inaugural journey to Nairobi last year at the port of the coastal town of Mombasa.]( Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images A new Chinese-funded railway in Kenya sparks debt-trap fears. Over the past decade, China has become the biggest lender to governments on the African continent. The money has helped build ports, roads, bridges, airports and trains — infrastructure projects that might have never happened otherwise. But critics say the loans are full of traps that could leave African countries mired in debt. One big project in Kenya — a railway running between the capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa — cost $3.2 billion, financed with a loan from China. But [many ordinary people in Kenya feel a sense of disconnection]( from a project that they expected would bring jobs and pride. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]