Bob Davis
@bobdavis187.bsky.social
Author of "Broken Engagement," interviews with top officials on U.S. China policy, and "Superpower Showdown" with
@Lingling_Wei, the definitive account of
Trump's trade war. http://bobdavisreports.com
@Lingling_Wei, the definitive account of
Trump's trade war. http://bobdavisreports.com
Pinned
Bob Davis
@bobdavis187.bsky.social
· Mar 17
Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China
Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China - Kindle edition by Davis, Bob, Barboza, David. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China.
www.amazon.com
My new book, "Broken Engagement," with interviews of top China policy makers is like a conversation across administrations about engaging with China, competing with China and, more recently, defending against China. www.amazon.com/Broken-Engag...
Biden NEC chief and ex Fed vice chair Lael Brainard say tariff impact coming. Tariffs "They are just beginning to work their way through the pricing system." In Trump 1.0 "it took six to nine months for [China] tariffs to push prices up."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/10/05/l...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/10/05/l...
Lael Brainard on Keeping the Dollar Dominant - The Wire China
The economic policy maker says the Trump administration's actions could threaten the greenback's role, and discusses the big bet the U.S. made in welcoming China into the WTO.
www.thewirechina.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Biden NEC chief and ex Fed vice chair Lael Brainard say tariff impact coming. Tariffs "They are just beginning to work their way through the pricing system." In Trump 1.0 "it took six to nine months for [China] tariffs to push prices up."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/10/05/l...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/10/05/l...
I do a deep dive into the birth and death of engagement with China -- and (weirdly) the possible revival under Trump 2.0. It's the heart of my review of China scholar David Shambaugh's "Breaking the Engagement." chinabooksreview.com/2025/09/25/e...
What Happened to "Engagement" with China? | China Books Review
Since 1972, the U.S. has hoped that engaging with China would benefit both nations. That dream has burst. A new book performs an autopsy on engagement policy — but is it really dead?
chinabooksreview.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM
I do a deep dive into the birth and death of engagement with China -- and (weirdly) the possible revival under Trump 2.0. It's the heart of my review of China scholar David Shambaugh's "Breaking the Engagement." chinabooksreview.com/2025/09/25/e...
China is heading for deflation. Somehow it thinks a political campaign focusing on something called “involution” will help stave off disaster. My latest. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
Opinion | The New Buzzword That’s Scaring China
www.nytimes.com
September 23, 2025 at 10:38 AM
China is heading for deflation. Somehow it thinks a political campaign focusing on something called “involution” will help stave off disaster. My latest. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
Two National Guardsmem with M16s at the Washington DC DuPont Circle metro entrance. A local is politely engaging with them and criticizing the deployment. Most importantly, Kristy Kreme at the entrance is safe.
September 19, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Two National Guardsmem with M16s at the Washington DC DuPont Circle metro entrance. A local is politely engaging with them and criticizing the deployment. Most importantly, Kristy Kreme at the entrance is safe.
China reports that its GDP is growing at about 5%. Nope, says China researcher Rhodium Group. Actual GDP growth is about half that, at 2.8%. rhg.com/research/the...
The Strategic Logic of China’s Economic Data
Beijing knows it has a credibility problem Ten years ago this week, Rhodium Group published a landmark study of China’s economic data, Broken Abacus, discussing the rapid evolution of China’s statisti...
rhg.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
China reports that its GDP is growing at about 5%. Nope, says China researcher Rhodium Group. Actual GDP growth is about half that, at 2.8%. rhg.com/research/the...
Former Trump NEC Director Larry Kudlow: I always thought President Trump, was a little too personalized. A little too, ‘I can charm you into coming around to my point of view.’ There’s a place for that. But it’s just a place." www.thewirechina.com/2025/08/24/l...
Larry Kudlow on Trump, Xi, Putin and the future of global trade - The Wire China
The former National Economic Council head talks about whether a deal with China is in the cards during Trump's second term, and being a free trader as the U.S. turns to protectionism.
www.thewirechina.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Former Trump NEC Director Larry Kudlow: I always thought President Trump, was a little too personalized. A little too, ‘I can charm you into coming around to my point of view.’ There’s a place for that. But it’s just a place." www.thewirechina.com/2025/08/24/l...
Yellen as Fed Chair on China: in 2016, investors thought there was a "Shanghai Protocol" to keep US rates low
if China didn't devalue. "No. We did meet, and we understood the pressures that they were under... That doesn’t require a secret handshake agreement."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
if China didn't devalue. "No. We did meet, and we understood the pressures that they were under... That doesn’t require a secret handshake agreement."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
www.thewirechina.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Yellen as Fed Chair on China: in 2016, investors thought there was a "Shanghai Protocol" to keep US rates low
if China didn't devalue. "No. We did meet, and we understood the pressures that they were under... That doesn’t require a secret handshake agreement."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
if China didn't devalue. "No. We did meet, and we understood the pressures that they were under... That doesn’t require a secret handshake agreement."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Yellen as Treasury Secretary on China: "Making changes [to boost consumption] would also ultimately make China less export-dependent... But in the visits that I had during the time that I was at Treasury, it became clear Xi doesn’t want to do that." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
www.thewirechina.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Yellen as Treasury Secretary on China: "Making changes [to boost consumption] would also ultimately make China less export-dependent... But in the visits that I had during the time that I was at Treasury, it became clear Xi doesn’t want to do that." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Janet Yellen on Biden WH decision-making and China. "In the economic area, he had very few meetings where the president and senior officials, including cabinet members, give their views and the president asks questions.There were virtually no meetings like that."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
www.thewirechina.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Janet Yellen on Biden WH decision-making and China. "In the economic area, he had very few meetings where the president and senior officials, including cabinet members, give their views and the president asks questions.There were virtually no meetings like that."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Janet Yellen on why should doesn't talk to Scott Bessent:"He has succeeded in undoing everything that was a priority of mine at Treasury." Bessent reply: "I couldn’t even tell you what Secretary Yellen’s China policy was, aside from consuming beer and mushrooms." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
Janet Yellen on the Challenges of Dealing With China, Trump — and Biden - The Wire China
The former Treasury Secretary and Fed chair discusses why tariffs won't work, her efforts to rebuild relations with China under Biden and her issues working within the administration.
www.thewirechina.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Janet Yellen on why should doesn't talk to Scott Bessent:"He has succeeded in undoing everything that was a priority of mine at Treasury." Bessent reply: "I couldn’t even tell you what Secretary Yellen’s China policy was, aside from consuming beer and mushrooms." www.thewirechina.com/2025/07/18/j...
New York Times profiles @brunodebbie as he examined the enslavers in her family and worked with Eleanor Mire, whose family was one of the enslaved.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...
She Confronted a History of Enslavers in Her Family. Here’s What Happened.
www.nytimes.com
June 13, 2025 at 1:34 PM
New York Times profiles @brunodebbie as he examined the enslavers in her family and worked with Eleanor Mire, whose family was one of the enslaved.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...
Reposted by Bob Davis
I have always wondered why a certain percentage of leftists only use Apple tech yet completely ignore the multiple human rights abuses, police states, and genocidal conditions created by China. Other major tech companies diversified in recent years from China but Apple refused.
How China Captured Apple - A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled. My review of a fine new book about how China and Apple truly operate.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
How China Captured Apple
A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled.
foreignpolicy.com
May 24, 2025 at 4:10 PM
I have always wondered why a certain percentage of leftists only use Apple tech yet completely ignore the multiple human rights abuses, police states, and genocidal conditions created by China. Other major tech companies diversified in recent years from China but Apple refused.
How China Captured Apple - A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled. My review of a fine new book about how China and Apple truly operate.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
How China Captured Apple
A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled.
foreignpolicy.com
May 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
How China Captured Apple - A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled. My review of a fine new book about how China and Apple truly operate.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/a...
Reposted by Bob Davis
This is a fascinating story.
We're reissuing The Ten Thousand Leaves: Poems from the Man'yōshū, the oldest collection of Japanese poems, translated by Ian Hideo Levy when he was 32 (and finalist of the National Book Award for Translation in 1982), in July.
We're reissuing The Ten Thousand Leaves: Poems from the Man'yōshū, the oldest collection of Japanese poems, translated by Ian Hideo Levy when he was 32 (and finalist of the National Book Award for Translation in 1982), in July.
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out.
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
Searching for Levy Hideo
Levy Hideo, born Ian Hideo Levy, left the United States and gave birth to a genre in Japan known as “border-crossing” literature.
momentmag.com
May 15, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This is a fascinating story.
We're reissuing The Ten Thousand Leaves: Poems from the Man'yōshū, the oldest collection of Japanese poems, translated by Ian Hideo Levy when he was 32 (and finalist of the National Book Award for Translation in 1982), in July.
We're reissuing The Ten Thousand Leaves: Poems from the Man'yōshū, the oldest collection of Japanese poems, translated by Ian Hideo Levy when he was 32 (and finalist of the National Book Award for Translation in 1982), in July.
Reposted by Bob Davis
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out.
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
Searching for Levy Hideo
Levy Hideo, born Ian Hideo Levy, left the United States and gave birth to a genre in Japan known as “border-crossing” literature.
momentmag.com
May 14, 2025 at 11:41 AM
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out.
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out.
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
Searching for Levy Hideo
Levy Hideo, born Ian Hideo Levy, left the United States and gave birth to a genre in Japan known as “border-crossing” literature.
momentmag.com
May 14, 2025 at 11:41 AM
The story of how Ian Levy, a suburban teenager from the D.C. area, transformed into Levy Hideo, a celebrated Tokyo novelist who lives and writes in Japanese. Even in the long history of the Jewish diaspora, Hideo's tale stands out.
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
momentmag.com/searching-fo...
As if US-China relations weren't already complicated, China's need to save face is crucial, and Trump's too. “To really understand what’s going to happen, you need a psychologist—not a policy analyst,” said CFR's Matthew Goodman.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/09/c...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/09/c...
Both Xi and Trump Want the Other to Call Them First
A conflict over face is tangling up the trade war’s resolution.
foreignpolicy.com
May 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
As if US-China relations weren't already complicated, China's need to save face is crucial, and Trump's too. “To really understand what’s going to happen, you need a psychologist—not a policy analyst,” said CFR's Matthew Goodman.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/09/c...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/09/c...
Hmm, so Chinese exports to the US fell by 21% because of Trump tariffs and rose 21% to SE Asia. To fill out the story, we will soon learn exports from SE Asia rose a lot too. Transshipment and investment in SE Asia is a big way China avoids Trump tariffs. www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
May 9, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Hmm, so Chinese exports to the US fell by 21% because of Trump tariffs and rose 21% to SE Asia. To fill out the story, we will soon learn exports from SE Asia rose a lot too. Transshipment and investment in SE Asia is a big way China avoids Trump tariffs. www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
Great reporting on China's book scene by @rachel_cheung1. So much political and commercial pressure that older, safer books get republished rather than newer ones which could mean trouble for independent publishers. www.thewirechina.com/2025/05/04/a...
“A Vicious Cycle” - The Wire China
Squeezed by commercial and political pressures, China’s book publishers face an existential crisis.
www.thewirechina.com
May 5, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Great reporting on China's book scene by @rachel_cheung1. So much political and commercial pressure that older, safer books get republished rather than newer ones which could mean trouble for independent publishers. www.thewirechina.com/2025/05/04/a...
Around minute 48, former Trump U.S. Trade Rep. Lighthizer says that is a “reasonable possibility” a lower federal court will overturn Trump tariffs based on IEEPA, which requires an “emergency “ to act.Sup Ct might uphold the admin, he says. youtube.com/live/qLpUSMIN_… via @YouTube
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April 30, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Around minute 48, former Trump U.S. Trade Rep. Lighthizer says that is a “reasonable possibility” a lower federal court will overturn Trump tariffs based on IEEPA, which requires an “emergency “ to act.Sup Ct might uphold the admin, he says. youtube.com/live/qLpUSMIN_… via @YouTube
Ex Trump NSC China chief Matt Turpin: "One of the reasons why I’ve advocated that we think of this as a cold war is that you understand what you’re trying to do is win a competition and avoid direct military conflict."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/13/m...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/13/m...
April 14, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Ex Trump NSC China chief Matt Turpin: "One of the reasons why I’ve advocated that we think of this as a cold war is that you understand what you’re trying to do is win a competition and avoid direct military conflict."
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/13/m...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/13/m...
A really uswful explainer about the crazy world of Trump tariffs www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Much Are Tariffs on Chinese Goods? It’s Trickier Than You Think.
The tariff rate on Chinese imports can be as high as 245% or zero, depending on the type of product that is being imported.
www.nytimes.com
April 12, 2025 at 11:49 AM
A really uswful explainer about the crazy world of Trump tariffs www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
A step-by-step guide to Donald Trump’s destruction of U.S. foreign policy. foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/07/t...
How to Ruin a Country
A step-by-step guide to Donald Trump’s destruction of U.S. foreign policy.
foreignpolicy.com
April 7, 2025 at 10:26 PM
A step-by-step guide to Donald Trump’s destruction of U.S. foreign policy. foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/07/t...
China expert Elizabeth Economy: Trump’s latest tariffs “may be the final nail in the coffin of US global leadership. Our only hope is that Xi scores enough own goals to stave off a permanent shift in the world’s political and economic center of gravity.”
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/06/e...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/06/e...
Elizabeth Economy on What the U.S. Should Want from China - The Wire China
The former Biden administration advisor on what she tried to achieve in government and what Trump is getting right and wrong about China.
www.thewirechina.com
April 6, 2025 at 11:57 PM
China expert Elizabeth Economy: Trump’s latest tariffs “may be the final nail in the coffin of US global leadership. Our only hope is that Xi scores enough own goals to stave off a permanent shift in the world’s political and economic center of gravity.”
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/06/e...
www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/06/e...
I argue that Trump’s tariffs are unsustainable and sketch out the many ways he could back off to ease the (self-inflicted) pain. Number 1 — issue plenty of exemptions. Number 2–Fire someone. (Probably Lutnick.) Plus other moves.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/04/t...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/04/t...
Will Trump Back Down From a Global Trade War?
The U.S. president still has plenty of outs from his extreme tariffs.
foreignpolicy.com
April 4, 2025 at 7:07 PM
I argue that Trump’s tariffs are unsustainable and sketch out the many ways he could back off to ease the (self-inflicted) pain. Number 1 — issue plenty of exemptions. Number 2–Fire someone. (Probably Lutnick.) Plus other moves.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/04/t...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/04/t...