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Palmer-James-foreign-policy-staff-portraits-202226

James Palmer

Deputy Editor [email protected]

James Palmer is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy and writes FP’s weekly China Brief newsletter. Palmer is the author of The Bloody White Baron: The Extraordinary Story of the Russian Nobleman Who Became the Last Khan of Mongolia and The Death of Mao: The Tangshan Earthquake and the Birth of the New China. He won the Shiva Naipaul prize for travel writing in 2003.

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Articles by James Palmer
A sanitation worker sweeps a deserted road in Xian, China, on Dec. 28, 2021.
A sanitation worker sweeps a deserted road in Xian, China, on Dec. 28, 2021.

Can China Lock Down Again?

China Brief
James Palmer
Residents line up for COVID-19 tests in Ningbo, China, on Dec. 8.
Residents line up for COVID-19 tests in Ningbo, China, on Dec. 8.

The Stories That Could Define China in 2022

China Brief
James Palmer
A large screen displays video of U.S. President Joe Biden (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping as people walk by during the evening CCTV news broadcast outside a shopping mall in Beijing on Nov. 16.
A large screen displays video of U.S. President Joe Biden (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping as people walk by during the evening CCTV news broadcast outside a shopping mall in Beijing on Nov. 16.

U.S.-China Relations Hit a Nadir in 2021

5 Top Reads
James Palmer
Health workers wearing PPE stand next to buses at a cordoned-off section of the international arrivals area, where arriving travelers are to be taken into quarantine, at the international airport in Wuhan on Jan. 14.
Health workers wearing PPE stand next to buses at a cordoned-off section of the international arrivals area, where arriving travelers are to be taken into quarantine, at the international airport in Wuhan on Jan. 14.

China Reckons With Omicron’s Specter

Analysis
James Palmer
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on July 1.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on July 1.

The Chinese Communist Party’s Big Year

5 Top Reads
James Palmer
A health worker takes a swab sample at a makeshift COVID-19 testing center.
A health worker takes a swab sample at a makeshift COVID-19 testing center.

How Will China Respond to the Omicron Variant?

China Brief
James Palmer
Pedestrians walk in an alleyway lined with neon signs in Macao on Jan. 22, 2020.
Pedestrians walk in an alleyway lined with neon signs in Macao on Jan. 22, 2020.

Macao’s Casino Industry Is Struggling

China Brief
James Palmer
Best-games-2021-that-explain-the-world-foreign-policy-Games
Best-games-2021-that-explain-the-world-foreign-policy-Games

5 Games That Explain The World

Review
James Palmer, Jennifer Williams
Peng Shuai of China returns a shot against Daria Kasatkina of Russia during the women's singles first round match of 2019 China Open at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing on Sept. 28, 2019.
Peng Shuai of China returns a shot against Daria Kasatkina of Russia during the women's singles first round match of 2019 China Open at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing on Sept. 28, 2019.

Peng Shuai and the CCP’s Clumsy Propaganda Effort

China Brief
James Palmer
A large screen displays U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a virtual summit outside a shopping mall in Beijing on Nov. 16.
A large screen displays U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a virtual summit outside a shopping mall in Beijing on Nov. 16.

Xi-Biden Summit Produces Few Breakthroughs

China Brief
James Palmer
Books on Chinese President Xi Jinping are seen on display at a bookstore in Beijing on Nov. 8.
Books on Chinese President Xi Jinping are seen on display at a bookstore in Beijing on Nov. 8.

How Will Xi Jinping Rewrite History?

China Brief
James Palmer
Health workers conduct COVID-19 tests on travelers exiting Yantai Railway Station in Shandong province, China, on Nov. 2.
Health workers conduct COVID-19 tests on travelers exiting Yantai Railway Station in Shandong province, China, on Nov. 2.

Can China Maintain Its Zero-COVID Policy?

China Brief
James Palmer
Workers pull a rope as a cargo ship carrying containers docks at the Lianyungang Port Container Terminal in Lianyungang, China on March 24.
Workers pull a rope as a cargo ship carrying containers docks at the Lianyungang Port Container Terminal in Lianyungang, China on March 24.

Why China’s Supply Chains Are Breaking Down

China Brief
James Palmer
Residential buildings under construction are seen in Yichang, China, on Oct. 20.
Residential buildings under construction are seen in Yichang, China, on Oct. 20.

Property Crisis Underpins China’s Economic Slowdown

China Brief
James Palmer
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends national day celebrations in Taipei on Oct. 10.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends national day celebrations in Taipei on Oct. 10.

Why China Won’t Back Off Taiwan

China Brief
James Palmer
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