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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
An employee walks outside the headquarters of ByteDance, the firm that owns the video-sharing app TikTok, in Beijing on Aug. 5.
An employee walks outside the headquarters of ByteDance, the firm that owns the video-sharing app TikTok, in Beijing on Aug. 5.

What’s Next for TikTok?

China Brief
James Palmer
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping

U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Xinjiang’s Vast Paramilitary Settler Corps

Report
James Palmer, Robbie Gramer
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech on Communist China and the future of the free world at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on July 23, 2020 in Yorba Linda, California.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech on Communist China and the future of the free world at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on July 23, 2020 in Yorba Linda, California.

Why China Isn’t Taking Pompeo’s Bait

China Brief
James Palmer
Reenactors dressed as Greek hoplites attack Persians during an event to commemorate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon in Marathon, Greece, on Sept. 10, 2011.
Reenactors dressed as Greek hoplites attack Persians during an event to commemorate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon in Marathon, Greece, on Sept. 10, 2011.

Oh God, Not the Peloponnesian War Again

Argument
James Palmer
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Pompeo’s Strategy Depends on Beijing’s Own Paranoia

Argument
James Palmer
People attempt to speak to someone at the Chinese consulate in Houston on July 22.
People attempt to speak to someone at the Chinese consulate in Houston on July 22.

Why Did Trump Shut Down China’s Houston Consulate?

China Brief
James Palmer
Delegates applaud as China's President Xi Jinping walks past during the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 20, 2018.
Delegates applaud as China's President Xi Jinping walks past during the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 20, 2018.

In Xi’s Little Red Article, the Monotony Is the Point

Argument
James Palmer
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Rose Garden at the White House on July 14 in Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Rose Garden at the White House on July 14 in Washington.

Trump’s China Speech Wasn’t About China

China Brief
James Palmer
Protesters chant slogans and gesture during a rally against China's new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020.
Protesters chant slogans and gesture during a rally against China's new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020.

Is This the Beginning of the End for Western Tech in China?

China Brief
James Palmer
Riot police secure an area in front of a road block during a demonstration against the new national security law on July 1 in Hong Kong.
Riot police secure an area in front of a road block during a demonstration against the new national security law on July 1 in Hong Kong.

Beijing’s New Security Law Is a Warning Sign

China Brief
James Palmer
U.S. President Donald Trump, and China's Vice Premier Liu He, the country's top trade negotiator, sign a trade agreement in Washington on January 15.
U.S. President Donald Trump, and China's Vice Premier Liu He, the country's top trade negotiator, sign a trade agreement in Washington on January 15.

The Trump Administration’s Divisions Over China Are Deeper Than Ever

China Brief
James Palmer
Indian Army vehicles drive on a road near the border with China in Ladakh, northern India on June 17.
Indian Army vehicles drive on a road near the border with China in Ladakh, northern India on June 17.

Why Is China Downplaying Its Border Clash With India?

China Brief
James Palmer
Indian protesters burn a poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping along with Chinese items in response to the killing of Indian soldiers by Chinese troops, in Ahmedabad on June 16, 2020.
Indian protesters burn a poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping along with Chinese items in response to the killing of Indian soldiers by Chinese troops, in Ahmedabad on June 16, 2020.

Why Are India and China Fighting?

Explainer
James Palmer, Ravi Agrawal
Residents visit a reopened night market in Wuhan, China on June 3.
Residents visit a reopened night market in Wuhan, China on June 3.

Why Not to Trust That Early Wuhan Study

China Brief
James Palmer
A man cycles past Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the eve of the 31st anniversary of the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protests on June 3.
A man cycles past Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the eve of the 31st anniversary of the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protests on June 3.

How Is China Responding to the U.S. Protests?

China Brief
James Palmer
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