Taken 21:57 in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Probably my favourite street - lots of Uyghur bakeries and markets here. No tourists either, all locals so it has a really nice vibe to it. (Listen to the language in the background too..!)

Every accusation is a confession. For years, the West claimed Chinese scientific institutions were just political arms of the state. Now, the US is overhauling its own science funding to do exactly that. Between cutting science funding and playing political games with research, they are pushing innovators away, and places like China are well positioned to pick up the pieces.

Imagine China hosted a World Cup, the media would spin everything as propaganda but then fans visiting would be like: “travelling to different stadiums is sooo cheap and fast” “wait its ok to walk alone at night?” “why is the metro less than $1!?” “I can literally order anything to my hotel room within 20 minutes!?” would genuinely be one of the most powerful soft-power events of the century and make the fake version of China so much harder to sell.

Hahahaha America just added Alibaba and BYD to a “Chinese military companies” list trying to ban more China tech. In fact my mate in UK police told me he’s not allowed to use BYD because they reckon they are spying because of US intelligence First, note that the US does not publicly show Alibaba/BYD are owned by the Chinese army, nor do they show they are building tanks/missiles/weapons for them, they just say there are some links to 'Chinese state industrial bodies'. It's really a nothing story if its even true at all. Yet the Pentagon literally buys warfighting cloud services from Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Oracle…their military is also signing classified AI agreements with companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, Nvidia, Microsoft, AWS and Google. Yet China still buy Microsoft and Nvidia products and don’t say anything. Just insane political play to scare people against China again

Russia 2018 gave fans a FAN ID that allowed visa-free entry. Qatar 2022 used Hayya as an entry permit. China, where I live, constantly framed as “closed”, now gives visa-free access to dozens of countries and even lets Americans transit for 10 days visa-free. But the US? It still sells the world’s game, creates a “FIFA PASS” that only speeds up visa interviews but won’t let the BEST African referee (voted last year by FIFA) into the country. Even still says a valid visa does not guarantee entry. Omar Artan would have been the first Somali official at a men’s World Cup..years of merit were erased by one opaque “vetting concern” at a Miami airport with no explanation at all.

Ironic as America spent years warning that China politicises science, and now the US are doing just that. Peer reviews no longer important anymore in the US if this goes ahead which is just crazy

My god, news so big that Nature(!) just made a whole article about how the US could destroy scientific research... The US are proposing a ‘vast overhaul’ of US science funding to make it all political. Completely defeating the purpose of unbiasedness in research! It basically means political appointees would get far more control over grants. Grants could be cancelled if they no longer fit “national interest”. There would also be tighter limits on international collaboration, publication costs, and even conference attendance. Insane! For years, people said China’s weakness was that it copied, followed plans, and lacked true innovation..but as I’ve studied and researched in China, I’ve seen how much China is pouring money into strategic science, engineering, AI, chips, biotech, energy, and advanced manufacturing. This cuts free speech in the most important area - science. Big big shame.

For the 2nd time in a row, @RnaudBertrand has been voted as having the best takes on China on this app! A very huge congrats 🎉 Arnaud is a French entrepreneur who moved to China, married into a Chinese family, became deeply interested in Chinese society, turning into one of the best-known China commentators on X. He has some great posts politics, as well his life traveling all around China (in his RV!). He’s also running a company Me & Qi, which is linked to Traditional Chinese Medicine. So I think he’s absolutely worthy of winning this, giving insights on all kinds of areas on China. Hope you guys enjoyed this competition, it's purpose was for you guys to learn more about the various accounts on X about China, there's plenty of them! So, who will be able to beat Arnaud next time?

At first I thought this van was covered in ads.. then i looked closer and some guy plastered it with missing child/person posters! It includes faces, names, birth dates, last-seen locations.. “宝贝回家” = baby, come home.

Wow! After doing the same thing against Curt in the quarters, @pretentiouswhat came from behind again to get 2 votes in the last couple minutes and beat Jingjing!!! That means it will be @pretentiouswha vs @RnaudBertrand tomorrow in the final representing the best China takes on X! Any predictions?

My hardest ever exam was a PhD Statistics exam in China. All they told you were the areas it would cover: Measure Theory, Survival Analysis, Multivariate Statistics, Stochastic Processes, and Inference. That was it - you didn't have any classes or help or idea what could be covered in the exam, you just had to be a master of these topics (which were very broad) and understand all the theory and applications fully which is why you had two years to study. It's called China's "qualifying exam" and it's to decide if you're qualified to be considered for the PhD. The pass mark was 60%, luckily i got 65% or i'd have wasted two years research at that point.. so much pressure!

Wow - Pfizer today signed $10.5 billion deal with CHINA (not the US!) to to develop 12 early-stage cancer medicines. I did my PhD in China for cancer research instead of the US because of exactly this. Way more research has been developing here. But also think about what this deal means.. One of America’s most famous pharmaceutical giants is not just selling drugs to China. It is going to China to find the next generation of cancer treatments. And this is not a one-off. Chinese biotech licensing deals have exploded in value, reaching a record level last year. Global pharma companies are scouting China because their own pipelines are under pressure, their patents are expiring, and Chinese firms are producing serious oncology assets at speed.

Curt complains but VAR is having none of it! on to the next round for @pretentiouswhat who will be against @Jingjing_Li in the semis

Two very different voices talking about China. One focuses on all kinds of Chinese history, the other focuses primarily on life in Xinjiang. It’s the China X World Cup Quarter Finals! Who has the better takes? Vote below! @CarlZha (Carl) – China Takes: - You cannot understand China without the “Century of Humiliation.” - Western media coverage of China is not neutral; it often starts from a geopolitical agenda and then searches for evidence. - “China threat” narratives are often about empire losing control. - Ancient Chinese history matters because it shaped Chinese statecraft, identity and foreign-policy thinking. @Xinjiangstory (Uyghur Story) – China Takes: - Xinjiang is not just a geopolitical headline; it is a real place where people live - Uyghur culture is visible in daily life. There is no genocide. - Women in Xinjiang are not just passive figures in other people’s stories - The best way to understand Xinjiang is through real local voices, not only foreign media repo

Two of the most followed voices on China with very different lenses. It’s the China Takes World Cup Quarter Finals! Who has the better takes on China? Vote below! @RnaudBertrand (Arnaud) – China Takes: - Critics like Dikötter aren’t historians, they’re prosecutors who write to produce horror, not understanding. - China avoids military intervention not because it is passive, but because restraint itself is strategic - “Seek truth from facts” is not just CCP jargon; it is an old Chinese intellectual habit. @AndyBxxx (Andy Boreham) – China Takes: - Western “genocide in Xinjiang” narrative is a lie. - Locals in HK had 0 democracy or free speech under the British. - China has an excellent national helpline service which he once tested to change parking rules in local area.