Andrew S. Erickson

Through June 2017, the China Real Time Report (中国实时报) website offered pithy insights from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones reporters as well as from a team of specialized “expert contributor” commentators knowledgeable about the latest developments in such fields as Chinese law, policy, economics, and culture. It was my great honor to be a member of the latter group.

I will miss the exhilaration of working late into the night on a fast-breaking piece, and sometimes into the early morning to complete the editorial process during Beijing business hours. I will miss the eerie calm of having published new data and analysis before the rest of the Internet woke up to the story. But most of all, I will miss working closely with the succession of editors who improved my work and linked it so powerfully to their own leading-edge efforts.

If it hadn’t existed, China Real Time Report would have had to be invented. Its contents were timely, punchy, and endlessly fascinating, filling a critical vacuum in a sprawling, dynamic country where domestic media outlets are forced to pull their punches all too often. In a land of held-back media, it never held back. Its untimely closure is a major loss for anyone with even a passing interest in the latest Chinese trends, from the eminently practical to the utterly absurd.

And so, China Real Time Report will be sorely missed. Click here to read a rip-roaring commemorative farewell from editor Josh Chin, with embedded links to some of the most colorful and impactful articles. I’ve excerpted Josh’s conclusion here:

“When this site was born, China’s GDP growth was in double digits, Beijing was building toward the triumph of the Olympics and China-themed blogs were proliferating across the internet. Nine years later, China’s government is struggling to keep the economy growing above 6%, the Olympics are a fading memory and many a China blog has fallen silent.

The China story has changed, and so have the tools for telling it. Regretfully, the time has come for China Real Time to end its run. We plan to transfer the same energy and insight that animated the blog to covering China on WSJ’s other platforms, including the main English and Chinese websites. We’ll continue to use the @ChinaRealTime Twitter account to send out links to China stories, and you can follow your favorite Journal reporters and columnists and receive notifications when new articles are published by downloading the WSJ app for iOS or Android.

Finally, we plan to keep the China Real Time site online to serve as an archive so readers can continue to revisit this remarkable period in China’s history.

Thank you for reading.”

Fortunately, Josh, Jeremy Page, and the rest of the Journal’s top-caliber China team will continue to provide their usual superb coverage in the newspaper itself. Their feature articles are some of the very best in the business, and I look forward to reading them as they appear.

Over the course of five years as a China Real Time Report columnist, I had the pleasure of authoring and coauthoring 38 articles analyzing the latest Chinese security, strategic resource, and policy issues. For your convenience, they are listed and linked here:

Andrew S. Erickson, “Pentagon Report Aims to Lay Out Chinese Military Goals,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 15 May 2016.

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “The Limits of Growth: Economic Headwinds Inform China’s Latest Military Budget,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2016.

Andrew S. Erickson, “Missile March: China Parade Projects Patriotism at Home, Aims for Awe Abroad,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 3 September 2015.

Andrew S. Erickson, “Sweeping Change in China’s Military: Xi’s PLA Restructuring,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 2 September 2015.

Andrew S. Erickson, “New U.S. Security Strategy Doesn’t Go Far Enough on South China Sea,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 24 August 2015.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Stock Slump Casualty: The Myth of Chinese Exceptionalism,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 6 July 2015. 

Andrew S. Erickson, “Clear Strengths, Fuzzy Weaknesses In China’s Massive Military Build-Up,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 9 May 2015.

Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “Meet the Chinese Maritime Militia Waging a ‘People’s War at Sea’,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 31 March 2015.

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “China’s Military Spending Swells Again Despite Domestic Headwinds,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2015.

Andrew S. Erickson and Emily de La Bruyere, “Going Maverick: Lessons from China’s Buzzing of a U.S. Navy Aircraft,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal,  25 August 2014.

Andrew S. Erickson and Emily de La Bruyere, “Crashing Its Own Party: China’s Unusual Decision to Spy on Joint Naval Exercises,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 19 July 2014.

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “Full Steam Ahead: China’s Ever-Increasing Military Budget,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2014.

Andrew Erickson and William McCahill, “Take Heed of China’s Security Commission,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 31 January 2014.

Andrew S. Erickson, “Watch This Space: China’s New Air Defense Zone,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 25 November 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson, “Risks for U.S. in Asia with Shut-Down Soap Opera,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 1 October 2013.

Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “How Obama and Xi Can Avoid California Dreaming,”China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 7 June 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson, “Unpacking the Riches of the Pentagon’s China Report,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 7 May 2013.

Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “March: China’s Month of Mistakes,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 12 April 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “New Fleet on the Block: China’s Coast Guard Comes Together,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 11 March 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Military Budget Bump: What it Means,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “The Y-20: China Aviation Milestone Means New Power Projection,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 28 January 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Eye on China: 10 Key Trends to Watch in the Year of the Snake,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 4 January 2013.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China Aircraft Carrier Style! Assessing the First Takeoff and Landing,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 27 November 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Taking Off: Implications of China’s Second Stealth Fighter Test Flight,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 3 November 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Delicate Touch: Flight Operations Begin on China’s First Aircraft Carrier,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 17 October 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “New Destroyer a Significant Development for Chinese Sea Power,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 8 October 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Introducing the ‘Liaoning’: China’s New Aircraft Carrier and What it Means,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 25 September 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Double Vision: Making Sense of China’s Second ‘Stealth’ Fighter Prototype,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 18 September 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Geography Rules: Why Mongolia’s China Mining Strategy is a Mistake,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 6 September 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China’s Ballistic Missiles: A Force to be Reckoned With,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 24 August 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Like it or Not: State Oil Company Becomes ‘Flag’ in South China Sea,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 7 June 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Is China About to Get Its Military Jet Engine Program Off the Ground?” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 14 May 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Defense Spending Dilemma,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Benefits for China in New East African Resource Rush,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 2 March 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China’s New Challenge: Protecting Its Citizens Abroad,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 10 February 2012.

Gabe Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Traders Poised to Profit From Iran Oil Embargo,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 26 January 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Year of The Water Dragon: 12 Chinese Maritime Developments to Look for in 2012,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 23 January 2012.

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China’s New Strategic Target: Arctic Minerals,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 18 January 2012.