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

Follow James Palmer:
On Bluesky
Articles by James Palmer
People line up at COVID-19 testing site at a shopping complex in Beijing on May 4.
People line up at COVID-19 testing site at a shopping complex in Beijing on May 4.

Can China Manage the Economic Side Effects of Lockdowns?

China Brief
James Palmer
Health workers wear protective suits as they wait to register office workers for COVID-19 tests in Beijing on April 27.
Health workers wear protective suits as they wait to register office workers for COVID-19 tests in Beijing on April 27.

Who Profits From China’s Zero-COVID Strategy?

China Brief
James Palmer
A community volunteer checks out vegetables to be distributed to residents in a compound during a lockdown in Pudong district, Shanghai, China, on April 12.
A community volunteer checks out vegetables to be distributed to residents in a compound during a lockdown in Pudong district, Shanghai, China, on April 12.

Lockdowns Expose China’s Dysfunctional Trucking Industry

China Brief
James Palmer
A woman shelters from the rain during a lockdown in Shanghai on April 13.
A woman shelters from the rain during a lockdown in Shanghai on April 13.

China’s Lockdowns Take Economic Toll

China Brief
James Palmer
A resident sits on a rooftop of a building in the Jing'an district of Shanghai on April 6.
A resident sits on a rooftop of a building in the Jing'an district of Shanghai on April 6.

Shanghai Households Are Running Out of Food

China Brief
James Palmer
A worker wearing a protective gear walks next to barriers that separate a neighborhood under lockdown from the street in Shanghai on March 30.
A worker wearing a protective gear walks next to barriers that separate a neighborhood under lockdown from the street in Shanghai on March 30.

Shanghai Enters Full Lockdown

China Brief
James Palmer
Rescuers for the flight recorder at a plane crash site in Guangxi, China, on March 22.
Rescuers for the flight recorder at a plane crash site in Guangxi, China, on March 22.

Plane Crash in China Raises Puzzling Questions

China Brief
James Palmer
A health worker gets a swab sample from a woman to be tested for COVID-19 in Beijing on March 16.
A health worker gets a swab sample from a woman to be tested for COVID-19 in Beijing on March 16.

China Confronts Looming COVID-19 Crisis

China Brief
James Palmer
Chinese President Xi Jinping drinks a cup of water during the second plenary session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 8.
Chinese President Xi Jinping drinks a cup of water during the second plenary session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 8.

Russia’s Isolation Spurs Rethink in China

China Brief
James Palmer
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying gestures during the daily press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Feb. 24.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying gestures during the daily press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Feb. 24.

Did Russia Catch China Off Guard in Ukraine?

China Brief
James Palmer
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their meeting in Beijing on Feb. 4.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their meeting in Beijing on Feb. 4.

China’s Murky Position on Ukraine

China Brief
James Palmer
Eileen Gu celebrates with her gold medal during the women's freestyle big air medal ceremony during the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing on Feb. 8.
Eileen Gu celebrates with her gold medal during the women's freestyle big air medal ceremony during the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing on Feb. 8.

Eileen Gu and the Chimerican Dream

China Brief
James Palmer
Guests applaud people on stage at a show held as part of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Torch Relay in Beijing on Feb. 2.
Guests applaud people on stage at a show held as part of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Torch Relay in Beijing on Feb. 2.

Beijing Locals Shrug as Winter Olympics Begin

China Brief
James Palmer
A migrant worker crosses a road after arriving on a long distance bus in Beijing on March 10, 2021.
A migrant worker crosses a road after arriving on a long distance bus in Beijing on March 10, 2021.

How Beijing’s COVID-19 Outbreak Exposes Urban Poverty

China Brief
James Palmer
Security guards stand inside a fenced area that is part of the closed loop bubble for people taking part in the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing on Jan. 19.
Security guards stand inside a fenced area that is part of the closed loop bubble for people taking part in the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing on Jan. 19.

The Omicron Variant Arrives in Beijing

China Brief
James Palmer
Load more by James Palmer Return to staff list

Latest

See All Stories

Trending

  1. 1
    How to Navigate Trump's Trade War
  2. 2
    Why Everyone in Washington Is a ‘Realist’ Now
  3. 3
    Trump’s State Department Reforms Are Necessary
  4. 4
    What Was the Tipping Point on Gaza?
  5. 5
    The Political Giant the West Forgot