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Jennifer Pak

China Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Jennifer is Marketplace’s China correspondent, based in Shanghai. She tells stories about the world’s second-biggest economy and why Americans should care about it.

She arrived in Beijing in 2006 with few journalism contacts but quickly set up her own news bureau. Her work has appeared in many news outlets, including the BBC, NPR and The Financial Times. After covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jennifer moved to Kuala Lumpur to be the BBC’s Malaysia correspondent. She reported on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and Edward Snowden’s brief escape to Hong Kong. Jennifer returned to China in 2015, based in the high-tech hub of Shenzhen, before joining Marketplace two years later.

In 2022, Jennifer, along with 25 million Shanghai residents, was locked down for over 60 days and had to scramble for food. The coverage of the pandemic she and her team produced helped earn them a Gracie and a National Headliner Award in 2023. You can see the food Jennifer was able to get during the Shanghai lockdown here and keep up with her tasty finds across China on Instagram at @jpakradio.

Episodes by Jennifer (2)

Marketplace Tech

Why there's no TikTok in China

Apr 3, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 239

U.S.-China relations are bad, but are they 'new Cold War' bad?

Jul 21, 2020
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Latest Stories (224)

What it's like to live on an average wage in Shanghai

by Jennifer Pak
Jul 18, 2019
China's official inflation is still under 3%, but residents complain that the cost of living in the financial hub of Shanghai just keeps getting higher.
Workers on a lunch break in Shanghai. According to the job site, Zhaopin, the average worker spends 20 yuan ($2.90) or less per lunch. Convenience stores like this one are one of the few places that offer cheap meals in office areas.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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On punishing schedules, China's tech workers are exhausted

by Jennifer Pak
Jul 10, 2019
China's tech sector is built on the backs of hard working employees who are often expected to work 12-hour days at a minimum. Some workers are starting to push back.
A Chinese tech firm showcases its facial recognition security equipment at the Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai June 2019. The success of these companies is partly built on the backs of workers putting in extreme overtime.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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What to expect from the meeting between Trump and China's Xi at the G-20

by Jennifer Pak
Jun 27, 2019
After brinkmanship and blunders, there's cautious optimism in China that the leaders can defuse trade tensions.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose before a sideline meeting at the 2017 G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
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The millions in China who can't afford to retire

by Jennifer Pak
Jun 19, 2019
A new pension system doesn't provide as much security.
An elderly man picking trash along Shanghai's streets for $12 a day.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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What the U.S. means when it says it wants more access to China's markets

by Jennifer Pak
Jun 11, 2019
Since the Tiananmen protests in 1989, China has allowed citizens more economic freedoms, which have benefited a lot of American brands, but there are still sectors they are heavily restricted in.
A sign directing customers to queue at the entrance of a Starbucks Roastery in Shanghai in early 2018, a few months after it opened.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace
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Economics helped spur Tiananmen Square protests

by Jennifer Pak
Jun 5, 2019
Inflation hit double digits and protesters felt good jobs were rigged in favor of people with political connections.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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Tiananmen 30 years on: What are China's youth worried about?

by Jennifer Pak
Jun 4, 2019
China's college students are not just concerned with job prospects but also how to have a more balanced life.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace
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Why China wants to stock more than 200,000 tons of pork

by Jennifer Pak
May 30, 2019
Some countries stockpile grain and petroleum. China has both, plus a national pork reserve.
A local meat market in Shanghai is dominated by pork stands. Pork is a staple in the Chinese diet and accounts for 70% of all meat consumed in China.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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Why a mystery social media account on the U.S.-China trade talks is generating buzz

by Jennifer Pak
May 28, 2019
China’s state-run media has been tight-lipped about trade talks, but a mystery social media account seems to have the inside track.
A headline on a Taoran Notes article on the U.S.-China trade talks reads: "Without sincerity, there is no point in coming for talks and nothing to talk about.” Credit: Taoran Notes/WeChat
Taoran Notes/WeChat
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China struggles to teach its savers that investments carry risks

by Jennifer Pak
May 22, 2019
Wealth management products are massively popular among the Chinese public.
A Bank of China Shanghai branch is one of the big state-owned banks that sells instruments called wealth management products, which are very popular among ordinary Chinese investors.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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