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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)

COVID-19

Shanghai firms drift back to work but hurdles remain

by Jennifer Pak
May 4, 2022
Shanghai is allowing a small number of firms to resume operations. In a heavily locked-down environment, many of them are finding it's not that easy.
Regular COVID-19 tests are required for workers in Shanghai who receive work permits — though the process to getting there can be arduous.
Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

A look at lockdown life in Shanghai

by Sabri Ben-Achour , Jennifer Pak , Alex Schroeder , Ariana Rosas and Erika Soderstrom
Apr 22, 2022
COVID cases still number about 18,000 per day, and many people have had to make sacrifices.
View of residential units during a COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown in the Jing'an district of Shanghai on April 21, 2022.
Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
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China's zero-COVID restrictions put pressure on businesses

by Jennifer Pak
Apr 15, 2022
China’s first-quarter economic data is not likely to be rosy, given the fallout of the Ukraine war and the current COVID surge.
The Yangshan Port near Shanghai. Even goods and cargo are tested for COVID-19 under China's aggressive anti-contagion policy.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Inside Shanghai's indefinite lockdown: isolation, outcry and food shortages

by Jennifer Pak
Apr 12, 2022
Shanghai's latest citywide lockdown has left residents anxious about being separated from their children, pets and struggling to find food.
Shanghai has been mass testing its residents almost every day since the start of the month.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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COVID-19

Life inside Shanghai’s latest COVID surge

by Jennifer Pak
Mar 29, 2022
Shanghai officials boast that their strategy to snuff out the spread of COVID-19 is preferable to a city-wide lockdown. For residents living through the current wave, the effects are jarring.
Medical workers in Shanghai exit a residential building that has been sealed. Shanghai has done mass testing in this latest surge of COVID-19 cases.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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China walks a trade tightrope between Russia and the West

by Jennifer Pak
Mar 17, 2022
The Chinese government is opposed to sanctions against Russia and says it will continue to trade with it. But that is not easy in practice.
Though China relies on Russian oil, voluntary sanctions by Western companies could make it harder for China to get it. Above, a worker stands on pipes at an offshore oil in China's eastern Shandong province.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Shanghai is under COVID-19 restrictions after omicron surge

by Jennifer Pak
Mar 14, 2022
China's financial capital is not under a full lockdown, but strict anti-COVID measures still weigh on residents.
Some large foreign businesses, seeing COVID restrictions and slowing growth in China, are considering other countries like India for their future manufacturing plans.
Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
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Could China scoop up Russian goods at bargain-basement prices because of sanctions?

by Jennifer Pak
Mar 8, 2022
If fewer countries want Russian goods, supply goes up and China could, in theory, get cheaper prices. It is a whole other thing in practice.
Workers sort packages at a JD.com warehouse in Beijing in November. Items have been flying off the virtual shelves of a Russian store on the Chinese e-commerce site.
Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
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What has the U.S.-China trade war achieved?

by Jennifer Pak
Feb 25, 2022
The U.S. and China have been engaged in a trade war for nearly four years. What's the scorecard?
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Living in a bubble: China’s zero-COVID policy

by Jennifer Pak
Feb 7, 2022
The Beijing Olympics are said to be the biggest closed-loop bubble experiment ever. China has had practice with its zero-COVID policy.
Health workers wear protective suits at a Beijing coronavirus testing center on Jan. 25. China has had a strict no-COVID policy throughout the pandemic.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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