❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

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.

Latest Stories (223)

China lacks psychologists, so businesses fill the mental health care gap

Nov 22, 2021
One entrepreneur is placing her bets on a paid online listening service for women.
In China, online and app-based companionship services have cropped up to address isolation. Above, a man sits alone on his cellphone in Beijing.
Courtesy Shanghai 808 Studio

Cutting emissions means costs and opportunities for China's businesses

Nov 3, 2021
The country is criticized for doing too little, too slowly, but efforts are already having an impact.
The rapid construction in Luoyang city and other urban centers across China is partly the reason the country is the world's biggest carbon emitter.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

Evergrande investors in China are worried but holding on

Oct 26, 2021
Evergrande is among the three biggest property developers in China and it seems to have the backing of the Chinese communist party.
Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin overlooking China's communist party 100th birthday celebrations on Beijing's Tiananmen square. This photo was widely circulated in China's business press and boosted the perception that Evergrande is too big to fail.
Screenshot of Sina

American ESL teachers are in limbo after shift in China's tutoring policy

Oct 12, 2021
Teachers at one company that's still in business are dealing with financial uncertainty and the thought of lost connections with children.
ESL teacher Kristen Peele during a VIPKid lesson with a student in China. She depends on the income to support her three children.
Courtesy Kristen Peele

What's behind China's power cuts?

Oct 5, 2021
China has more than enough coal underground to service the country's needs.
There are more than 50 cap and trade programs across the world to address carbon emissions.
Kevin Frayer via Getty Images

Evergrande crisis hits China's investors, homebuyers

Sep 23, 2021
The Chinese property giant Evergrande was known as a risky business operator, but for years investors didn't seem to care — until now.
Evergrande could manage its debt while real estate values climbed, but in many places sales have weakened and regulators have made it harder for developers to borrow.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Mall economics: How to get consumers in China to shop in stores

Sep 22, 2021
More people are purchasing online but one mall in Shanghai is able to pull young consumers back into stores.
Yolanda Yu (left) and Yilina Li are willing to take a trip to TX Huaihai mall just for a particular bubble tea brand that appeared in singer Jay Chou's music video.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Can well-off young women save China's economic recovery?

Sep 13, 2021
Women drive the bulk of household purchasing decisions in China. What do they want to spend their money on?
Finance major Zhou Hui, 19, spends up to $700 a month on clothing and eating out, which the COVID-19 pandemic didn't change.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

The future of the Hollywood-China romance

Aug 27, 2021
Despite restrictions on imported films in China, Hollywood movies easily topped the Chinese box office for more than two decades. Not anymore.
The Chinese blockbuster "Detective Chinatown 2" was filmed in New York. Movies made in China and other countries have become very competitive with Hollywood offerings in the Chinese market.
Courtesy Mtime

Is China’s multibillion-dollar tutoring industry coming to an end?

Aug 16, 2021
Top Chinese education stocks dipped by 70% within hours last month. But what does it feel like on the ground in China?
The hit Chinese TV series "A Love for Dilemma" focuses on the senseless education rat race in China, driven in part by tutoring schools.
"A Love for Dilemma"