Lily Kuo, formerly the China bureau chief for The Washington Post, has joined The New York Times as its newest China correspondent, according to an announcement from Lily Kuo, Phil Pan, Doug Schorzman, and Gill Wong. Kuo brings more than a decade of reporting experience focused on China and its expanding global footprint to her new role at the Times.
Reporting on China From Outside Its Borders
Operating from her previous base in Taipei, Kuo led a reporting team covering China from the outside. According to The New York Times announcement, that assignment required ingenuity to document pivotal moments over the past five years. Her team utilized visual storytelling to cover the controversial lockdown of Shanghai, subsequent nationwide protests against strict Covid-19 measures, and official undercounts of outbreak fatalities.
Her reporting career spans multiple continents and beats. In Jamaica, according to the Times editors, she described China’s bid to control next-generation critical minerals. In Kazakhstan, she covered the Chinese government’s crackdown on Uyghurs and other minority populations. During Taiwan’s recent elections, she authored an essay examining the island’s democracy through scenes from temples, night markets, and baseball stadiums.
Previous Roles at The Guardian and Quartz
Kuo previously served as Beijing bureau chief for The Guardian. During her tenure there, she reported from China during the Covid-19 pandemic, traveling to Wuhan to interview some of the earliest known coronavirus patients. Earlier in her career, she worked for Quartz, reporting on China’s growing footprint across Africa from a base in Kenya. She also reported for Quartz from Hong Kong and worked for Reuters in New York and Washington, D.C.
A native of North Carolina, Kuo studied English literature, Spanish literature, and creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She subsequently earned a dual master’s degree in international affairs from The London School of Economics and Political Science and Peking University.
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