Hongqiao Liu

Hongqiao Liu is an award-winning journalist and independent consultant who has been tracking China's environmental crisis and decarbonization since 2010. 

Born and raised in China, Hongqiao started her journalism career at Southern Metropolis Daily and Caixin Media, where she published a series of award-winning investigations that have greatly contributed to the environmental movements for cleaner air, water, and soil. 

Transitioning from journalism in 2014, she worked with dozens of influential international media, thinktank and civil society organisations to address the environmental, energy, and climate challenges arising from China's emergence. 

Following China's unprecedented climate pledge, she resumed journalism in 2021 and helped the renowned climate website Carbon Brief to launch a China desk. A year later, she created the Shuang Tan newsletter, a prototype of Shuang Tan Lab – a policy intelligence start-up aimed at fostering informed decision-making about the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter. 

Hongqiao is a two-time TED speaker, a Raisina Young Fellow, and has been recognised by Vox as a "visionary change agent". 

She is an alumna of Sciences Po Paris and her academic interests range from politics and public policy to social innovation. Based in Paris, she speaks Mandarin, English and French. 

Project topic: The future of independent journalism? Examining the proliferation of China Substacks 

Sponsor: TRF