Rob Schmitz
Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
Prior to covering Europe, Schmitz provided award-winning coverage of China for a decade, reporting on the country's economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China's impact beyond its borders took him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he's interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road (Crown/Random House 2016), a profile of individuals who live, work, and dream along a single street that runs through the heart of China's largest city. The book won several awards and has been translated into half a dozen languages. In 2018, China's government banned the Chinese version of the book after its fifth printing. The following year it was selected as a finalist for the Ryszard Kapuściński Award, Poland's most prestigious literary prize.
Schmitz has won numerous awards for his reporting on China, including two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an Education Writers Association Award. His work was also a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. His reporting in Japan — from the hardest-hit areas near the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and tsunami — was included in the publication 100 Great Stories, celebrating the centennial of Columbia University's Journalism School. In 2012, Schmitz exposed the fabrications in Mike Daisey's account of Apple's supply chain on This American Life. His report was featured in the show's "Retraction" episode. In 2011, New York's Rubin Museum of Art screened a documentary Schmitz shot in Tibetan regions of China about one of the last living Tibetans who had memorized "Gesar of Ling," an epic poem that tells of Tibet's ancient past.
From 2010 to 2016, Schmitz was the China correspondent for American Public Media's Marketplace. He's also worked as a reporter for NPR Member stations KQED, KPCC and MPR. Prior to his radio career, Schmitz lived and worked in China — first as a teacher for the Peace Corps in the 1990s, and later as a freelance print and video journalist. He also lived in Spain for two years. He speaks Mandarin and Spanish. He has a bachelor's degree in Spanish literature from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
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As Germany celebrates the 30th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall, the city has incorporated a piece of the historic relic into the landscape of the united German capital.
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Gorlitz, Germany, lost most of its population after the Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago — but now the city is on the rebound, thanks to tourism and the film industry.
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The Hoff recently sat down with NPR in Berlin and told the story of how he became a rock star there. -
It's election season in Poland, and the clear favorite is the right-wing Law and Justice party. It has overseen one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.
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The German government has described Wednesday's shooting outside a synagogue in the town of Halle as an anti-Semitic attack. Two people were killed. Police have arrested a suspect.
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Wednesday was full of violent protests in Hong Kong as protesters demanding the withdrawal of an extradition bill to China clashed with police.
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It wasn't long ago that China's central city of Chongqing was regarded as emblematic of the country's rising economic fortunes. But more recently, it's fallen on hard times.
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It's been three days since the U.S. raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China's government so far hasn't hit back, but it appears the U.S.-China trade talks have faltered.
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After months of disputes and negotiations, the Trump administration has significantly raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. U.S.-Chinese negotiators meet again to try to reach a deal.
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A delegation of Chinese negotiators is in Washington to continue talks to resolve an ongoing trade dispute with the U.S. — just as President Trump threatens higher tariffs.
