I write on American foreign policy and its impact, as well as on the foreign policies of other nations. I range widely under my beat, reporting on topics from espionage to economic competition to environmental crises.
I’ve focused my recent coverage on the multipolar world, authoritarian states, and wars and superpower rivalries involving the United States. I travel with the U.S. secretary of state to report on how the United States conducts diplomacy, often at pivotal moments in history. At the same time, I believe a core mission of American journalism is to hold power accountable, and that includes investigating U.S. officials and agencies.
I’ve reported for The Times for more than 25 years, focusing on international news, and have traveled to nearly 100 countries.
I believe a journalist’s greatest contribution is to be out there in the world. I’ve reported from a cruise in North Korea, a walk through the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, and the final trans-Atlantic flight of the Concorde.
I began my journalism career at The Potomac Gazette, where I covered a Maryland suburb. I joined The Times after graduate school and reported for the metro, business and sports sections before going to Iraq, where I covered the war from 2003-07, at the height of the conflict. I received a Livingston Award and was on a team of Pulitzer Prize finalists for war coverage. I then spent nearly a decade as a China correspondent and Beijing bureau chief. I’m the author of “At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China,” a book of memoir and reportage that tells the story of modern China.
I speak on global affairs on television, radio, podcasts, documentary films and panels, and I draw on my reporting for my commentary.
I believe we are lifelong students, and I seek out opportunities to broaden my perspective. I’ve been a Nieman Fellow at Harvard and done fellowships at the Belfer Center of Harvard Kennedy School and the Wilson Center in Washington. I’ve taught international reporting as a visiting professor at Princeton and at the University of California at Berkeley. I’m on the advisory board of the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
I graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. I have joint master’s degrees in journalism and international studies from U.C. Berkeley. I’ve studied Mandarin at Beijing Language and Culture University, Taiwan University and Middlebury College. I was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Alexandria, Va.
Independent journalism is my lodestar, and I abide by the standards in the Times’ Ethical Journalism Handbook. I try to approach every story with an open mind, to treat all parties fairly, and to unearth facts, which form the foundation for all Times journalism. I aim to be aware of ideas and beliefs formed over my lifetime and how those shape my perspective. I try to understand the agendas of my sources, and I protect my sources. I apply analytic judgment honed over decades of experience to my journalism.
Email: edward.wong@nytimes.com
X: @ewong
Instagram: @ewongworld
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For nearly a decade, I worked in China as a Times correspondent and bureau chief. But it wasn’t until researching for a book that I uncovered the full story of my father’s role in Communist rule.
By Edward Wong
Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was accused of making death threats against, and stealing money from, a woman with whom he was romantically involved.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev
Senior Democrats who had taken the unusual step of holding out relented to pressure from the Biden administration and allowed a multibillion-dollar sale of weapons to move ahead.
By Robert Jimison
Seeking more weapons for the war in Ukraine, the Russian president plans to return to the country on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a quarter-century.
By Choe Sang-Hun
The State Department announced the sanctions to signal to Israeli leaders that they need to rein in extremist groups that are trying to prevent aid from getting to Palestinians in the devastated strip.
By Edward Wong, Aaron Boxerman and Natan Odenheimer
The Biden administration is taking new measures aimed at stopping China from helping the Kremlin sustain its war effort against Ukraine. U.S. officials hope European nations will take similar steps.
By David E. Sanger, Alan Rappeport, Edward Wong and Ana Swanson
The system is one of the best air-defense weapons, but the United States and its allies have a limited supply.
By Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes
A cease-fire plan described by President Biden has stirred cautious optimism after nearly eight months of war in the Gaza Strip.
By Bilal Shbair, Hiba Yazbek, Adam Rasgon and Michael Levenson
A manufactured video fabricated comments by the State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller.
By Michael Crowley, Valerie Hopkins and Edward Wong
