"China Girl" was written by Bowie and Iggy Pop in 1976, first appearing on Pop's 1977 debut solo album "The Idiot", which Bowie himself produced. Buckley calls Bowie's version an "ultra-cool reading" of Pop's original. For his version, Bowie adding backing vocals while Rodgers composed the guitar riff. O'Leary writes that Bowie's vocal is more "playful" than Pop's, with the music itself exhibiting "Asian" qualities. BBC Online reviewer David Quantick acknowledged the effect of Rodgers production on the song, arguing that "nobody but Rodgers could have taken a song like 'China Girl', with its paranoid references to 'visions of swastikas', and turned it into a sweet, romantic hit single". Pegg calls Bowie's rendition "a tremendously effective slice of hardcore pop", noting that the lyrics reflect the album's overarching themes of "cultural identity" and "desperate love".