I don’t know whether US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and their foreign policy advisers have read Robert Axelrod’s classic book on international relations, The evolution of cooperation. But they should heed Axelrod’s …
The Chinese government’s newly launched antitrust probe into Alibaba is probably warranted. The e-commerce giant undoubtedly has a dominant market share and engages in monopolistic practices, such as forcing merchants to make the company their …
Can US President-elect Joe Biden walk and chew gum at the same time? If walking is managing domestic pressures and chewing gum is pursuing a balanced foreign policy, the answer is far from clear. The …
Devising an effective strategy to compete, cooperate and coexist with China will be one of US President-elect Joe Biden’s toughest foreign policy challenges. And over the next two months, Sino-American relations are almost certain to …
For China, at least, US President Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving. His calamitous response to the Covid-19 pandemic has made China, whose government mishandled the initial outbreak in January, look like …
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s unexpected resignation last month for health reasons has raised many questions about the legacy of the country’s longest-serving premier. One of them is whether his successor, Yoshihide Suga, will be …
‘Decoupling’ is central to the geopolitical duel between the United States and China. Conceived and promoted by hawks in US President Donald Trump’s administration, this strategy has now become America’s principal tool to weaken Chinese …
The United Kingdom’s decision to ban Huawei from its 5G networks has dealt a painful blow to China. Until recently, Beijing was still counting on the UK government to stick to its earlier decision to …
Some of the Chinese government’s recent policies seem to make little practical sense and the decision to impose its national security law on Hong Kong is a prime example. The law’s rushed enactment by China’s …
Chinese diplomats have long had a reputation as well-trained, colourless and cautious professionals who pursue their missions doggedly without attracting much unfavourable attention. But a new crop of younger diplomats are ditching established diplomatic norms …
China’s decision to crack down on Hong Kong with a new security law has shocked the world. But to those who read the resolution issued last November by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist …
Having already claimed more than 227,000 lives and sent the global economy towards its deepest slump since the Great Depression, the Covid-19 crisis is bound to reshape geopolitics. While the contours of the post-pandemic order …