The Chinese folk saying ‘lift a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet’, or its English equivalent, ‘to shoot oneself in the foot’, perfectly describes the self-defeating inclinations of dictatorship. And nothing exemplifies …
Articles by: "Minxin Pei"
On 1 October, to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech that unreservedly celebrates the Chinese Communist Party’s record since 1949. But, despite Xi’s apparent …
The crisis in Hong Kong appears to be careening towards a devastating climax. With China’s government now using rhetoric reminiscent of that which preceded the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters—and, …
Of all the changes in US foreign policy that President Donald Trump’s administration has made, the most consequential is the adoption of a confrontational stance towards China. Replacing a decades-old policy of engagement, Trump’s approach …
The world has been riveted by the protests raging in Hong Kong against the city government’s proposed law to allow the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. About one million people—roughly one-seventh of the …
China’s progress towards an open society ended when the People’s Liberation Army slaughtered at least hundreds, if not thousands, of peaceful demonstrators in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on 3-4 June 1989. The crackdown left …
Late last month at a security forum in Washington DC, Kiron Skinner, director of policy planning for the US Department of State, described today’s US–China conflict as ‘a fight with a really different civilization and …
Lou Jiwei may not be a household name in the West, but the former Chinese finance minister is well known and highly respected among financiers and economic policymakers. Yet, earlier this month, China’s government announced …
It’s convenient to call the escalating geopolitical contest between the United States and China a ‘new cold war’. But that description should not be allowed to obscure the obvious, though not yet sufficiently understood, reality …
As Chinese and American trade negotiators meet in Washington to try to forge an accord on trade, observers are largely focused on the countries’ economic disagreements, such as over China’s subsidies to its state-owned enterprises. …
The unfolding geopolitical contest between China and the United States has been described by many as a new cold war. If it ever becomes a hot one, the flashpoint could be Taiwan, owing in large …
Since the Cold War ended, the West has invested huge amounts of resources in efforts to induce political liberalisation in China, including through programs to promote the rule of law, civil society, transparency and government …