28 Aug 2024
The geopolitical ripple effect of Asia’s ageing population
Economies, cultures and foreign policy objectives are set to evolve with the region’s shifting demographics.
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1 Jul 2024
China’s spluttering growth engines
The distortions of Beijing’s unbalanced growth model are coming home to roost. -
13 May 2024
Made in Australia meets China’s export juggernaut
China’s irrepressible appetite for Australian resources will severely complicate the country’s manufacturing renaissance. -
28 Mar 2024
Mind the gap: China’s megaproject promises fall short of reality in Southeast Asia
Debt, delay and deteriorating ties between China and its infrastructure partners have led some to go it alone. -
15 Mar 2024
Shipping and the great shrinking waterways
With droughts a more regular feature due to climate change, the globe needs a big rethink on supply chains. -
11 Dec 2023
Don’t let China veto Australia’s ties with Taiwan
Canberra should not let increased trade and political engagement with Taipei be held hostage to Beijing’s sensitivities. -
26 Oct 2023
Beijing’s interest in the Middle Corridor
An economic gateway through Central Asia could provide China a much less messy trade route to Europe. -
18 Oct 2023
Australia must play the geoeconomics game, or risk being side-lined
The world is moving away from a rules-based order and towards power politics. Is Canberra ready? -
21 Sep 2023
China does not need currency manipulation to boost its exports
A weak economy will itself increase China’s export competitiveness. -
7 Sep 2023
Is China finally getting serious about hukou reform?
Unless China’s millions of migrant workers gain broader rights, “common prosperity” might turn out to be rhetorical. -
6 Sep 2023
China’s troubles may well get worse before they get better
There is no straightforward path to escape weak demand and the financial risks from the ongoing real estate bust. -
18 Aug 2023
China’s slowdown is nothing to celebrate
The heady rates of economic growth were always going to fall – but is boom time over for commodities? -
31 Jul 2023
Berlin’s economic “de-risking” model could be Europe's answer to the Taiwan question
Germany's aim is not to “decouple” from China, but to reduce its exposure to risk. And the potential winner is Taipei. -
26 Jul 2023
A return to old-school mercantilism?
Suspicion and economic competition are forcing states back in time, with protectionism and self-sufficiency the new norm. -
8 Jun 2023
Economic diplomacy: Duelling D-words to delineate China
Australia seems to be treading carefully around the G7’s agreement to de-risk dependence on the region’s biggest economy. -
15 May 2023
Foreign policy China-style: beyond protocol and alcohol
Southeast Asian nations are realising that forming balancing coalitions will be their best bet in dealing with Beijing. -
8 Feb 2023
China’s growth prospects after zero-Covid
A strong initial rebound perhaps but held back by major downward pressures. -
12 Oct 2022
Xi Jinping: when enough is too much
Worried about the rise of China? Maybe you should be rooting for another five-year term from the supreme leader. -
29 Sep 2022
Water scarcity challenges China’s development model
With its industry and agriculture reliant on diminishing H2O, a crisis looms for the world’s most populous country. -
26 Jul 2022
Under pressure: Chinese international graduates in a new China
Uncertainly about Covid, high unemployment rates and shifting workforce expectations challenge China’s youth in 2022. -
31 Jan 2022
China’s “common prosperity” is a Catch-22
A phenomenal housing glut in the Chinese market is eroding the country’s productivity and economic future. -
14 Jan 2022
Whoever controls the spice, controls the universe
From missile guidance systems to electric car batteries, China’s domination of rare earths has global implications. -
28 Dec 2021
China’s economic punishment – Best of The Interpreter 2021
Beijing sought to make Australia pay as a diplomatic freeze deepened. But the sanction didn’t entirely go to plan. -
16 Dec 2021
Common prosperity meets the Belt and Road
Xi’s emphasis on the “real-economy” could also engender a qualitative shift in the types of investments Beijing makes. -
17 Nov 2021
China’s digital currency: Next stop, Africa?
Beijing’s new electronic payment system has major implications for the global economy. -
22 Oct 2021
China’s economic sanctions made Australia more confident
Greed hasn’t left Canberra cowering in the face of Beijing’s attempted punishment. -
23 Sep 2021
Can the China model be accommodated in the CPTPP?
A rules-based trading system is the bare minimum that Beijing must agree to if it wants to talk accession. -
8 Sep 2021
China’s digital currency takes shape
A new central bank system to control the flow and exchange of money dovetails into Beijing’s big tech crackdown. -
25 Aug 2021
China puts its golden goose on notice
Beijing’s recent crackdown on tech and tutoring giants points to a grand scheme of state re-building. -
23 Jul 2021
China’s numbers game harms us all
As Beijing attempts to tackle some shared world problems, its opaque regime means the benefits are limited. -
21 Jun 2021
The battle for Africa
A US-led coalition of Western democracies versus a China-led circle of developing friends. -
10 May 2021
China’s innovation dilemma
Tech advances have been impressive, but constraints on business productivity and imagination are a major obstacle. -
15 Apr 2021
Has China given up on state-owned enterprise reform?
Rather than allowing the private sector more space, Beijing wants a tool for the implementation of government policy. -
6 Nov 2020
China’s problematic lending comes home to roost
Pressure is mounting for China to join international debt-management initiatives. -
5 Nov 2020
Economic diplomacy: A headless WTO, selling the Asian farm
The US blocks a consensus candidate at WTO, Australian businesses offloading in Asia and the Ant float banned. -
9 Sep 2020
Debunking the myth of China’s “debt-trap diplomacy”
Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence. -
7 Jul 2020
The economics of national security in Hong Kong
China’s new Hong Kong legislation shows how national security has become a part of the state’s economic arsenal. -
25 Jun 2020
Book review: What’s holding China’s economy back?
The CCP’s discriminatory hukou system is a great obstacle to changing from world’s factory to a service-driven economy. -
5 May 2020
The prospects for China’s post–Covid-19 economy
Big questions loom around how China can jump-start growth after the coronavirus crisis and the US trade war. -
14 Feb 2020
Domestic vulnerabilities lie behind China’s aggressive expansion
As it props up state-owned enterprises to counter slow domestic growth, China could find itself increasingly exposed. -
21 Jan 2020
Reports of China’s economic death are greatly exaggerated
No-one denies a transition from poverty to riches is littered with traps and dead ends – but nor is failure inevitable. -
31 Oct 2019
China, a low-productivity superpower
A shift from agriculture to industrial work can mask challenges to China’s growth, especially in the services sector. -
12 Sep 2019
Economic diplomacy: Indonesian trade, ADB v BRI and Chinese money
Indonesia’s economic growth might not be spectacular, but it is the world’s most stable – and that helps Australia. -
15 Aug 2019
Economic diplomacy: China dependency and a notable departure
Australia seems set to end this year about twice as dependent on China for its two-way trade than on the United States. -
5 Aug 2019
Balancing act: China’s nationalist consumer boycotts
Outbursts of patriotic consumer outrage has become an increasing risk for foreign businesses in China. -
2 Jul 2019
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, from the inside looking out
To understand the goals of China’s flagship program means also considering the perspective of state-owned enterprises. -
28 Jun 2019
China’s financial risk and lessons from the Baoshang Bank collapse
This incident has dented the Chinese government’s claim to be in control and the financial danger zone is approaching. -
23 Jan 2019
2019: a rough road ahead for Xi
The fortunes of China’s president have quickly soured, with economic troubles at home and pressure abroad. -
17 Jan 2019
Why China’s financial system remains closed
Large scale liberalisation of a financial system created by a decade-long credit binge would be reckless. -
16 Nov 2018
US versus China: the economic model
Donald Trump might be a Republican, but not of the Ronald Reagan ilk, and it shows in his approach to China.