31 May 2021
Is Southeast Asia ready for a US-China tech decoupling?
Some regional countries have sought to diversify. But this doesn’t necessarily mean choosing sides.
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26 May 2021
Myanmar is not the next Syria
Comparisons may help draw attention to the crisis, but they ignore essential differences. -
21 May 2021
Australia-China relations: More hurdles ahead
Across a range of issues, already high tensions may well increase. The public mood looks set to further sour. -
20 May 2021
Economic diplomacy: Budgeting for China and the price that matters
China isn’t mentioned nearly as much in the government’s latest budget papers, but its presence looms throughout. -
18 May 2021
A rare test of China diplomacy
Australia and New Zealand provide a case for whether it pays to be nice – or if it’s simply not worth bothering. -
14 May 2021
Russia–China: An Unholy Alliance?
There is substantial – although not complete – policy convergence on international issues. -
11 May 2021
Do Belt and Road projects provide local benefits?
The assumption that China’s overseas infrastructure projects only run on Chinese labour is in need of a reality check. -
10 May 2021
China’s innovation dilemma
Tech advances have been impressive, but constraints on business productivity and imagination are a major obstacle. -
10 May 2021
A breadcrumb trail as Europe responds to a rising China
With an EU Indo-Pacific strategy in the works, finding common ground in security and foreign policy remains a challenge. -
6 May 2021
Economic diplomacy: Patent politics and trade deal twists
President Biden moves to suspend vaccine patents, RCEP ramps up, IA-CEPA gets a lesson and US dollar reserves tank. -
5 May 2021
Authoritarians seek advantage in India’s Covid crisis
China and Russia are on a vaccine drive across South Asia to deliver on India’s fast-vanishing promises. -
4 May 2021
Pakistani Taliban turn on China
Any friend of the government in Islamabad appears to be an enemy of the terrorist group. -
4 May 2021
Australia keeps calm while China carries on
In the face of sustained coercion, Canberra has rejected the urge to seek economic revenge against Beijing. -
30 Apr 2021
China’s climate pivot could reshape the economic future
Many of the same arguments persist as international climate negotiations enter a fourth decade. But actions matter. -
29 Apr 2021
Some reflections on the “anonymous Xinjiang paper”
We should debate those we disagree with. But engagement must be based on a good faith assessment of evidence. -
29 Apr 2021
China’s leap into space
The newly launched space station has no crew as yet, but the invite list makes for plenty of speculation. -
26 Apr 2021
Bhutan: Happy days for the jab in between a strategic pinch
The rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations is a remarkable achievement for the kingdom. More tests lie ahead. -
22 Apr 2021
China drops the mask on its global ambition
Xi Jinping’s Boao Forum speech this week revealed a surprisingly status quo orientation to the international order. -
21 Apr 2021
China’s Twitter trolls make bid for vacant Trump property
“Own the libs” obnoxiousness failed, but China’s social media diplomats haven’t all got the memo. -
19 Apr 2021
America and China: Imagining the worst
A little well-crafted speculation can shake off complacency and allow people to focus on the true challenge. -
16 Apr 2021
Russia’s Asia diplomacy
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visits to Beijing, New Delhi and Islamabad showed Moscow still has clout in the region. -
15 Apr 2021
Will the Five Eyes stare down China’s economic coercion?
Trade figures suggest promises to “have Australia’s back” are yet to be matched by economic solidarity. -
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. -
14 Apr 2021
Serbia’s vaccine diplomacy: Balancing China and the West
The politics of Covid have tangled up countries across the world – but that’s not always a drawback. -
12 Apr 2021
The Quad (finally) delivers: Can it be sustained?
The future of the grouping might well be determined by China’s behaviour. -
9 Apr 2021
Economic diplomacy: Global tax, education exports and Team Australia
Levelling the field with a global minimum tax, rethinking student fee revenue, and getting APEC back in the room. -
8 Apr 2021
The big bark but small bite of China’s trade coercion
Targeted sanctions on Australian exports have affected billions in trade, but the real damage has been limited. -
2 Apr 2021
With Xinjiang cotton, Beijing is taking on the world
The latest “us-versus-them” drama shows China sees little chance of mending ties with the West, for now at least. -
1 Apr 2021
Closer Taiwan-US ties are stabilising the region, not the opposite
Displays of solidarity for Taiwan won’t contain Beijing’s ambition, but US support must factor in its thinking. -
31 Mar 2021
Washington risks an unsustainable climate policy
Tense talks between the US and China in Alaska Summit showed that collaboration on global challenges is fraught. -
15 Mar 2021
A new “concert” to govern the Indo-Pacific
For Quad leaders emphasising an “inclusive” region, there may be a ready-made example for involving China. -
12 Mar 2021
The Belt and Road, and the pandemic detour
An important book illustrates the different hopes and dreams of partners to Beijing’s big infrastructure drive. -
11 Mar 2021
Economic diplomacy: The business of coups and China’s Quad response
Companies are finding themselves torn between conscience and keeping the lights on when it comes to Myanmar. -
9 Mar 2021
Endorsing “self-reliance”, Beijing raises the geopolitical stakes
The “dual circulation” strategy announced at the National People’s Congress could shift global economics and politics. -
3 Mar 2021
The politics of being Chinese in Australia
A new Lowy Institute survey reveals a wide range of experiences and views around the Australia-China relationship. -
1 Mar 2021
Erasing memory in China’s Tibet
The Chinese Communist Party is employing familiar tactics to assert its rule. When co-opting fails, coerce or silence. -
24 Feb 2021
What are China’s leaders saying about the South China Sea?
The rhetoric weaves between cooperative and competitive, leaving the question of what – and who – to believe. -
17 Feb 2021
How China is bending the rules in the South China Sea
Beijing’s misapplication of international law in the disputed waters is more complex than it seems on the surface. -
12 Feb 2021
CCP governance comes to the South China Sea
Focusing exclusively on China’s use of coercion across the region obscures the true extent of Beijing’s ambitions. -
9 Feb 2021
India should prioritise a denial strategy in the Indian Ocean
The stand-off with China in the Himalayas has raised a broader debate about India’s strategic outlook. -
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5 Feb 2021
What does America think the rules-based order is for?
The US is in a defensive crouch rather than in an expansionary mood. But bring on debate. -
29 Jan 2021
China and the Australian far right
The Covid pandemic and anti-CCP fervour have brought together some unlikely allies. -
28 Jan 2021
How to China, from your friends in New Zealand
A trade minister goes on record going way off script. -
22 Jan 2021
Beijing’s “Wolf Warriors” score own goals
A confounding kimchi kerfuffle shows the CCP has made people at home hungry for news of China’s dominance. -
20 Jan 2021
Where in the world is Jack Ma?
Explaining the “disappearance” of China’s most charismatic businessman takes an appreciation of Xi Jinping Thought. -
19 Jan 2021
Wrong place, wrong citizenship: The tribulations of the “Two Michaels”
China’s coercion in a broader geopolitical struggle continues to hold very personal consequences. -
18 Jan 2021
Boys’ love brings edgy drama to China, and a backlash
As a genre, gay fiction has leapt from words to the screen with enormous popularity, but not beyond the censor’s reach. -
29 Dec 2020
The China challenge: Highlights of The Interpreter in 2020
From Covid cover-ups to high altitude stand-offs, Beijing was never far from the centre of controversy. -
18 Dec 2020
Washington’s warped Asia policy debate
Whoever Joe Biden puts into key positions, best they make quick studies on regional dynamics.