Richard McGregor

Senior Fellow for East Asia
Areas of expertise

China’s political system and the workings and structure of the communist party; China’s foreign relations, with an emphasis on ties with Japan, the two Koreas, and Southeast Asia; Australia’s relations with Asia.

Richard McGregor
Biography
Publications
News and media

Richard McGregor is Senior Fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, Australia’s premier foreign policy think tank, in Sydney.

Richard is a former Beijing and Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times and the author of numerous books on East Asia.

His most recent book, Xi Jinping: The Backlash, was published by Penguin Australia as a Lowy Institute Paper in August 2019. His book on Sino-Japanese relations, Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century (Penguin Books, 2017), was called “shrewd and knowing” by the Wall Street Journal and the “best book of the year” by the Literary Review in the United Kingdom. In late 2018, it won the Prime Minister of Australia’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. His book, The Party (Penguin Books, 2010), on the inner-workings of the Chinese Communist Party, was translated into seven languages and chosen by the Asia Society and Mainichi Shimbun in Japan as their book of the year.

Richard is a Senior Associate (Non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the United States. He was also a visiting scholar at the Wilson Center and George Washington University in Washington DC from 2014-2016.

For Xi, Putin’s invasion is a test run for Taiwan
Commentary
For Xi, Putin’s invasion is a test run for Taiwan
Having learned from the collapse of Soviet Union, China may yet have to send its officials back to school to learn how not to put an empire back together again. Originally…
There is an economic front line too
Commentary
There is an economic front line too
National security in Australia usually has a khaki tinge to it. But the fragility of global supply chains and potential for coercion means the economy must be recruited as well…
Australia can learn from Tokyo's smarter approach to China
Commentary
Australia can learn from Tokyo's smarter approach to China
Japan has played its Beijing cards more intelligently than Canberra. Originally published in Nikkei Asia.
Lines blurred: Chinese community organisations in Australia
Analyses
Lines blurred: Chinese community organisations in Australia
Examining the impact of Australia’s foreign interference debate and Beijing’s reach in Chinese-Australian community organisations.
Lowy Institute Conversations: Richard McGregor speaks with Desmond Shum, the author of Red Roulette
Podcasts
Lowy Institute Conversations: Richard McGregor speaks with Desmond Shum, the author of Red Roulette
In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Senior Fellow Richard McGregor speaks with Desmond Shum, the author of Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power,…
Beyond Fortress Australia
Interactives
Beyond Fortress Australia
The reality of living in a pandemic has dawned on Australia. Covid cases at the time of writing are high and still climbing. The virus is here to stay. Equally clear is that ring…
Xi's tech crackdown preserves socialism with Chinese characteristics
Commentary
Xi's tech crackdown preserves socialism with Chinese characteristics
Protecting foreign investors has never been a top priority. Originally published in Nikkei Asia Review   Richard McGregor
Xi Jinping reels in his tech titans
Commentary
Xi Jinping reels in his tech titans
Private enterprise created China’s vaunted digital economy. But Big Brother is always in charge. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.
China’s looming succession crisis
Commentary
China’s looming succession crisis
What will happen when Xi is gone? Originally published in Foreign Affairs.
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