China
Think-tanked
As a China-watching think tank winds up after Morrison-era cuts, a respected analyst reviews government funding for security-related research and education. One Sunday morning nearly four years ago Kevin McCann was surprised to learn that an organisation he chaired was being hounded in the News Corp tabloids for being in “China’s grip” and “lobbying against Continue reading »
ASPI chief takes exception to being singled out by China
The director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a lobby group for big tech and foreign agencies, claims that China’s alleged targeting of the agency “should be of concern to all Australians”. In an op-ed written for the Canberra Times, Justin Bassi said the “revelation” of a foreign government taking aim at an Australian institution “should be Continue reading »
China was never an imperialist state
During its long history, Chinese dynasties were as often the victims of outside aggression as they were invaders of foreign land. Was China ever an imperialist state? There was in the past few weeks a lively debate between two scholars about precisely this question in Pearls and Irritations (P&I), the Australian current affairs online journal, Continue reading »
What does China’s electric vehicle rise mean for the global market?
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi recently unveiled its first electric vehicle (EV), the SU7, igniting a spark of excitement. At the launch event, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Lei Jun, whose vision includes creating “a dream car on a par with Porsche and Tesla,” said that from design to batteries, intelligent driving to cockpit controls, the SU7 Continue reading »
No substitute for US exceptionalism: Manifest destiny made manifest
Manifest Destiny, now more commonly called American Exceptionalism is a traditional and widespread view in the US. American views of its relationship with the world vary from isolationism to leadership, but the underlying base is always that the US is something special. While some may be more subtle than others, how many Americans could accept Continue reading »
Knowledge and understanding deficit: The dire state of China Studies
Disgraceful gaps have emerged in our knowledge and understanding of Asian countries. This capability is essential to successful navigation of the future, as Peter Varghese and Joseph Lo Bianco have noted. Whether it is seen as a threat or an opportunity, in recent years China has dominated the rhetoric of politicians and commentators. The shouting Continue reading »
The notion of China as “uninvestable” is simply wrong
Despite challenges, including the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and structural concerns, voices from within the business community underscore a robust economic outlook. Having lived in Beijing, China’s capital, for more than 10 years, it does not surprise me to see people hurry to work with cups of Starbucks coffee. The coffee-drinking culture has Continue reading »
Shielding the dollar by bashing China
Ian Bremner argues convincingly that the American Dollar remains embedded as the global reserve currency since: “you can’t replace something with nothing”. Nevertheless, intensifying US misuse and abuse of the dollar’s standing has expanded the worldwide search for one or more “alternative somethings”. Now an intriguing argument has been advanced that a central reason Western Continue reading »
Western misinformation and the so-called Xinjiang genocide
The UN Human Rights Report of August 31, 2022 says what’s happening in Xinjiang constitutes “crimes against humanity”. In plain English, this is saying it is not genocide under the UN Genocide Convention. It confirms an earlier Amnesty International report in 2021 to the same effect. Both are clear implicit rejections of unsubstantiated genocide claims. Continue reading »
Janet Yellen came – China was polite
Janet Yellen came, she pontificated and postulated, ate some nice Chinese food, drank a beer with Nicholas Burns, a man that Chinese people loathe and hold little respect for; then she left. This tells the world all about her trip, what she ate and drank was more important than what she said and did. It Continue reading »