Peace in Asia?
Many predictions about Asia's future success in general, and China's in particular, have been misleadingly rosy. Our greatest conundrum is that what is happening in Asia today runs counter to our own narrative of modernization. The great worry is that Asia is moving closer to war rather than further away from it
- 25 February 2017Chinese oppression spreads, danger lurks
China is increasingly turning away from global norms and by extension is heading down a path of more insularity. China is more illiberal, more capricious, and more repressive than at any time since at least the Tiananmen Square massacre, in 1989. Danger here. Democracies in Asia and beyond should take note
- 3 May 2016China's too much of a copycat to rule the digital world
China is not a superpower of the digital world, and without fundamental political reform it never will be. It's a copycat which steals other people's ideas because it can't generate its own
- 10 April 2016U.S vs China: Showdown in the South China Sea?
The U.S. seems wary about provoking China even as it builds militarised outputs astride the world's most heavily trafficked waterways. There is a real threat here to peace in Asia, and the U.S. must not allow allies such as the Philippines to be browbeaten
- 18 November 2015Just like Japan in the 90s, China's success story is over
China is unlikely to completely collapse. Yet the Chinese success story of the past quarter-century is over, just like the Japanese miracle ended abruptly in the 1990s. And as the economy slows, domestic oppression instensifies
- 17 September 2015China needs real free market reform
Ethnic Chinese do fantastically well, when they are allowed to. Ironically, the only place where Chinese people don’t enjoy high average incomes is China. And that’s because there’s too much statist cronyism and not enough free market economics
- 29 August 2015Russia and China fuel Asia’s other ‘Great Game’
The 19th century central Asian rivalry between the British and Russian Empires was known as the Great Game. But there's a new and little remarked upon Great Game emerging between Russia and China with potentially enormous consequences for the whole of Asia
- 5 August 2015China confronts Islamist terrorism
Despite recent turmoil on the stock markets, the Chinese economy continues to grow at a breathtaking pace. Yet, its politics remain backward and oppressive. Now, it has to wake up to a threat the West is acutely aware of: the threat to it posed by militant Islam
- 16 July 2015The Chinese dream is turning into a nightmare
Investors and politicians have been whistling past the Chinese graveyard for far too long. The smarter observers were already warning that China's impressive growth record may have been to some extent fabricated. The repressive Chinese government could now be in trouble, and the world could be in for a bumpy ride
- 15 July 2015Time to reevaluate relationship with China, say U.S. analysts
The U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, underway in Washington, is worse than a waste of time, say analysts who have already warned of armed conflict between the U.S. and China. Time to get real about China
- 24 June 2015Obama weakness may result in US-China confrontation
East Asia now stands close to a precipice. China figures the US is too distracted or uninterested to care about its expansion. They may be right. But the world may pay a very heavy price for this. The prospect of armed confrontation between the US and China has just dramatically increased. Here's why...
- 7 June 2015AEI outlines new U.S. strategy for South China Sea
A leading U.S. think tank has outlined a five point strategy for the United States to deal with the growing threat of conflict in the South China Sea. Or how to stop the South China Sea becoming a Chinese lake
- 1 June 2015Three ways China and the U.S. could go to war
Beijing and Washington are each laying down redlines in the South China Sea, making the upholding of their claims a priority. In this, they are maneuvering themselves into a potential conflict. There are three real-world scenarios under which it could happen
- 23 May 2015Hong Kong: We must put principles before trade
Britain must hold true to her obligations and must not prioritise Chinese investment above our responsibilities to Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong want democracy and these seeds were sown by the British
- 3 October 2014More economic freedom, less poverty
The decline in global poverty since 1970 has been dramatic, especially in Asia where China and Hong Kong offer some vital lessons. It is data like this that blows the Left out of the water
- 24 July 2014