In remarks delivered to Chinese participants in the Cambridge Executive Leadership Program, Chas Freeman argues that 500 years of Euro-Atlantic dominance has come to an end.
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Category: China
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A new multi-nodal world is taking shape
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Who restrains power when power refuses restraint? – Message from the Editor
Across this week’s pieces on P&I, the same question keeps appearing: who or what restrains power when the powerful decide restraint is optional? (more…)
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How big is the wolf? China in the Pacific
China’s Pacific missile test deserves scrutiny, but it should be understood in the context of decades of naval development and deterrence, not treated as proof of an imminent threat.
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Australia’s new architecture in the Pacific should include China
Vulnerable Pacific Island states should have the freedom to keep their options open rather than being locked into collective defence alliances that are erroneously based on containing China. (more…)
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The Iran lesson: why the US will lose a war with China
The US war on Iran exposed weaknesses in American power. Asia-Pacific allies should rethink defence settings built around US dominance and confrontation with China. (more…)
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China’s rise demands a more serious Australian debate
Australia is right to protest China’s missile testing, but moral indignation and selective outrage are no substitute for a serious strategy on China’s growing power.
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Diversifying the critical minerals supply chain
Reducing dependence on China in the world’s critical mineral supply chain doesn’t require building a separate market. The trading system must find a balance between defence interests and the push for decarbonisation. (more…)
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What “regime change” in the US means for Australia’s engagement in Asia
US foreign policy under Trump calls for bipartisan reaffirmation of Australian values and national interests. (more…)
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China’s inheritance tax problem has a property solution
China’s vast private wealth makes inheritance tax increasingly hard to avoid. Greater security over residential land-use rights could help break the political deadlock. (more…)
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Electric vehicles are not a Chinese conspiracy
Electric vehicles will not save the planet on their own but anti-EV rhetoric conveniently ignores the problems caused by petrol and diesel vehicles. (more…)
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Summer Davos focuses on China’s standards power
A focus of Summer Davos was China’s plan to become a ‘standards maker’ that increasingly writes the rules in key technology fields. (more…)
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When the sky falls and the Chinese cars invade (again)
Australia’s media coverage of China too often collapses the distance between capability and intent, turning commercial activity and military assessments into a climate of threat that weakens rather than strengthens strategic judgment. (more…)
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US tech sanctions are making China’s tech giants stronger
In this South China Morning Post editorial, Huawei’s latest chipmaking breakthrough is presented as evidence that US technology sanctions are accelerating China’s drive for self-reliance and innovation. (more…)
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The “China threat” narrative says more about the west than China
Much western commentary portrays Xi Jinping as a revisionist strongman bent on overturning the global order. A closer reading of Chinese political thought and diplomacy suggests a more complex emphasis on multilateralism, reciprocity and long-term stability. (more…)
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Australia can’t have it both ways with China and the US forever
For two decades Australia assumed it could maintain beneficial ties with both the United States and China indefinitely. That assumption has collapsed. Work to build a greater resilience and autonomy, with our region, will take years, but that work must begin now. Nick Bisley reports. (more…)
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Why are China’s young people fed up?
Decades of misguided economic policymaking have left China in a demographic hole that it seems incapable of climbing out of. As the “world’s factory,” the country is churning out everything except the people whom it will need to sustain its economic development and social stability. (more…)
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China–India rapprochement is pragmatic
The volatile geopolitical environment has seen China and India address frictions and rebuild bilateral relations. But fundamental grievances remain. (more…)
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Middle-power diplomacy
How effectively middle powers can work together to sustain a rules-based order will depend on how they manage their different relations with the US, China and Russia. (more…)
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China on the way to being the first electro-state
China’s careful approach to ensuring its energy security is paying off, even as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz damages the global economy. (more…)
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The leader of the ‘free world’ is no longer the leader of the world
Trump’s visit to Beijing reveals how the balance of power – bilaterally and globally – has shifted to China’s advantage. (more…)
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Our intelligence services need to break free from excessive US influence
Australia is part of the white man’s intelligence network, Five Eyes. That means too much CIA input into anti-China perceptions in recent years. It also helped bring down the Whitlam government. (more…)
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Could China, Russia and the United States work together?
Observers in China detect the possibility of ‘trilateral coordination’ between China, Russia and the United States, with the US the biggest variable. (more…)
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Trump goes to Beijing: what’s in it for Australia?
The recent Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing may not have resolved major geopolitical disputes, but renewed dialogue between the United States and China represents an important step toward reducing tensions and strategic misunderstanding.
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The American mis-imagination of China
In a speech to a colloquium on John Hay’s Open Door Policy, former US diplomat Chas Freeman argues that America’s current approach to China is strategically self-defeating and increasingly detached from geopolitical reality. (more…)
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Why the next Trump-Xi summit could be in Australia’s backyard
As Washington and Beijing reshape the Indo-Pacific order through direct negotiation, Australia risks remaining strategically reactive instead of positioning itself as a trusted diplomatic bridge between the two powers. (more…)
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What does Pentagon chief Hegseth’s presence in China say about Trump’s military agenda?
Donald Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping is expected to focus heavily on military communications, Taiwan, nuclear tensions and crisis management as both sides seek to avoid dangerous escalation between the world’s two largest powers.
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As Trump visits China, Beijing is reshaping the global technology race
Donald Trump’s visit to China comes as the country’s new Five-Year Plan places technological self-reliance and frontier scientific innovation at the centre of its strategy for long-term economic and geopolitical competition.
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Trump’s China visit watched in US for signs of stability – and tangible wins
Donald Trump’s visit to China comes amid mounting tensions over trade, AI, security and the Middle East, but both Washington and Beijing appear determined to prevent the relationship sliding into deeper confrontation.
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America builds AI, China uses it to transform systems
The US continues to lead in developing AI, but risks falling behind in deploying it at scale. China, once seen primarily as a follower, is positioning itself as a leader in implementation. If this persists, the consequences will be seen in the competitiveness of national economies. (more…)
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The BYD ‘spy car’ narrative misses Australia’s real transport risk
Australian politicians, in the reasonable pursuit of fleet efficiency, have approved Chinese-made EVs for ministerial use. According to a Sky News commentator, however, these cars are not merely transport, they are “rolling microphones”. In fact, they are the vehicles that will keep moving when the next fuel shock arrives. (more…)