Four trips to China in a year have produced nervous hosts, unexpected candour and some very nice hotels – but surprisingly little evidence that talking to Chinese people is a threat to Australia. (more…)
Category: China
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Sanctions, the silent mass killer
Sanctions are sold as a peaceful alternative to war, but their effects often fall hardest on civilians – through poverty, shortages, damaged health systems and preventable deaths.
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The cars that ate the world? Message from the Editor
As I flew out of Australia on the way to China this week, the big media screens in Sydney Airport featured a Financial Review story on high rotation. The headline screamed ‘Chinese brands devour Australia’s electric vehicle market’. It was accompanied by a shady illustration – the red and yellow Chinese flag with a blacked-out human figure superimposed across the top. (more…)
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Trump-Xi summit exposes Tokyo’s vulnerability
Trump invoked Pearl Harbor with Japan, then celebrated America’s wartime alliance with China days later. The sequence exposes uncomfortable questions about Tokyo’s reliance on Washington, and Australia’s own assumptions about US security guarantees.
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An eagle for Xi, pandas for America and a changing world order
Trump gave Xi a bald eagle. Xi promised America two pandas. Behind the diplomatic symbolism sits a larger shift: China’s international standing is improving as trust in the United States declines. (more…)
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A new Washington-Beijing compact
Xi Jinping’s Washington visit was more than ceremony and trade deals. The US and China are building a more stable relationship around regular summitry, negotiated differences and mutual recognition of power. Australia needs to understand what has changed. (more…)
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The real test of the Trump–Xi summit comes after the handshakes
A Trump–Xi agreement on trade would be welcome, but lasting stability will depend on what follows: reliable implementation, open crisis channels and practical cooperation on risks neither country can manage alone. (more…)
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Chinese cars under the bed: a new and dangerous conspiracy
Chinese electric vehicles have become the focus of a new security scare, but connected cars from every country carry cybersecurity risks. Australia needs stronger protections without allowing fear of China to derail the clean energy transition. (more…)
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Trump’s instability undermines hopes for lasting US–China stability
As Trump and Xi prepare to meet in Washington, mixed signals from the US administration and unresolved strategic differences expose the fragility of efforts to stabilise relations between the two powers. (more…)
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Australia’s China policy is trapped in the rear-view mirror
While China builds influence through BRICS, the SCO and economic ties across the Global South, Australia is pouring almost $1 billion into Solomon Islands amid fears of a Chinese military presence. Australia’s China policy risks being overtaken by the regional order taking shape around it. (more…)
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BRICS builds alternatives as Washington turns up the pressure
BRICS emerged from New Delhi with plans to deepen financial and technological cooperation, as US tariffs and sanctions push the expanded bloc towards practical alternatives to Western-dominated systems. (more…)
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AUKUS, deterrence and the questions Kevin Rudd left unanswered
Kevin Rudd calls for greater Australian self-reliance while defending AUKUS and the US alliance, but key questions about sovereignty, deterrence and China remain unresolved. (more…)
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China’s clean-tech glut poses risks. But Australia can turn it to its advantage
Australia can use low-cost Chinese clean-energy technology to accelerate decarbonisation, strengthen energy security and build domestic industry without pursuing costly self-sufficiency. (more…)
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Blaming China for building better value is not a strategy
China’s manufacturing advantage cannot be explained by subsidies alone. Tariffs may offer temporary protection, but rebuilding Western industry requires investment in skills, capacity and competitiveness rather than simply blocking imports. (more…)
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Xi’s diplomatic push puts China’s global ambitions on display
As Xi Jinping travels from Central Asia to Egypt and India ahead of a planned US visit, China is promoting its vision of multilateralism, security and South-South cooperation more broadly. (more…)
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Can technology turn China’s demographic decline into an advantage?
China’s shrinking and ageing population is widely seen as an economic threat, but new research suggests labour scarcity can accelerate automation, boost productivity and sustain growth despite a smaller workforce. (more…)
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When scrutiny of China ties becomes a loyalty test
Australia has good reason to scrutinise foreign interference risks, but professional, cultural and community ties should not become proxies for divided loyalty. (more…)
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China’s AI boom is reviving Marxist economics
China’s use of AI in industrial production is reviving Marxist ideas about labour and value – and raising the possibility of an economy less dependent on capitalist accumulation. (more…)
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We want to know what China wants. Or at least we say we do
Debate over China too often treats growing military power and authoritarian rule as proof of hostile intent. Australia should prepare for risk without assuming the conclusion in advance. (more…)
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The China I was taught to fear – and the China I met
Australia should be able to scrutinise China without turning a government, a civilisation and a people into a single threatening enemy. (more…)
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Help us tell the real China story
When I represented universities, I often appeared at parliamentary inquiries. All were instructive, but there was one in late 2020 that taught me how entrenched anti-China prejudice is in Australia. (more…)
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For a new generation, the future looks like China
A generational shift is reshaping global perceptions of modernity, as young people increasingly look to China – rather than the West – for a vision of the future. (more…)
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Australia should work with China, not try to contain it
China’s growing power is reshaping the region. Australia should respond with diplomacy and stronger economic ties rather than military confrontation it cannot hope to win. (more…)
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Australia must rebuild its Asian language capability
Australia’s Asian-language capability has declined for decades, weakening our ability to understand and engage with our neighbours. Labor’s new language program may make a difference. (more…)
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Smuggled smokes and the benefits of cooperation with China
A joint crackdown on tobacco smuggling shows what Australia and China can achieve through practical cooperation – and why a relationship dominated by security fears comes at a cost.
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Trump is making China look better to the world
Across much of the world, attitudes towards China are improving as views of the United States deteriorate, with trust in American leadership, reliability and respect for freedoms all taking a hit. (more…)
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China’s EV success was built on more than government intervention
China’s rise as the world’s leading electric vehicle producer offers an interesting case study in industrial policy. Its experience shows how competition between government agencies, local governments and private capital can drive experimentation and innovation, while also creating challenges for governments seeking to support emerging industries. (more…)
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The growth of Chinese soft power, and the decline of America’s
Global opinion is shifting towards China as its technology, manufacturing and development record strengthen its appeal, while decades of war and political turmoil erode America’s standing.
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Chinese Australians a largely silent constituency in the AUKUS Debate
In this abridged submission to the public inquiry into AUKUS, Wanning Sun warns that the pact’s securitisation of China is discouraging Chinese Australians from political participation and constraining academic freedom. (more…)
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America is fencing out Chinese robots – and may be fencing itself in
Washington says its restrictions on Chinese robots are about security. But shielding US manufacturers from their strongest competitors may leave Chinese firms to gain the scale, data and global markets that determine who ultimately wins. (more…)