The 3 September military parade in Beijing, celebrating victory in World War II, is not a cause for hysterical histrionics. In Beijing, there was no equivalent to waving of the Nazi “Blood Banner” (Blutfahne) as in the intoxication of the 1934 Nuremberg rally. (more…)
Category: China
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Xi’s parade tips the diplomatic balance sheet in Asia
Beijing’s rapid military transformation and capacity to ultimately confront the US and its allies in policy and military terms was on full display recently. (more…)
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China hysteria masks Australian insecurity
The recent China panic stories raging across the Murdoch media, the Nine newspapers, the ABC and even the usually steadier Guardian are remarkable. (more…)
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Southeast Asia pragmatic on China’s rise
In China this week, the former Australian foreign minister on the global power shifts changing the world, and regional responses. (more…)
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Miners want to go green, then we hear News Corp’s ‘China!’ scream
Another week, another national security threat, cooked freshly with local ingredients, News Corp’s signature technique, a lot of aged China-threat cliché, and a hint of unprofessional typo. (more…)
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A tale of two lists: How geopolitics shaped the attendance of China’s parade
On 3 September 2025, a large-scale parade will be held in Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of what has been dubbed by Beijing the “Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War”. (more…)
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Beijing invited me to their special celebration. Here’s why I’m happy to go
When Australians at their Bakelite radios heard of China’s victory over Japan in 1945, they knew this was the triumph of an ally. World War II had started with the Rape of Nanjing in 1937 and the Chinese lost 20 million people resisting the invasion. (more…)
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I fear ignorance about China
The United States and its allies like Australia, have become terrified by the prospect of their citizens learning more about China through the exchange of ideas and people. They apparently do not trust their citizens to assess information from multiple competing sources and reach an acceptable conclusion. (more…)
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Australia is one trade deal away from backing authoritarians, says Taiwan
In the grand tradition of diplomatic overreach, Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister recently offered some sweet and spicy talking points to our media: semiconductors are tanks, China is akin to WWII Germany, and if Australia doesn’t fast-track Taiwan into the CPTPP, we might all wake up speaking Mandarin under a fascist AI regime, as reported by News Corp and 7 News. (more…)
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MAGA 2.0: Making China great again
In Donald Trump’s make-believe world prices are falling, the economy is booming, he is bringing peace all around the world, and gas costs less than US$2 a gallon. (more…)
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Managing a mature Australia-China relationship
The Australia–China bilateral relationship remains strong, despite Australian concerns about China’s commitment to a free and open rules-based trading system. Trump’s disruptive tariffs demonstrate that Australia must balance its relationship with the United States while ramping up cooperation on regional economic and trade issues with China. (more…)
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Australia and Taiwan caught between Trump and Xi’s great-man fantasies
If there was any doubt in Canberra that the traditional political alignment with the US is in turmoil, the past week or so confirms it irrefutably. (more…)
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Shared vision, greener together: China and Australia unlock opportunities in eco initiatives
On 9 April, Swatten, a subsidiary of Sieyuan Electric which is headquartered in Shanghai, China, made an appearance at Booth 58 of the Smart Energy 2025 expo in Sydney. (more…)
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Why China commemorates its WWII victory
On 3 September, China will hold a major parade at Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing to commemorate the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Global leaders will attend the event and the Chinese military will showcase its latest weapons and regiment arrangements. (more…)
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Breaking: Chilling ‘News Virus’ sweeps Australia
Chikungunya is a virus first identified in 1952 in what is now Tanzania, carried by mosquitoes, long since a globetrotter. (more…)
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China’s consumption weighed down by weak expectations
China’s economy registered a respectable GDP growth rate of 5.3% in the first half of 2025. (more…)
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Why Western hegemony is over
The tariff truce between China and the United States is set to end in August. What do you forecast will happen after that? And what will happen to trade relations between China and the US for the rest of US President Donald Trump’s second term? (more…)
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Beijing steps up as Washington steps back
US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are having two broad impacts on the global economy – they are eroding international confidence in US leadership and disrupting global supply chains, and causing rapid geographic restructuring of international trade. (more…)
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Is the ‘China threat’ real or trumped up?
In recent years, the ‘China threat’ theory has become a prominent theme in Western political discourse. (more…)
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Why every China watcher must be on WeChat
None of this is to glorify WeChat itself – it’s simply the reality of China’s digital ecosystem today. (more…)
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China is building the world’s biggest hydropower dam. Why is India worried?
China breaks ground on what Premier Li Qiang has called the “project of the century”, but some fear a water conflict and ecological effects. (more…)
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Britain’s back, China’s the target. We’ll likely pay the price again
Britain’s HMS Prince of Wales has docked in Darwin, flanked by other warships and declarations. (more…)
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How Trump’s vision of a single-minded China containment has failed
Instead of disengaging to focus on China, Trump’s America is more deeply involved in Europe’s defence and the Middle East than before. (more…)
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Temu and Shein: cheap and very nasty
A garbage truck full of textiles is dumped in landfill every second. Sixty percent of the materials used in the fashion industry comes from plastic in one form or another. The production of nylon and polyester that is used is highly energy-intensive and relies on fossil fuels in the production process. (more…)
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Australia employs ‘straddle’ diplomacy with China and the US
The approach is not doctrinal, but is about speaking frankly to both Washington and Beijing. (more…)
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How Chinese diaspora voters reshape Australian and US politics
Chinese diaspora communities in Australia and the US both face racism and loyalty suspicions under “China threat” narratives, yet their voting has diverged. (more…)
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The future of surveillance tech is already here – in the US, not China
Chinese citizens enjoy public safety in exchange for compromised privacy. In the United States, people are facing an increasingly unchecked state. (more…)
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National security ‘experts’ go ga-ga over China
There was a time when Australian writings on China were first-class. (more…)
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Albanese’s China trip shows ‘stiffening of Canberra’s spine’ in face of US pressure
Beijing rolled out the red carpet for the Australian leader this week and the two sides appeared to keep a lid on tensions. (more…)
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Australia and Japan cannot accept America’s war on China
Japan and Australia together must induce the US to face the reality of what it is asking. (more…)