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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China economy

Opinion | As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

China was an unmatched power in the Song and Ming dynasties, with greater concentrated authority. But it consolidated, rather than colonised.

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | What to expect from Chinese stocks in 2026

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China society

Opinion | Key lessons from China’s ascent over the past 25 years

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China economy

Opinion | How China’s home-grown luxury labels took on Western brands

Chinese brands are gaining ground at home and worldwide as domestic consumers increasingly turn to labels with Chinese imagery and values.

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People walk past Christmas decorations outside a store of Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex along a shopping street in Beijing on December 15. Photo: AFP
People walk past Christmas decorations outside a store of Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex along a shopping street in Beijing on December 15. Photo: AFP
Myanmar

As I see it | Why China is Myanmar’s only real hope

A general election won’t end the country’s brutal civil war, but regional coordination by key neighbouring countries without Western interference might.

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China food security

Opinion | Be a potato: the lesson of the resilient staple resonates as 2026 approaches

A decade on, the humble tuber’s public adoption remains an elusive goal for China’s planners and yet it offers a lesson for uncertain times.

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War and conflict

Opinion | If Trump wants a deal with China, he must rein in US allies in Asia

From Manila to Tokyo, domestic political dynamics are increasing the risks of a dangerous confrontation between Washington and Beijing.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Rise of China’s open source platforms will finally burst the AI bubble

Even if open source models aren’t as good as their proprietary rivals, they will still win in the marketplace as long as they can do the job.

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Banking & finance

Opinion | To harness crypto ingenuity, financial threat must first be neutralised

Future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose, not by rent seeking and speculative bubbles.

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Why Wall Street remains bullish on China amid economic slowdown

Just because fund managers were too bearish on China doesn’t mean their concerns were misplaced – economic fundamentals matter.

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People walk across a bridge with a display showing the latest stock exchange and economic data in Shanghai, on November 28. Photo: EPA
Diplomacy

Opinion | Seoul holds the key to US-North Korea denuclearisation talks

South Korea is taking steps to cool tensions – from moving to opening joint military drills to consultations to easing up on immediate denuclearisation demands.

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President Donald Trump with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a dinner event in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 29. Photo: AP
President Donald Trump with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a dinner event in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 29. Photo: AP
Climate change

As I see it | China is now the good guy in climate change

The US is playing down global warming and pushing its oil and gas on the world while China is helping others to adopt renewables.

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US-China relations

Opinion | US and China must get serious about AI risk

It would be irresponsible for Washington and Beijing to race ahead without engaging each other on the dangers – or the immense opportunities – AI presents.

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Technology

Opinion | Forget the US dollar. Watch water and energy resources instead

In our increasingly hi-tech-based economy and financial systems, energy and water resources will be macroeconomically critical.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China economy

Opinion | Why China has moved to curb steel exports

China’s pivot to emerging markets has kept its export machine running. But frictions are growing and steel is the most visible flashpoint.

A worker stacks steel products meant for the export market at a factory in Binzhou, Shandong province, China on April 15. Photo: AFP
A worker stacks steel products meant for the export market at a factory in Binzhou, Shandong province, China on April 15. Photo: AFP
China economy

Opinion | Arguing about China’s overcapacity overlooks its drive for clean energy

What is often described as overcapacity is the outcome of a development strategy that treats energy as the foundation of economic capability.

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China property

Opinion | China’s property market isn’t so much collapsing as being reconfigured

Viewing China’s real estate crisis solely through the lens of market indicators misses the deeper, structural shifts at play.

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Japan

Macroscope | Japan’s economic security push heralds rising protectionism in Asia

The emphasis on securing supply chains and stockpiling critical resources is no substitute for free and open trade and investment.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures as US President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of US Navy personnel on board the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, on October 28. Photo: AFP
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures as US President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of US Navy personnel on board the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, on October 28. Photo: AFP
Taiwan

Opinion | Taiwan intervention may just spell the end of the West

Mutual economic destruction or worse for China and the West should be enough to deter everyone from internationalising the Taiwan question.

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China economy

Opinion | Protection of vulnerable workers must be part of China’s AI strategy

Unemployment and underemployment are a double whammy that the Chinese leadership cannot ignore.

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China economy

Opinion | Why China is cracking down on ‘involution’

Involution is a structural phenomenon with both domestic and global implications that China’s leaders are dedicated to addressing.

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An employee stands next to solar modules at a solar energy technology company in Huaian, in China’s Jiangsu province, on December 17. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

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A woman walks past the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Britain, on November 20. Photo: EPA
A woman walks past the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Britain, on November 20. Photo: EPA
US-China relations

Opinion | Mark 2025. It’s the year China became a peer power to America

China not only forced a trade war backdown, it displayed its hi-tech military might from the waters off Australia to the skies near Japan.

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China society

Opinion | How young Chinese learned to stop worrying and love themselves

Amid disillusionment and a stagnant economy, China’s young people are taking the initiative to embrace self-compassion and treat themselves well.

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European Union

Opinion | A complicated new EU-China showdown is quietly taking shape

For now, both sides still need each other and there is nowhere else to turn. But behind this reliance, irritation and paranoia are rising.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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