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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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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Technology

Opinion | Amid the bad news of 2025, science cooperation has been a beacon of hope

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Ukraine war

Opinion | Europe risks a self-fulfilling prophecy of war with Russia

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Asia housing and property

The View | How AI helped Asia’s real estate sector pass the tariff stress test

While multiple factors are at play, this year’s tech exuberance helped the region’s property markets stay afloat.

Tourists take photos at the Lotte World Tower’s observation deck in Seoul on September 5. Photo : Xinhua
Tourists take photos at the Lotte World Tower’s observation deck in Seoul on September 5. Photo : Xinhua
US-China relations

Opinion | Trump’s pivot puts Pacific Rim at heart of global power shift

America’s strategy is hastening the geopolitical change of influence from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with US-China competition the primary driver.

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Donald Trump

Opinion | Why America can no longer build something like the Manhattan Project

Rather than owning the engine of innovation, Washington is standing in line like a customer to buy tech services it doesn’t control or understand.

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War and conflict

Opinion | Quiet courage of ordinary people can rebuild a world in crisis

It’s easy for us to feel powerless as deadly wars rage on, but the resilience of ordinary men and women gives us hope for the new year.

A man and a child wait to collect food at a camp set up by a local humanitarian organisation to donate meals and medication to people displaced by war in Meroe, Sudan, on January 9. Photo: AFP
A man and a child wait to collect food at a camp set up by a local humanitarian organisation to donate meals and medication to people displaced by war in Meroe, Sudan, on January 9. Photo: AFP
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | In both China and the West, the art of parenting involves letting go

Grandpa, very much in the traditional mould, believed in toughening children up for the world. Mum, raising her only child, was not impressed.

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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Social media

Opinion | West is getting on the same page as China for children’s social media use

Governments face the same problem: how to let young people grow up in a connected world, around products not designed with their well-being in mind.

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A message that reads “Let them be kids” is projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge to mark a law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia on December 10. Photo: Reuters
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
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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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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Belarus

Opinion | Can Belarus balance relations with Russia, China and the US?

Minsk aims to rebalance its foreign policy towards Beijing and Washington but geopolitical realities prevent a full break from Russia.

In this photo released by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (second right) greets Keith Kellogg, the US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia (left) before their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on June 21. Photo: Handout via AP
Ukraine war

Opinion | How the West’s sanctions against Russia are fuelling a protracted war

For hubs of transit trade from Armenia to the UAE, economic self-interest is best served by having sanctions on Russia in place indefinitely.

A “Give peace a chance” mural depicting musician John Lennon overlooks anti-drone nets along a road in the city of Izyum in Ukraine on December 12. Photo: EPA
A “Give peace a chance” mural depicting musician John Lennon overlooks anti-drone nets along a road in the city of Izyum in Ukraine on December 12. Photo: EPA
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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Education

Opinion | As UK universities lose prestige, Asian institutions stand to benefit

The decline of Britain’s universities and the challenges facing Western academia in general stem from education no longer being treated as a national investment.

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United States

Opinion | How Trump is hastening the end of American hegemony

Although the US economy is growing and inflation remains low, the uncertainty sowed by the president’s policies will have sobering long-term consequences.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
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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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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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
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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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Technology

Opinion | Why AI chatbots are unlikely to bring about human extinction

Stories of chatbots behaving in surprising ways are fuelling the rise of ‘AI doomers’ who warn of the risk of human extinction. This extreme view is misguided.

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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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United States

Opinion | For Trump, the only communists to really dislike are those at home

The limited discussion of China in the new US national security document indicates that the US president’s focus is on domestic challenges to his authority.

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea, on October 30. Photo: Reuters
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