https://www.scmp.com/rss/264882/feed Li Cheng is professor of political science and founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong. Li is the author and editor of 17 books, and his research areas include the transformation of political leaders, the Chinese middle class, technological development in China, and Sino-US relations. Prior to joining HKU, Li served as director and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center, where he remains a nonresident... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Li Cheng,Tony Xiuye Zhao Li Cheng,Tony Xiuye Zhao The perpetual question of “who governs” finds stark expression in today’s US-China rivalry. As the two powers compete, the contrast between governance-by-technocrats in China and the predominance of lawyers in the United States is shaping each country’s respective development path. China is set to approve its 15th five-year plan, which will set development goals and strategies through 2030. It prioritises critical technological breakthroughs and industrial integration. Meanwhile, in the Trump... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3343150/how-washingtons-lawyers-stack-against-beijings-technocrats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3343150/how-washingtons-lawyers-stack-against-beijings-technocrats?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Li Cheng,Zhang Chi (張馳) Li Cheng,Zhang Chi (張馳) USAID, long one of the foremost tools of US soft power, ended its six decades as an independent agency on July 1, with no details on how it had been reviewed disclosed. Meanwhile, the China-initiated International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed), made a high-profile debut in Hong Kong in May. Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the inauguration and stressed looking for ways to resolve issues “so as to lend our thoughts to countries seeking to resolve problems or disagreements with others”. This... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3317250/hong-kong-uniquely-placed-help-fill-global-public-goods-gap-left-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3317250/hong-kong-uniquely-placed-help-fill-global-public-goods-gap-left-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2025 01:30:08 +0000 At the Paris Olympics, the remarkable performance of Japanese, South Korean and Chinese athletes have propelled all three nations into the top 10 of the medal table, showcasing the sporting prowess of Northeast Asia to the world. Beyond the arena, the actions of these young athletes in upholding Olympic values have also garnered widespread attention, bringing hopes and inspiration for alleviating tensions and advancing sustainable peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia and beyond. As the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3274067/how-olympic-spirit-can-drive-china-japan-south-korea-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3274067/how-olympic-spirit-can-drive-china-japan-south-korea-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2024 21:30:08 +0000 On August 9, 1945, US president Harry Truman announced the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and told the nation: “The atomic bomb is too dangerous to be loose in a lawless world.” Despite the establishment of a post-war international order, the Cold War and its proxy conflicts, notably the Korean war, inflicted great suffering on Northeast Asia. With the end of the Cold War and the start of sustained peace, stability and globalisation, Northeast Asia became one of the most prosperous... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3271256/world-cannot-afford-northeast-asia-be-nuclear-powder-keg?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3271256/world-cannot-afford-northeast-asia-be-nuclear-powder-keg?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jul 2024 01:30:08 +0000 Wang Yi, one of China’s most seasoned diplomats, took the stage at China’s “two sessions” last Thursday to explain the strategic framework of the country’s foreign policy, underscoring a year of perceived diplomatic triumphs and charting the course for a more assertive global stance in 2024. Wang navigated an array of international concerns, from the war in the Middle East to Sino-US relations and infrastructure projects. His narrative was not just a defence of past actions but a declaration of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3254956/chinas-foreign-policy-passive-engagement-proactive-pragmatism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3254956/chinas-foreign-policy-passive-engagement-proactive-pragmatism?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Mar 2024 21:30:18 +0000 China’s digital revolution has affected most profoundly the lives of its post-90s generation. These digital natives, like their counterparts elsewhere, were born when the commercial use of computers was becoming widespread and grew up alongside mobile phones and the internet. As Chinese sociologist Li Chunling, author of the new book China’s Youth, points out, the internet has become “enmeshed within every aspect of young people’s lives”. In turn, this massive post-90s cohort of more than 175... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149821/young-and-liberal-chinas-post-90s-digital-natives-are-force-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149821/young-and-liberal-chinas-post-90s-digital-natives-are-force-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Sep 2021 23:56:45 +0000 The rapid emergence and explosive growth of the Chinese middle class is one of the world’s most stunning developments. At the heart of this story is Shanghai. Nowhere in China has this new socio-economic force been more transformative – and more intriguing – than in this pace-setting city. The dynamism and diversity of middle-class Shanghai challenges the caricature of the People’s Republic of China as a burgeoning hegemon with a Communist apparatus set on disseminating its singular ideology and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3132877/how-shanghai-middle-class-shattering-us-caricature-china-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3132877/how-shanghai-middle-class-shattering-us-caricature-china-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 May 2021 19:30:18 +0000 American Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the United States needs to be engaged in “a race to the top, not a race to the bottom” with China. This reflects his view that competition with China should be the defining feature of the bilateral relationship, but also implies that Washington should seek cooperation with Beijing where national interests overlap. Among the issues that are likely to be discussed at this week’s meeting between Blinken, US National Security Adviser Jake... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3125779/how-coronavirus-scientists-offer-formula-better-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3125779/how-coronavirus-scientists-offer-formula-better-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:15:10 +0000 Analysts in both the United States and China surely understand that concerns at home drive policies abroad, but when surveying China’s domestic political landscape, the forest has sometimes been missed for the trees. Ahead of the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump this week, many China observers in the US may have overlooked the dynamic tensions and sometimes paradoxical trends embedded in Chinese politics. While Xi is indeed a powerful leader, he... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2085000/xi-all-powerful-what-trump-needs-know-about-chinese-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2085000/xi-all-powerful-what-trump-needs-know-about-chinese-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Apr 2017 02:00:30 +0000