https://www.scmp.com/rss/298375/feed Winston Mok, a private investor, was previously a private equity investor. He held senior regional positions with EMP Global and GE Capital, and was a McKinsey consultant and initiated its China practice. Winston obtained his bachelor and master degrees from MIT. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Winston Mok Winston Mok The Strait of Hormuz blockage is being felt far and wide. While the world struggles with higher pump prices, key energy exporters such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar face severe economic setbacks. In Gulf states serving as air hubs, expats and affluent locals are scrambling for the exit. The discovery of oil transformed Arabian deserts into rich petro-states. Knowing this wealth would not flow forever, the states leveraged their strategic locations to become air traffic hubs.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3349044/gulf-states-geography-both-generous-and-treacherous-patron?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3349044/gulf-states-geography-both-generous-and-treacherous-patron?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok US President Donald Trump has initiated an international trade war in which American consumers and businesses are bearing most of the immediate costs, and now he has started a war on global energy where people worldwide are paying the price. While Iran is no match for US military might, Tehran has turned its control of the Strait of Hormuz – through which 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil flows – to its advantage. Nations in conflict with the United States do not need to fight back tariff for... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3347460/trumps-energy-war-over-iran-failing-just-his-china-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3347460/trumps-energy-war-over-iran-failing-just-his-china-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok This year’s government work report delivered by Premier Li Qiang marks a shift from the perennial fixation with growth towards a greater emphasis on effective strategic development, especially social and people-centred outcomes. The “two sessions” have convened against the backdrop of Washington’s military adventure overseas. In contrast to that overextended empire, China will prevail in the competition with the United States by putting its own house in order. Some of the most consequential... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346047/chinas-refocusing-social-goals-requires-more-new-metrics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346047/chinas-refocusing-social-goals-requires-more-new-metrics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok In the early days of 2026, there has been an unexpected turn in China’s global relations. Some US allies have started reaching out to China just as China faced complications in ties with some friendly countries in the Global South. The underlying cause for both trends is the Trump administration’s imperial behaviour. With the dramatic abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump’s wish to control Venezuela’s oil, China’s economic stake in one of its closest... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3344410/chinas-latin-america-strategy-goes-well-beyond-venezuela-and-panama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3344410/chinas-latin-america-strategy-goes-well-beyond-venezuela-and-panama?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok As the Year of the Snake ends, more than 9 billion passenger journeys will unfold during China’s Spring Festival travel period, the greatest annual human migration on Earth. For some, these are the only few weeks in the year when families are together. For many, this is a period when they can find temporary relief from loneliness – from the striving and adjusting, even if not yet assimilating, in the cities where they work, far from their hometowns. The lucky ones, who can make ends meet and are... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342802/loneliness-crisis-price-china-paying-rapid-modernisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342802/loneliness-crisis-price-china-paying-rapid-modernisation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:01:15 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Whereas then US president Joe Biden initially missed the group photo at the annual Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, requiring a reshoot, his successor did not even bother showing up for this year’s meeting in Johannesburg. US President Donald Trump boycotted the summit due to alleged mistreatment of white people in post-apartheid South Africa. Yet, even in the absence of the US, the G20 managed to make a leaders’ declaration at the start of the summit, which usually comes at the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3335374/how-china-can-help-africa-build-human-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3335374/how-china-can-help-africa-build-human-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:35:14 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok The Netherlands has discovered that it could end up hemmed in by its technological prowess. A day after the United States tightened export controls on Chinese companies on September 29, the Dutch government moved to take control of Nexperia, a Chinese-controlled chipmaking firm. This coordinated act of carrying out US containment policy triggered a cascade that exposed the cost of the Netherlands being indispensable but not impartial. It likely prompted China’s decision to use rare earth... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3333953/netherlands-nexperia-blunder-shows-it-has-forgotten-its-own-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3333953/netherlands-nexperia-blunder-shows-it-has-forgotten-its-own-history?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 08:30:09 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Late last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump reached a trade truce in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. Beyond the pre-existing tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration and reinforced by the Biden administration, the current Trump administration will now levy an additional 20 per cent or so in tariffs on China, resulting in an estimated 47 per cent average tariff rate on China. As part of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3332206/trump-xi-summit-strategic-turning-point-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3332206/trump-xi-summit-strategic-turning-point-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok After a video call last Saturday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng are expected to meet in Malaysia this week to hopefully ease tensions before US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping potentially meet on the sidelines of this year’s Apec summit. The meeting was in doubt when Trump threatened to impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on China, despite later relenting that it might not be sustainable. Washington blamed Beijing for the escalation,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3329654/can-scott-bessent-see-chinas-trade-counterstrike-clear-eyes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3329654/can-scott-bessent-see-chinas-trade-counterstrike-clear-eyes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 08:30:10 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok US President Donald Trump’s speech at the United Nations last month will be seen as the watershed moment when America’s and China’s energy paths irreversibly diverged. As China leads the world in the green energy transition, the United States risks being left chained to fossil fuels. In the last five years, annual renewable energy additions have more than doubled from under 300 gigawatts (GW) in 2020 to over 700GW in 2024. Electricity generation from fossil fuels will plateau within a decade... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3328038/china-driving-green-energy-future-while-us-frozen-past?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3328038/china-driving-green-energy-future-while-us-frozen-past?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 08:35:29 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok US hopes of getting China to place big orders of Boeing jets have risen anew after reports of progress, including a framework agreement on TikTok, at the fourth round of trade negotiations in the Spanish capital of Madrid. Praising the progress, US President Donald Trump said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Seoul, which starts at the end of next month, and plans to visit China early next year. But why would China wish to buy US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326257/how-will-trump-revive-us-shipbuilding-after-years-protectionist-rot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326257/how-will-trump-revive-us-shipbuilding-after-years-protectionist-rot?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Silicon Valley is dominated by tech leaders of Indian origin. While Chinese tech companies have achieved global dominance across multiple sectors, why are India-based tech firms – other than in select areas such as software outsourcing – less influential? Why does Indian talent seem to flourish more outside India? Silicon Valley has risen to third place in the innovation cluster rankings of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), long dominated by East Asia. This year, the Greater... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3324732/together-china-and-india-can-be-tech-innovation-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3324732/together-china-and-india-can-be-tech-innovation-force?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 10:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Tianjin on Sunday for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, his first visit to China in seven years, against a backdrop of the United States’ 50 per cent tariffs on India. As India and China mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, they must not let the unfortunate Ladakh clashes of 2020 overshadow their win-win future. Among non-communist states, India was the first Asian nation to recognise the People’s Republic of China.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3323138/india-still-needs-china-catch-chinese-manufacturing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3323138/india-still-needs-china-catch-chinese-manufacturing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 08:30:07 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Before the Trump administration’s August 1 deadline, Japan, South Korea and the European Union struck agreements with the United States, accepting American tariffs of 15 per cent on their exports. They all came with strings of promised investments in the US attached. While the agreements looked like capitulation at the time, these governments may be breathing sighs of relief in light of the latest tariffs US President Donald Trump has imposed on Canada, Brazil and India. But 15 per cent is still... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3321475/why-japan-south-korea-and-eu-couldnt-join-forces-against-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3321475/why-japan-south-korea-and-eu-couldnt-join-forces-against-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok As the European Union prepares to hold its summit with China ahead of the August 1 deadline to achieve a tariff deal with the United States, it is squeezed between two superpowers. Trump’s letter threatening the EU with 30 per cent tariffs suggests that his true negotiating stance is a minimum of 15-20 per cent general tariffs and an unwavering 25 per cent on auto tariffs. Given these harsh terms, could the summit with China strengthen the EU’s bargaining position with the US? The EU fears an... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318482/how-eu-squeezed-between-us-and-china-can-negotiate-big-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318482/how-eu-squeezed-between-us-and-china-can-negotiate-big-win?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Just ahead of the July 9 deadline to reach an agreement on tariffs, US President Donald Trump announced his decision on the tariffs levels for 14 countries – including a rate of 25 per cent on Japan and South Korea – effective August 1. Trump accused Japan of not buying enough rice and cars from the US. It’s worth noting that the American car industry is simply not competitive in Japan. Germany, Japan and China are the top three auto exporters. Those countries, along with South Korea, have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3317197/how-china-japan-and-south-korea-can-be-titans-tech-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3317197/how-china-japan-and-south-korea-can-be-titans-tech-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:30:06 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Global stock markets have experienced a roller-coaster ride during US President Donald Trump’s trade wars. He rolled the dice again by authorising strikes on Iran, but he could yet get lucky if Israel and Iran can stick to a ceasefire. Trade wars and hot wars have opposite effects on oil prices. Having dropped to about US$60 per barrel in early May from fears over Trump’s tariffs, oil prices have seen swings since the start of the Israel-Iran war. The impact of the fighting on oil prices was... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3315583/beyond-iran-precarious-balance-global-oil-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3315583/beyond-iran-precarious-balance-global-oil-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:30:07 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Where would the United States be without immigrant talent? Some of the country’s leading tech companies, including Alphabet and Nvidia, were founded or co-founded by immigrants. Two-thirds of the tech workers in Silicon Valley are foreign-born. According to research by the Institute for Progress, 60 per cent of the US’ top artificial intelligence (AI) companies have immigrant founders, including former international students. The role of Cambridge, Massachusetts as a magnet for global talent is... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3313712/us-crackdowns-academia-will-only-send-global-talent-elsewhere?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3313712/us-crackdowns-academia-will-only-send-global-talent-elsewhere?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jun 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok The rapidly arrived at pause in the US trade war with China debunked the myth that international trade benefits mainly exporters. Any voluntary trade has to be advantageous for both buyer and seller. While it is doubtful US President Donald Trump can clinch his long-coveted Nobel Peace Prize, if he allows a full-scale trade war with China to drag on until the end of the year, he should have a fair shot at the Nobel Prize in economics for launching a bold experiment in global commerce and proving... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3311432/what-would-us-trade-war-win-really-look-americans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3311432/what-would-us-trade-war-win-really-look-americans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 May 2025 10:30:08 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok It was financial markets that checked one of US President Donald Trump’s excesses: his unilateral tariffs targeting much of the world. It wasn’t just the US stock market, whose declines were expected. What probably caused Trump to blink was the rapidly climbing yield of 10-year US Treasury bonds. From around 4 per cent on April 4, it approached 4.5 per cent in a week. The US dollar has also depreciated against other currencies since its peak in January. A falling stock market usually results in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3309676/trump-team-risking-us-exorbitant-privilege-short-term-theatrics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3309676/trump-team-risking-us-exorbitant-privilege-short-term-theatrics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 08:30:08 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s trade wars are the result of a reckoning with the accumulated contradictions arising from globalisation. Instead of addressing the polarisation in the United States that propelled him to power, Trump blames “the other”. But his tariffs will only exacerbate US structural inequality. Globalisation created greater equality by bringing prosperity to the developing world, notably in the rise of East Asia. China has lifted more people out of poverty more rapidly than any... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3307094/what-trump-should-be-making-great-again-are-lives-americans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3307094/what-trump-should-be-making-great-again-are-lives-americans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 06:30:15 +0000 It is clear from Donald Trump’s second inauguration speech that his role model is neither Franklin D. Roosevelt nor Theodore Roosevelt but William McKinley. The current US president’s admiration for the 25th president is often associated with the high McKinley Tariff of 1890. This was passed when Benjamin Harrison was president and McKinley was still an Ohio congressman. But as president of a rapidly industrialising United States, McKinley actually moderated his stance on tariffs. Trump’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3305630/what-asian-tigers-can-teach-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3305630/what-asian-tigers-can-teach-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 From the stock market to government applications, DeepSeek has made an impact in China. With China’s economy beset by external challenges and domestic woes, DeepSeek offers hope of a turning point. But long before its emergence, artificial intelligence (AI) had been staring at us in the face. How have TikTok and its domestic sibling Douyin risen to global prominence without their recommendation algorithm? Just as with Amazon, the success of Shein and Temu, Taobao and JD.com, is not built on... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3303396/how-china-becoming-ai-specialist-robocars-and-smart-cities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3303396/how-china-becoming-ai-specialist-robocars-and-smart-cities?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:30:07 +0000 If there was any doubt about where the US stands on Ukraine after its UN vote against a resolution condemning Russia on February 24, it was dispelled by the stand-off between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House just days later, further confirmed by the suspension of military aid and intelligence support. Now that the US has disqualified itself, the role of peacemaker has fallen on the shoulders of a European “coalition of the willing” –... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3301658/ukraine-must-look-beyond-us-chart-its-own-course-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3301658/ukraine-must-look-beyond-us-chart-its-own-course-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Besides US President Donald Trump’s land grab threats, tariffs seem a key lever in his economic and foreign policies. But despite their allure, tariffs cannot serve conflicting policy goals. Arbitrary tariff moves do not add up to a coherent economic strategy. The starkest contradiction lies in tariffs – and tariff threats – fuelling the very inflation Trump pledges to contain. His election victory hinged on voter anger over inflation and he promised in his inauguration address last month to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3299688/trumps-tariffs-wont-make-america-great-again-quite-opposite-fact?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3299688/trumps-tariffs-wont-make-america-great-again-quite-opposite-fact?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2025 08:30:07 +0000 The breakthrough performances of DeepSeek V3 and R1 do not guarantee a sustained edge for China’s artificial intelligence development, but they do highlight that the competitive advantages of US-based market leaders are less insurmountable than once believed. In the highly competitive AI landscape, where innovation cycles are compressed into months, top large language model (LLM) rankings can reshuffle with each new generation. These dynamic races now include Chinese LLMs competing at the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3297810/how-deepseeks-open-source-breakthrough-reshaping-ai-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3297810/how-deepseeks-open-source-breakthrough-reshaping-ai-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Almost half a century after US president Jimmy Carter signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaties in 1977, which transferred control over the Panama Canal in 1999 to Panama, President Donald Trump now says he wants it back for the United States. Trump’s vision harks back to the muscular nationalism of president Theodore Roosevelt, who oversaw the canal’s construction. While Trump’s hyperbole may lack veracity, he grasps the canal’s geostrategic value with the instinct of a real estate developer, amid... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3295089/panama-canal-donald-trump-has-much-learn-jimmy-carter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3295089/panama-canal-donald-trump-has-much-learn-jimmy-carter?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2025 08:30:08 +0000 The thousands of political prisoners liberated from the infamous Saydnaya prison in Syria with the fall of Bashar al-Assad are grateful to see the dawn of 2025 alive and free. But an uncertain future awaits millions in the ethnic and religious minorities – Christians, Kurds, Druze and Alawites – under the rule of Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), despite its claimed moderation since breaking from al-Qaeda in 2016. Millions of Syrian refugees, dispersed across the Middle East and Europe,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3293341/china-can-help-syria-transform-conflict-corridor-bridge-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3293341/china-can-help-syria-transform-conflict-corridor-bridge-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:30:08 +0000 The world’s most dynamic economic regions share a common characteristic. Their production networks are integrated beyond national borders. From semiconductor supply chains in East Asia to the automotive production networks spanning North America, the most competitive industries often thrive through cross-border coordination. North America, one of the world’s most integrated economic networks, is bracing for new pressures as US president-elect Donald Trump threatens tariffs on Canada and Mexico.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3289998/east-asias-success-shows-regional-integration-key-global-competitiveness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3289998/east-asias-success-shows-regional-integration-key-global-competitiveness?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Dec 2024 08:30:07 +0000 The absence of US President Joe Biden from the G20’s first group photo is perhaps emblematic of what the world expects of the next US administration under Donald Trump. In the photo, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stands between the leaders of India, which hosted the Group of 20 summit in 2023, and South Africa, which is scheduled to host the next one. The G20 summit unfolded last week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city where affluent neighbourhoods stand in stark contrast to large... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3287559/can-global-south-and-g20-lead-new-era-poverty-reduction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3287559/can-global-south-and-g20-lead-new-era-poverty-reduction?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Nov 2024 08:31:35 +0000 Amid the uncertainty surrounding US foreign policy as Donald Trump returns to the White House, one thing is certain: higher tariffs will be a cornerstone of his foreign, economic and fiscal policies. Not only China, but Mexico and other countries which enjoy high trade surpluses with the United States could also be on the receiving end. Trump might also leverage the threat of tariffs to coerce compliance from other nations. The tariffs collected, as a consumption tax, may partly offset the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3286037/trump-tariffs-20-will-make-asian-manufacturing-great?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3286037/trump-tariffs-20-will-make-asian-manufacturing-great?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2024 08:31:23 +0000 The annual Brics summit is taking place in the Russian city of Kazan this week. The grouping of emerging nations has shown its resilience and emerged as an influential global presence over the past 15 years despite meeting with initial scepticism upon its founding. The Brics membership has expanded beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with more members potentially on the way. Together, these nations represent... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3283218/brics-path-fairer-global-system-starts-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3283218/brics-path-fairer-global-system-starts-home?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:30:07 +0000 From mooncakes to hairy crabs, before and after the recent financial stimulus, consumption in China has remained lacklustre. Hotel and flight prices during the National Day holiday are lower than they were last year. Box office performance appears strong but not spectacular. Weak consumption has plagued China’s post-Covid economy amid lingering deflation concerns. Would inflating asset prices provide a way out? The wealth effect of a rising stock market would affect a minority of the population... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3281313/china-should-make-its-economy-work-its-youth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3281313/china-should-make-its-economy-work-its-youth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Oct 2024 08:30:09 +0000 Amid the US’ political polarisation, the one consensus is on the need to counter China. However, there are major disagreements on how to do so effectively and the domestic socioeconomic consequences. As evident in the debate between US presidential candidates Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, views differ when claiming credit and attributing blame. The consensus against Beijing has become an inter-party race to the bottom without a clear vision of how to make the US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3279687/why-supply-chains-are-kingmaker-global-economic-competition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3279687/why-supply-chains-are-kingmaker-global-economic-competition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2024 08:30:07 +0000 At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing last week, China pledged 360 billion yuan (US$50 billion) worth of support to Africa. Perhaps more important than the scale is the evolving nature of such contributions. China is diversifying its African lending from energy and infrastructure mega projects to smaller projects in green energy and industrial initiatives. Instead of construction and financing, where China can bring the greatest impact, Africa will increasingly turn to Beijing for... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3277800/why-china-much-more-africa-development-atm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3277800/why-china-much-more-africa-development-atm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Sep 2024 08:30:08 +0000 The Bay of Bengal is the world’s largest bay, situated strategically between the Strait of Malacca and the Arabian Sea. However, it has yet to achieve its economic potential. While the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, seeks to bring change through an upcoming summit in Bangkok, some members of this bloc of nations surrounding the bay are navigating challenges of their own. Myanmar is mired in civil war. Bangladesh is under an interim... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3275929/how-sino-indian-cooperation-can-help-bay-bengal-prosper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3275929/how-sino-indian-cooperation-can-help-bay-bengal-prosper?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Aug 2024 08:31:04 +0000 Hong Kong’s Vivian Kong Man-wai winning gold in the épée competition at the Paris Olympics was rich with historical significance. She competed at the Grand Palais, originally constructed for the 1900 Exposition Universelle which coincided with the first Paris Olympics. While épée debuted in Paris in 1900, it was not until Atlanta 1996 that women competed in the event. From the Olympics’ early decades to the present, the games have maintained a certain structural legacy while undergoing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3274204/east-asias-olympics-results-are-testament-changing-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3274204/east-asias-olympics-results-are-testament-changing-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2024 01:30:10 +0000 China’s latest tax reform plans, focused on raising income for local governments, as well as support from the central government, are long overdue. The property crisis triggered by the “three red lines” policy introduced in 2020 led to a wider economic downturn, but the deeper cause is the reliance of local governments on land-based financing. This reliance is a product of China’s unbalanced fiscal architecture, where local governments shoulder a disproportionate share of the fiscal... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3271203/chinas-timely-tax-reforms-will-help-local-governments-deliver-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3271203/chinas-timely-tax-reforms-will-help-local-governments-deliver-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:30:09 +0000 Compared to electric vehicles (EVs), China’s production overcapacity in solar panels may be more glaring. The country commands 80 per cent of the solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain and its five-fold expansion in module manufacturing capacity during 2022 and 2023 precipitated a 40 per cent price decline last year. Long before the US moved to lock out Chinese EVs, it had imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese solar panels – in 2012. But the industry’s supply-demand balance must be understood in the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3269381/chinas-solar-power-prowess-can-truly-shine-energy-starved-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3269381/chinas-solar-power-prowess-can-truly-shine-energy-starved-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:30:08 +0000 Diplomacy of Secondary Education (DSE) results will be released next month. Just like the A-levels in my time and mainland China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination or gaokao, the DSE will shape the course of lives – especially for families with limited means, for whom higher education is the only viable option to get ahead. For many ethnic minority students, referred to as non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students by the Education Bureau, the Chinese language requirement has severely... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3267770/segregated-schooling-holding-back-hong-kongs-potential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3267770/segregated-schooling-holding-back-hong-kongs-potential?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2024 01:30:09 +0000 After a hiatus since 2019, the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met in Seoul late last month. This complex trilateral relationship is one of the most important for these neighbours. Together, their gross domestic product is 30 per cent higher than the European Union’s. They are important trading partners to each other, focused on high-value, often hi-tech, goods. Beyond the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the three economies are resuming negotiations on a free-trade... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3265681/what-stands-way-china-japan-south-korea-free-trade-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3265681/what-stands-way-china-japan-south-korea-free-trade-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2024 08:30:47 +0000 The current trade war over electric vehicles (EVs) between the United States and China exemplifies the potent force of universal egoism – a tendency that is more easily recognised in others than in ourselves. Both Washington and Beijing frame the other as a grave threat, prioritising their narrow interests over mutually beneficial collaboration in the global green technology transition. American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr was prophetic about such group dynamics almost a century ago. The US was... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3263376/us-china-ev-trade-war-shows-how-narrow-interests-win-over-greater-good?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3263376/us-china-ev-trade-war-shows-how-narrow-interests-win-over-greater-good?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2024 08:30:11 +0000 China surpassed Japan as the world’s leading car exporter last year based on data from automobile manufacturer associations in the two countries. However, most of those exports were internal combustion engine cars while electric vehicles (EVs) represented only about 25 per cent of exports. In 2022, Japanese car manufacturers produced about 17 million cars overseas, more than four times the 3.8 million units exported. Given the significant trade barriers Chinese EVs face in the United States and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3261597/why-chinese-green-tech-firms-can-be-transformative-global-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3261597/why-chinese-green-tech-firms-can-be-transformative-global-south?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2024 08:30:12 +0000 Is there an overcapacity problem in green tech? Whatever the case of may be, it matters little to trade between China and the United States. Regardless of whether it’s a leading or modest exporter, China does not sell that many solar modules or electric vehicles (EVs) to the US. While Tesla’s market share in the US has dropped to barely above 50 per cent, its dominance is challenged mainly by German, Korean and other American competitors. The US is making an issue over China’s capacities in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3259881/cross-border-synergy-china-can-help-us-more-quickly-adopt-evs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3259881/cross-border-synergy-china-can-help-us-more-quickly-adopt-evs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:30:16 +0000 China has in recent years invested massively in Africa but Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are also emerging as major investors; the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for instance, is becoming China’s key competitor for African port operations. Like China, the GCC can move much faster than Western countries. And when China’s pace of African investments slowed down, the Gulf states filled some of the gaps. The rapidly evolving engagements of China and the GCC across Africa may catalyse a paradigm... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3258028/china-and-gulf-states-changing-face-development-finance-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3258028/china-and-gulf-states-changing-face-development-finance-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2024 07:30:09 +0000 As one tech titan hits the brakes, another accelerates into the fast lane. Just as Apple abruptly cancelled its decade-long electric vehicle (EV) project, Xiaomi has announced that it will begin delivering its first EV model this month. Unlike China, whose keen embrace of EVs include taxis and ride-hailing, US adoption of EVs has been slow. Car rental company Hertz’s attempt to grow an EV fleet has been disastrous and US carmakers including Ford are stalling on EV investments. Last year, China’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/china-opinion/article/3256404/how-us-home-trailblazer-tesla-lost-ev-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/china-opinion/article/3256404/how-us-home-trailblazer-tesla-lost-ev-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:30:15 +0000 As Nvidia’s market capitalisation exceeds US$2 trillion and eclipses that of energy giant Aramco, the milestone highlights the importance of intellectual capital in the AI era, when advanced chips are crucial. At the same time, US export restrictions on chips have pushed the American tech company to try selling downgraded artificial intelligence chips to its Chinese clientele. But these chips were poorly received. The mismatch underscores the complex challenges faced by China in moving up the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3255026/semiconductor-self-sufficiency-china-must-collaborate-not-just-innovate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3255026/semiconductor-self-sufficiency-china-must-collaborate-not-just-innovate?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Mar 2024 12:30:18 +0000 In the narrative of China’s rise, the middle class stands at the core of national rejuvenation – a crucible where aspirations, hard work and consumerism meld to forge progress. Yet, in the shadow of a once-burgeoning economy, this foundational group is dealing with the harsh realities of a depressed property market and wild stock fluctuations. This economic turbulence has stripped wealth from those previously deemed pillars of China’s rapid ascent. Among polled middle-class families, about 40... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3252526/chinas-middle-class-crying-out-reform-restore-confidence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3252526/chinas-middle-class-crying-out-reform-restore-confidence?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:30:10 +0000 As the Lunar New Year approaches, China’s senior citizens, grateful to have survived the vicissitudes of Covid-19, will look forward to seeing their children. For many, the traditional hopes of seeing them get married and produce grandchildren may be disappointed again this year, as marriage and birth rates plummet. China saw half as many babies born last year as in 2016. Traditional values are no match for the increasing pressures of modern life. Despite being widely seen as the most Confucian... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250846/ageing-china-must-plug-urban-rural-gap-dignified-old-age-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250846/ageing-china-must-plug-urban-rural-gap-dignified-old-age-all?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:30:12 +0000 In the next few weeks, we will again witness what has been called the world’s largest annual human migration – China’s Lunar New Year holiday travel. Compared to a decade ago, the traffic radiating from China’s megacities is expected to diminish, replaced by denser intra-provincial traffic. Nearly two-thirds of China’s population live in cities today. With the nation now on the final lap of its urbanisation journey, it is vital for officials to rigorously fine-tune regional planning using... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249376/why-china-would-be-wise-analyse-its-lunar-new-year-travel-data?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249376/why-china-would-be-wise-analyse-its-lunar-new-year-travel-data?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jan 2024 11:30:13 +0000