https://www.scmp.com/rss/318132/feed Jiang Xun is deputy editor-in-chief of Yazhou Zhoukan, and editor-in-chief of Zero New Media. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Last month, when former US president Barack Obama gave a speech at a business conference in Shanghai, I was in the audience. There, Obama spoke to more than 2,500 representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, both at home and abroad. In his first post-presidency speech in China, which was also his first in Shanghai in eight years, “cooperation” was a key word. I was also there when Obama spoke in Shanghai eight years ago, on his first visit to China. It was in the middle of November... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2124120/life-after-high-office-obama-gives-speeches-while-retired?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2124120/life-after-high-office-obama-gives-speeches-while-retired?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2017 03:24:48 +0000 The remarkable resilience of the relationship between China and Vietnam can be credited, in large part, to the strong ties between the communist parties of both countries. The two nations have had military clashes before, and remain locked today in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Nonetheless, friendly ties between the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam often act as a safety buffer, reining in tempers before any bilateral argument or disagreement gets out of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2061250/leaders-communist-neighbours-china-and-vietnam-wont-let?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2061250/leaders-communist-neighbours-china-and-vietnam-wont-let?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2017 09:43:06 +0000 For as long as countries have existed, there have always been big and strong ones, and small and weak ones, and it has never been easy for a small country to survive. In the China of 770BC or so, the declining royal family of the Eastern Zhou dynasty grew too weak to control its vassal states. It ushered in a period of intense power struggles now known as the Spring and Autumn period. To survive, the smaller states relied on their more powerful counterparts for protection, and learned to exploit... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2051894/china-or-japan-why-southeast-asian-states-cant-afford-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2051894/china-or-japan-why-southeast-asian-states-cant-afford-be?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Dec 2016 05:19:46 +0000 A friend from Shanghai and I recently discussed the presidential election in the United States. My friend, a university professor and noted film critic, said she knew nothing about politics, but what she said about it was spot on. She did not think either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump would bring hope to their country as president, but believed Clinton would win the race, going by a trend in US television drama shows. American television shows are the country’s most influential mass media, she... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2043666/if-us-presidential-race-were-tv-drama-hillary-clinton-would?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2043666/if-us-presidential-race-were-tv-drama-hillary-clinton-would?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Nov 2016 09:37:57 +0000 Acting as host for major international forums, or “host diplomacy”, has been a highlight of China’s foreign policy this year. Macau’s ties with Portuguese-speaking countries make it a perfect location for China to engage in host diplomacy under the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, also known as Forum Macau. This week’s event made international headlines as Premier Li Keqiang ­( 李克強 ) attended the opening ceremony; the first visit by a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2027361/li-keqiangs-presence-macau-forum-speaks-volumes-about-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2027361/li-keqiangs-presence-macau-forum-speaks-volumes-about-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 07:43:28 +0000 As the tourists gradually return to admire the beautiful West Lake following the conclusion of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou ( 杭州 ), the meeting’s achievements are being widely reported and analysed. I also returned there, to meet a good friend for tea by the lakeside. She works in the Zhejiang provincial supervision department, and when we talked about the G20 and B20, she was a bit disappointed that almost everyone had focused on the economic and diplomatic aspects of the summit, while neglecting... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2020018/liaoning-vote-rigging-scandal-shines-light-g20s-anti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2020018/liaoning-vote-rigging-scandal-shines-light-g20s-anti?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Sep 2016 00:01:13 +0000 Twenty years ago, I arrived in Hong Kong from Shanghai. At the Lo Wu immigration checkpoint, I needed to fill out an entry form, which asked where I came from. I wrote "Shanghai". The immigration officer glanced at it and said "Shanghai" should be amended to "China". I was at a loss for a while, thinking Hong Kong was also part of China and that it would mean nothing to say I was entering "China" from "China". The argument dragged on, and the officer let me pass after I changed "Shanghai" to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1730176/beware-line-between-promoting-hong-kongs-uniqueness-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1730176/beware-line-between-promoting-hong-kongs-uniqueness-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:03:52 +0000