https://www.scmp.com/rss/4942/feed Wang Xiangwei was the Post's editor-in-chief from 2012-2015. He started his 20-year career at the China Daily, before moving to the UK, where he worked at a number of news organisations, including the BBC Chinese Service. He moved to Hong Kong in 1993 and worked at the Eastern Express before joining the Post in 1996 as China business reporter. He became China editor in 2000 and deputy editor in 2007, a position he held for four years prior to being promoted to Editor-in-Chief. He has a... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei In China’s political parlance, calling someone “one of us” is far more than an expression of ideological kinship. It signals that more doors can be opened, and preferential treatment extended. Yet it can also imply that “one of us” should now follow the rules of the group – rules that may differ sharply from previous ones. For decades, this mentality has shaped domestic policy. The private sector contributes over 60 per cent of the country’s GDP and over 80 per cent of urban employment but has... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3348922/hong-kong-must-keep-its-unique-edge-even-it-enjoys-deeper-mainland-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3348922/hong-kong-must-keep-its-unique-edge-even-it-enjoys-deeper-mainland-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei As China’s leaders convene for the annual “two sessions” starting this week, the eyes of the world will be fixed on Beijing. This gathering is no ordinary policy meeting. Beyond setting the economic growth target for 2026, it will finalise the 15th five-year plan (2026–2030), a blueprint that will define the nation’s economic and social priorities for the second half of this decade. In an era of intensifying great-power competition, particularly with the United States, these decisions will shape... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344883/now-time-china-show-its-serious-about-opening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344883/now-time-china-show-its-serious-about-opening?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei US President Donald Trump is bringing back the law of the jungle to the world as he systematically dismantles the post-war rules-based international order built and forged by the United States and its allies. His speech last month at Davos, Switzerland, contained a blunt message: the US was done “keeping the whole world afloat”, where “everybody took advantage of the United States”. Trump is unabashed about what he wants. He flexed American muscle and ignored international norms by abducting... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341790/beijing-must-be-clear-eyed-about-its-national-interests-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341790/beijing-must-be-clear-eyed-about-its-national-interests-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 12:30:10 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei As 2026 dawns, China has signalled a renewed crusade: persuading its citizens to spend more, for their own benefit and for the country’s. Yet history offers a cautionary tale. China’s leaders have long harboured an ambivalent relationship with consumption as a growth engine, instead favouring production and investment. This time, though, the signals suggest a deeper resolve. The gravity of this pivot is underscored by Qiushi, the Communist Party’s flagship publication, which last month published... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3338496/why-china-still-struggling-invest-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3338496/why-china-still-struggling-invest-people?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a growing chorus of Chinese officials and analysts have talked of an unprecedented window of opportunity for Beijing to recalibrate its domestic and international strategies. At its heart lies the Taiwan question, a perennial flashpoint in relations between Washington and Beijing. As the Trump administration ramps up its “America first” policies abroad, the US – the self-appointed world’s policeman for seven decades – has embarked on an... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334463/trumps-world-view-offers-beijing-window-opportunity-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334463/trumps-world-view-offers-beijing-window-opportunity-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei Hong Kong is bouncing back, especially in finance, defying predictions of decline after the 2019 unrest and the 2020 national security law. The Hong Kong stock exchange has surged to the top of this year’s global rankings as the world’s largest initial public offering venue, with over 300 companies queuing up to list their shares. This resurgence signals resilience, but it also ignites a deeper debate: what kind of Hong Kong is emerging? Concern has swirled around the recent influx of mainland... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3331065/hong-kong-can-live-cosmetic-changes-just-dont-change-its-core?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3331065/hong-kong-can-live-cosmetic-changes-just-dont-change-its-core?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei In 2009, China surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest exporter of goods, a position it has maintained for the past 16 years. This export dominance has been instrumental in propelling China’s economy forward, enabling it to overtake Japan in 2010 as the second-largest economy in nominal GDP, trailing only the United States. By 2013, China had also eclipsed the US as the world’s largest trading nation in goods, measured by the combined value of imports and exports. These milestones... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3327738/china-needs-chart-new-course-become-worlds-largest-importer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3327738/china-needs-chart-new-course-become-worlds-largest-importer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei The familiar signs of hustle and bustle in Hong Kong are back. Mainland tourists are thronging major attractions, from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade to Disneyland Resort. Foreign tourists are returning in noticeable numbers, adding a cosmopolitan flair. Overseas business travellers are back in droves, too, as evidenced by the back-to-back exhibitions at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, which is booked solid until next July. Walking by recently, I was struck by the diversity on... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3324237/hong-kong-back-now-it-must-quickly-cement-its-international-status?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3324237/hong-kong-back-now-it-must-quickly-cement-its-international-status?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei When it comes to entrepreneurship, China’s successful private entrepreneurs should rank among the world’s most resilient. To thrive in an environment where they are treated as second-class citizens compared to state-owned enterprises, they must navigate significant challenges: limited access to markets and bank credit, unpredictable government policies, sudden and severe regulatory crackdowns, bureaucrats exploiting power for personal gain, frequent harassment from administrative agencies like... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3321882/authorities-should-strictly-follow-law-when-probing-business-figures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3321882/authorities-should-strictly-follow-law-when-probing-business-figures?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei Jiang Enzhu, the first head of the central government’s liaison office in post-handover Hong Kong, famously likened understanding the city to reading a challenging book – one that demands serious attention and effort. At the time, his words served as a cautionary note to mainland officials. Now, Hong Kong having marked the 28th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty, Jiang’s analogy remains apt, though with a significant caveat. The city may still be a book that is difficult to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3316827/hong-kong-needs-better-understand-and-balance-one-country-two-systems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3316827/hong-kong-needs-better-understand-and-balance-one-country-two-systems?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jul 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei As someone born in the 1960s in China, one of the earliest lessons our generation learned in school was to be vigilant about the perceived dangers of American conspiracies and attempts aimed at subverting and overthrowing the Communist Party through peaceful means. Through classroom teachings, propaganda films and slogans plastered prominently along the streets, we were repeatedly exposed to Chairman Mao Zedong’s warnings about the threat of “peaceful evolution”, encapsulated in his assertion... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3313380/thanks-trump-us-threat-peaceful-evolution-recedes-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3313380/thanks-trump-us-threat-peaceful-evolution-recedes-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jun 2025 12:30:07 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei To call or not to call – that is the question poised to vex the US-China relationship in the coming weeks, as Beijing and Washington up the ante in this power game to see who will blink first. On April 2, US President Donald Trump ignited a global trade conflict, specifically targeting China due to its substantial annual trade surplus with the US. Since then, the world’s two largest economies have engaged in a tit-for-tat over trade tariffs. The US has imposed a 145 per cent tariff hike on most... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3308855/us-china-trade-war-who-will-blink-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3308855/us-china-trade-war-who-will-blink-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 May 2025 21:30:08 +0000 On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump declared “Liberation Day” for the United States by initiating a global trade war. For the rest of the world, it was a day marked by anger, frustration and regret. China, deemed one of “the worst offenders” by Trump, was hit hardest at a time when its economy is struggling. The Ministry of Commerce promptly expressed opposition and vowed to implement countermeasures to safeguard China’s rights and interests. However, Beijing should view Trump’s extreme... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3305206/trumps-tariffs-offer-china-opportunity-riding-dangerous-wind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3305206/trumps-tariffs-offer-china-opportunity-riding-dangerous-wind?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 As an artificial intelligence (AI) craze sweeps across China following the rise of DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics, Hong Kong is eager to get on the bandwagon. In unveiling Hong Kong’s 2025-26 budget late last month, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of turning the city into “an international exchange and cooperation hub for the AI industry”. As a result, he has earmarked HK$1 billion (US$128.6 million) to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3301422/hong-kong-must-avoid-jumping-ai-bandwagon-and-focus-what-it-does-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3301422/hong-kong-must-avoid-jumping-ai-bandwagon-and-focus-what-it-does-best?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Mar 2025 21:30:09 +0000 In August 1993, Donald Trump visited Hong Kong with the intention of building a Trump Tower in Central. “I’m a New York boy, born and bred, and there’s only one other city in the world that impresses me – Hong Kong,” Trump enthused in an interview with this paper, accompanied by his then-girlfriend Marla Maples, who was seven months pregnant with their daughter Tiffany Trump at the time. Trump was reportedly in discussions with several of the city’s leading property developers. However, the plan... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3296819/how-hong-kong-can-make-trump-tower-dream-reality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3296819/how-hong-kong-can-make-trump-tower-dream-reality?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Feb 2025 21:30:07 +0000 When it comes to explaining the state of China’s economy, beleaguered Chinese investment bankers have reportedly begun employing clandestine tricks in their sales pitch meetings with overseas fund managers in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Based on anecdotal stories I’ve heard from several fund managers, these meetings typically start with salespeople presenting well-crafted slides that paint a rosy picture of China’s buoyant economic activities. They echo the official line that the country will have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3294178/why-trumps-tariffs-might-be-just-what-chinas-ailing-economy-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3294178/why-trumps-tariffs-might-be-just-what-chinas-ailing-economy-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jan 2025 01:30:08 +0000 On November 19, two major events unfolded simultaneously in Hong Kong which highlighted the paradox of this once-great but now-confused city as it tries to navigate between socialism and capitalism in an era of great uncertainty. On Hong Kong Island, the Monetary Authority hosted about 300 global and regional financial leaders, including top executives from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan. Some of China’s top financial officials, including Vice-Premier He Lifeng, flew in for the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3288611/tension-between-socialism-capitalism-holds-back-hong-kongs-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3288611/tension-between-socialism-capitalism-holds-back-hong-kongs-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Dec 2024 21:30:09 +0000 Back in 2022, when China was in the midst of strict zero-Covid controls, which involved frequent and sudden citywide lockdowns and stay-at-home notices, I met an overseas Chinese entrepreneur, whom I deeply respect, in Tianjin during one of the rare, blissful interludes. His conglomerate is one of China’s largest foreign investors, with businesses scattered across the country. During our conversation, he offered an observation that has stuck with me. Fresh from lengthy meetings with local... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3284893/how-can-chinas-reforms-succeed-when-officials-act-overbearing-parents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3284893/how-can-chinas-reforms-succeed-when-officials-act-overbearing-parents?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:30:07 +0000 “Our money is running out.” That is the constant refrain I have heard from mainlanders since the end of 2022, when China suddenly lifted the zero-Covid restrictions which had hit the economy hard. More than a million restaurants have reportedly shut down across the country in the first half of this year, close to the total for the whole of last year as consumers scaled back their spending. Retail sales rose only 2.1 per cent year on year in August despite the summer travel peak, down from a rise... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3281034/chinas-stimulus-will-fall-short-without-private-sector-confidence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3281034/chinas-stimulus-will-fall-short-without-private-sector-confidence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Oct 2024 21:30:08 +0000 What would Deng Xiaoping think of China if he were alive today? That question has lingered in my mind ever since I joined tens of millions of Chinese on August 22 in marking his 120th birth anniversary. The question is as relevant and important as it is sentimental and rhetorical. Today’s Chinese owe so much to the diminutive reformist leader who ended China’s self-imposed isolation and unleashed reforms in the late 1970s to allow private entrepreneurship to flourish and open up the country to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3276103/if-deng-xiaoping-were-alive-he-would-worry-about-chinas-shifting-priorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3276103/if-deng-xiaoping-were-alive-he-would-worry-about-chinas-shifting-priorities?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Sep 2024 01:30:11 +0000 What would Deng Xiaoping think of China if he were alive today? That question has lingered in my mind ever since I joined tens of millions of Chinese on August 22 in marking his 120th birth anniversary. The question is as relevant and important as it is sentimental and rhetorical. Today’s Chinese owe so much to the diminutive reformist leader who ended China’s self-imposed isolation and unleashed reforms in the late 1970s to allow private entrepreneurship to flourish and open up the country to... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3276517/if-deng-xiaoping-were-alive-he-would-worry-about-chinas-shifting-priorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3276517/if-deng-xiaoping-were-alive-he-would-worry-about-chinas-shifting-priorities?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Aug 2024 04:56:36 +0000 When China’s more than 350 senior officials converged in Beijing last month for the landmark third plenum of the Communist Party’s 20th Congress, it was all about President Xi Jinping. After they emerged from the four-day meeting held behind closed doors, which ended on July 18, they put a glowing stamp of approval on Xi’s core views and vision for how the party should build the world’s second largest economy into a modern socialist nation by 2035, with more than 300 reform measures to be... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3272626/possibility-trump-20-should-push-china-recalibrate-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3272626/possibility-trump-20-should-push-china-recalibrate-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2024 21:30:13 +0000 China’s top leaders are set to hold a long-delayed pivotal meeting soon, and are expected to discuss a new growth model and offer a clearer path for the world’s second-largest economy. But clarity is very hard to detect even with the meeting, widely called a plenum, just a few weeks away. Optimists and pessimists are talking past one another as to what can be expected of the enclave, which could have far-reaching repercussions for the rest of the world. State media have played up China’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3268344/boost-investor-enthusiasm-china-start-hong-kong-tycoons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3268344/boost-investor-enthusiasm-china-start-hong-kong-tycoons?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jun 2024 21:30:09 +0000 In 2021, when China further relaxed family planning controls by allowing couples to have up to three children, the major policy shift was expected to trigger a “revenge” baby boom. In late 2022 when Beijing suddenly lifted zero-Covid controls, the authorities banked on post-lockdown “revenge spending” to drive economic growth. Late last year, the government unleashed a series of extra rescue measures to stave off an acute property crisis, raising expectations of “revenge” growth in home... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3264823/until-china-changes-its-growth-model-dont-expect-any-revenge-spending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3264823/until-china-changes-its-growth-model-dont-expect-any-revenge-spending?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jun 2024 21:30:10 +0000 When Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 under the formula of “one country, two systems”, naivety and over-optimism pervaded the city, the mainland and beyond with the belief that the only thing that changed was the flag. But the exuberance only lasted six years. In 2003, the Hong Kong government, following the Basic Law, tried but failed to introduce a home-grown national security law amid mass protests. Since then, there have been missteps by both the pro- democracy camp in Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3261286/hong-kong-should-celebrate-its-common-law-boost-trust-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3261286/hong-kong-should-celebrate-its-common-law-boost-trust-city?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 May 2024 01:15:09 +0000 In numerology, 23 is a lucky number which has motifs associated with transformation, progress, harmony and making good things happen. Others refer to the concept of the “23 enigma”, which has been popularised by various books, films and conspiracy theories. Indeed, it may well be a symbol of something larger, with hidden significance, at least according to my cursory Google search of the subject. One thing is certain: the number 23 does have far-reaching and historic significance for Hong Kong.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/hk-opinion/article/3256328/vibrant-media-landscape-will-ease-fears-over-hong-kongs-article-23-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/hk-opinion/article/3256328/vibrant-media-landscape-will-ease-fears-over-hong-kongs-article-23-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Mar 2024 21:30:15 +0000 China’s Luckin Coffee, founded in 2017, is the country’s largest coffee chain, with more stores and higher revenue than Starbucks. Its cashless grab-and-go model, where customers order on the app and pick up at the store, is key to its success. But for walk-in customers, and overseas visitors who have neither the app nor the e-wallets it accepts, this model is a nuisance. I bought a Luckin coffee recently in Zhuhai. The young barista behind what looked like a till refused to take my order... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3254518/do-chinas-leaders-fully-grasp-foreigners-concerns-about-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3254518/do-chinas-leaders-fully-grasp-foreigners-concerns-about-country?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 21:30:20 +0000 Until recent years, the Ministry of State Security, China’s top spy agency, was one of the most secretive organisations in the country. For decades, the name plaque displayed at the front gate to a high-wall compound off Tiananmen Square in downtown Beijing was the only public sign of its existence even though reports suggested its real headquarters were based elsewhere. Soon after President Xi Jinping came to power in late 2012, and particularly after he started to emphasise national security,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250701/why-chinas-top-spy-agency-stepping-out-shadows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250701/why-chinas-top-spy-agency-stepping-out-shadows?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Feb 2024 21:30:13 +0000 Has Hong Kong become just another Chinese city or will it very soon, having lost its “unique advantages”? The signs hardly augur well. Late last year, a married couple – eminent thought leaders in Hong Kong – embarked on a month-long trip to Canada and the United States, where they visited relatives and friends with extensive knowledge of this part of the world or who have lived in Hong Kong or on the mainland. The universal reaction was that Hong Kong has become just another Chinese city, or... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247033/its-not-beijing-thats-turning-hong-kong-just-another-chinese-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247033/its-not-beijing-thats-turning-hong-kong-just-another-chinese-city?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jan 2024 01:30:16 +0000 Much like global investors eagerly poring over the US Federal Reserve’s economic assessment statement for hints on the funds rate following its meetings, Chinese analysts approach the readout from China’s annual central economic work conference with a religious zeal, looking for changes to the wording and tone to get a sense of the economic priorities for the following year. Following the agenda-setting meeting of China’s top leaders earlier this week, Chinese analysts have tried to make sense... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3245067/how-can-chinas-economic-confidence-recover-amid-confusion-and-censorship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3245067/how-can-chinas-economic-confidence-recover-amid-confusion-and-censorship?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Dec 2023 01:30:16 +0000 President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden have hit the reset button on US-China relations, which had fallen to their lowest level in 40 years before their four-hour summit in San Francisco. The talks have not yielded much progress except for a promise to keep talking, but that is enough to allow the rest of the world to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The significance of the summit should not be underestimated, not least because gloom and doom had dominated the narrative over... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242659/us-china-thaw-means-beijing-can-focus-development-not-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242659/us-china-thaw-means-beijing-can-focus-development-not-security?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:30:08 +0000 China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden look set to meet in San Francisco later this month. They will no doubt focus on the Taiwan issue, the most significant challenge to a stable US-China relationship, but how to manage the “securitisation” of the bilateral economic relationship should also be a priority. Beijing has accused Washington of playing up concerns about the security implications of their economic ties since 2018, when the Trump administration launched the trade... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240118/how-china-can-reassure-nervous-foreign-investors-its-too-late?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240118/how-china-can-reassure-nervous-foreign-investors-its-too-late?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Nov 2023 21:30:12 +0000 What can Hong Kong do to get its mojo back? That is the question on everyone’s lips, particularly as the city’s international comeback has so far fallen short of the assertion that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made late last year when the city was close to reopening – “Hong Kong always bounces back, better than ever”. It is true that the subsequent blitz to woo tourists and business talent has worked to some extent. Visitor arrivals in August reached 4.1 million, or 84 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236284/hong-kongs-shoebox-housing-are-disgrace-john-lee-must-end?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236284/hong-kongs-shoebox-housing-are-disgrace-john-lee-must-end?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Oct 2023 21:30:18 +0000 China is experiencing a crisis of confidence in its economic strength and growth prospects. That seems to be the prevailing headline in foreign media talking about the world’s second-largest economy. Some analysts even believe that China is facing the worst economic crisis since the launch of reform and opening up in the late 1970s. There is plenty of evidence to support the argument. After nearly three years of strict pandemic lockdowns, expectations that China’s economy would roar back to life... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3233900/china-must-go-radical-restore-confidence-its-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3233900/china-must-go-radical-restore-confidence-its-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Sep 2023 17:00:20 +0000 It is like watching a political satire show, except that it’s not. Qin Gang, China’s newly minted foreign minister and a high-flying political star, has disappeared from public view since June 25. Speculation about his political future and personal well-being started to gather pace after a Foreign Ministry spokesperson claimed on July 11 that Qin was unable to attend the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting due to “health reasons”. That claim came after Beijing postponed a trip by European Union... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3229229/stony-silence-over-qin-gang-saga-does-chinas-reputation-no-favours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3229229/stony-silence-over-qin-gang-saga-does-chinas-reputation-no-favours?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jul 2023 19:30:12 +0000 The Chinese mainland is ramping up efforts to seek a military reunification with Taiwan, perhaps as early as 2027. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment in the international community amid US-China tensions. That was also the underlying theme of a panel discussion I was invited to, delicately put in the programme as “the geopolitical challenges of Taiwan and its neighbours”, last month at the World News Media Congress in Taipei. At the panel and in subsequent interactions with fellow... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3226823/dispel-war-talk-us-and-china-must-forge-new-understanding-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3226823/dispel-war-talk-us-and-china-must-forge-new-understanding-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jul 2023 17:00:22 +0000 China’s leaders have rolled out the red carpet for prominent overseas executives and repeatedly reassured them that the country is open for business since December, when Beijing lifted tight Covid-19 restrictions which closed the world’s second-largest economy for almost three years. The latest example is that the state media has given rock-star treatment to the visit by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The news coverage of their visits will no doubt encourage other entrepreneurs and investors to resume... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3222691/how-exit-bans-are-harming-chinas-push-welcome-foreign-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3222691/how-exit-bans-are-harming-chinas-push-welcome-foreign-business?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:15:18 +0000 Hong Kong has bounced back. That is a constant refrain I have heard from residents and visitors in the past two months after the city reopened following nearly four years of political upheaval and Covid-19 restrictions. The familiar hustle and bustle is plain to see if one walks by the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, where marquee events including Art Basel and the Web3 Festival drew in tens of thousands of visitors. In the adjacent Golden Bauhinia Square, buses lined up... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3220306/hong-kong-mainland-cant-afford-more-incidents-tarnish-one-country-two-systems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3220306/hong-kong-mainland-cant-afford-more-incidents-tarnish-one-country-two-systems?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2023 00:15:15 +0000 Is China back in business after nearly three years of self-imposed isolation and amid rising geopolitical tensions with the West? That’s the million-dollar question on the minds of foreign thought leaders and CEOs of multinationals, including Apple’s Tim Cook, who converged on China last week on a fact-finding mission to assess the country’s future direction after its sudden reopening in December last year and the election of a new cabinet in March. China’s leaders clearly know what is at stake.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3215348/china-rolling-out-red-carpet-foreign-investors-can-it-calm-nerves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3215348/china-rolling-out-red-carpet-foreign-investors-can-it-calm-nerves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Apr 2023 19:30:16 +0000 Since its inception in 1921, China’s Communist Party has lurched between ultra-left radicalism and pragmatism, bringing about alternating tragedies and triumphs. In the first 30 years of the People’s Republic, Mao Zedong’s erroneous emphasis on ideology and class struggle, fanned by ultra-leftist nationalism, produced catastrophic consequences. In the late 1970s, Deng Xiaoping ended the disastrous Cultural Revolution and adopted an open-door policy, which put China on the track of reform and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212110/xis-chinese-dream-danger-being-hijacked-ultra-left-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212110/xis-chinese-dream-danger-being-hijacked-ultra-left-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2023 17:00:13 +0000 After enduring three years of zero Covid tolerance in Beijing, I relocated back to Hong Kong in the last week of November 2022. That was during the period of turbulence in the Chinese mainland when university students took to the streets in major cities to protest against Beijing’s excessive restrictions, forcing the central government to reopen suddenly in early December. The contrast between the two cities could not have been greater. Leaving behind the freezing cold weather and pent-up... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3208878/not-just-another-mainland-city-hong-kong-should-trumpet-capitalism-lead-greater-bay-area-and-shun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3208878/not-just-another-mainland-city-hong-kong-should-trumpet-capitalism-lead-greater-bay-area-and-shun?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Feb 2023 00:15:10 +0000 Since Beijing’s sudden U-turn on ending the zero-Covid policy more than two weeks ago, Chinese officials and state media have struggled to put a positive spin on the decision. They have argued that the draconian coronavirus controls – which have isolated the country from the rest of the world over the past three years – won the population of 1.4 billion valuable, life-saving time. They have also tried to reshape public perception of the virus – until last month labelled serious and deadly in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204327/morgues-overwhelmed-why-chinas-new-covid-crisis-all-its-own-making?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204327/morgues-overwhelmed-why-chinas-new-covid-crisis-all-its-own-making?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Dec 2022 04:00:18 +0000 As I sit down to write this column to reflect on my career as a journalist, my mind keeps drifting to A Good Life, the title of the autobiography of US journalist Ben Bradlee, one of the greatest newspapermen in modern times and for whom I have the utmost respect. I cannot think of a more fitting description to summarise my life’s work as I have decided to move on from the hustle and bustle of reporting and writing for 33 years. I am leaving the South China Morning Post, a newspaper I have... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3197588/26-year-post-veteran-reflects-career-journalist-reporting-china-and-why-he-wants-return-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3197588/26-year-post-veteran-reflects-career-journalist-reporting-china-and-why-he-wants-return-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Oct 2022 00:00:09 +0000 To really understand the extreme lengths that China is willing to go to as it seeks to crush Covid-19, and some of the seemingly unreasonable decisions that it makes towards that end, there’s a three-character Chinese phrase you should always bear in mind: jiang zheng zhi (emphasise politics). The Communist Party’s nearly 97 million members know the phrase all too well, as it’s invariably invoked whenever higher-ranking officials or the central government want lowly bureaucrats or regional... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3193603/guiyangs-zero-covid-tragedy-evokes-chinas-old-mantra-putting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3193603/guiyangs-zero-covid-tragedy-evokes-chinas-old-mantra-putting?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Sep 2022 01:00:15 +0000 If there were only one lens through which to interpret Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarkable rise over the past decade, then it would have to be his signature anti-corruption drive. Since he came to power in late 2012, Xi and his supporters have deftly combined this ruthless effort with a relentless ideological campaign aimed at consolidating power by crushing political rivals and strengthening control over all levels of society. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) – the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3192789/chinas-xi-rose-power-his-anti-corruption-drive-fights-grown-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3192789/chinas-xi-rose-power-his-anti-corruption-drive-fights-grown-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Sep 2022 01:00:17 +0000 Will China open up more to the wider world, as its leaders have repeated tirelessly in public, or is it about to close its doors, as many have privately feared, because of uncertainties at home and abroad? These two seemingly contradicting questions have been simmering for nearly three years now, as China has largely isolated itself from the outside world through its tough zero-Covid policies and as tensions with the United States have escalated dramatically. They matter even more now as China’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3191934/china-closing-its-doors-its-leaders-say-no-actions-speak-louder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3191934/china-closing-its-doors-its-leaders-say-no-actions-speak-louder?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Sep 2022 01:00:21 +0000 China’s Communist Party this week finally revealed the date of its long-anticipated 20th congress, where Xi Jinping is widely expected to secure a norm-busting third term and cement his status as the country’s most powerful leader in decades. Tuesday’s announcement marked the official start of the countdown to the twice-a-decade conclave from October 16, at which Xi expects to promote more allies to senior leadership positions and deliver a policy address outlining China’s priorities for the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3191099/chinas-20th-party-congress-secrecy-shrouds-leadership-selection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3191099/chinas-20th-party-congress-secrecy-shrouds-leadership-selection?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Sep 2022 01:00:22 +0000 My daughter and I finally returned home to Beijing on Tuesday, a full 23 days after we had arrived in Hainan for a planned one-week beach holiday and became trapped in a travel nightmare by China’s extreme Covid-19 suppression measures. For almost a month, we were forced to become nomads – first stranded on the tropical island province, then trapped thousands of kilometres away in Tianjin for a week as we waited to be cleared for our return to the Chinese capital. We have experienced the good,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3190293/hainans-covid-chaos-exposes-bad-ugly-and-scary-chinas-virus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3190293/hainans-covid-chaos-exposes-bad-ugly-and-scary-chinas-virus?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2022 01:00:16 +0000 On the last day of July, my family and I flew to Hainan – widely billed as “China’s Hawaii” – for our first holiday outside Beijing in more than two-and-a-half years. Any concerns we might have had about China’s tight pandemic control measures spoiling our fun were dispelled by the fact that at the time of our flight, the tropical island province was Covid-free – and had, in fact, just finished hosting a major consumer products expo that reportedly attracted thousands of people from across the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3188688/dont-travel-around-zero-covid-china-my-familys-hainan-holiday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3188688/dont-travel-around-zero-covid-china-my-familys-hainan-holiday?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2022 01:00:25 +0000 In today’s world riven with great geopolitical uncertainties, people seldom agree on anything. One of the few things literally everyone can agree on is that ties between China and the United States, perhaps the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship, are at their lowest point since the countries re-established diplomatic ties in the 1970s. As Beijing and Washington openly spar over a wide range of issues from trade to technology to human rights, people wonder if the relationship can... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3187007/xi-jinping-warns-joe-biden-taiwan-history-yao-guan-shows-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3187007/xi-jinping-warns-joe-biden-taiwan-history-yao-guan-shows-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Jul 2022 01:00:20 +0000