https://www.scmp.com/rss/510875/feed Jersey Lee was an editor at the leading Chinese media organization Guancha.cn (2022-2024), and is a contributor to the Lowy Institute's The Interpreter and the UKNCC. He is also founder and co-host of Pacific Polarity, focused on regional geopolitics. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Yuqi Li,Jersey Lee Yuqi Li,Jersey Lee As Israeli bombs continue to pound Tehran and other sites throughout Iran, we are witnessing the logical conclusion of a long cycle of escalation and geopolitical intrigue in the Middle East. Despite multiple efforts by various actors to resolve the region’s deep contradictions through diplomacy, the fate of the Middle East appears, once again, to be decided by force. The Abraham Accords in 2020 marked a watershed moment, as multiple Muslim-majority nations normalised ties with Israel,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314711/has-great-power-politics-fanned-flames-war-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314711/has-great-power-politics-fanned-flames-war-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Before Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, there was broad uncertainty over how he might approach China and how the Chinese might respond. Two months in, the picture remains just as murky. Initially, it appeared there was a consensus that Trump could continue and perhaps even ramp up his predecessor Joe Biden’s policies of competition against China, essentially a continuation of Trump’s own policies from his first term. Conversely, Harvard professor Graham Allison noted that Trump had... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3303982/white-house-sends-mixed-signals-beijing-bides-its-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3303982/white-house-sends-mixed-signals-beijing-bides-its-time?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Mar 2025 12:30:08 +0000 In a historic election victory, Sir Keir Starmer successfully advocated for an YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) agenda of growth and development for Britain. It all sounds quite familiar to Chinese ears, except for one missing piece of the puzzle: the country’s foreign policy approach of “Global Britain”, established by former prime minister Theresa May, and its implications for China. The Labour Party’s campaign understandably focused on domestic issues, such as high energy prices, the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3271692/britain-can-deliver-its-domestic-goals-working-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3271692/britain-can-deliver-its-domestic-goals-working-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:30:10 +0000 Not long before their respective nominations, the campaigns of both US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump have been dealt a blow. Biden’s debate performance earlier this month has led to weeks of heightened attention on him amid speculation Democrats will try to replace him, with the intrigue dominating headlines until the attempted assassination of Trump reset the news cycle. So far, the consensus appears to be that this will at least buy Biden a few days of reprieve,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3270603/trump-or-biden-perhaps-it-shouldnt-matter-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3270603/trump-or-biden-perhaps-it-shouldnt-matter-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jul 2024 21:30:09 +0000 Supporters of the rules-based order have had a busy month. From the Shangri-la Dialogue to the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, multiple global leaders have called for efforts to defend and preserve it. But amid these outcries for order, there is no true order but chaos. The problem became noticeable as early as 2003, when the United States tried to justify its invasion of Iraq. It was amplified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s brutal war in Palestine. The rules-based order has... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3267841/rules-based-order-isnt-working-its-time-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3267841/rules-based-order-isnt-working-its-time-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2024 12:30:09 +0000 Thirty years after apartheid, Nelson Mandela’s political heirs are in for a rude awakening. The African National Congress (ANC) he led won barely 40 per cent in South Africa’s general election, a veritable collapse in support after garnering just 57.5 per cent of votes in 2019, a record low then. The ANC has mainly lost support among young people. An AtlasIntel poll just before the election showed the ANC had the support of over half of those surveyed who were over 60 years but just 27 per cent... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3265237/ancs-fall-divisive-politics-darkening-south-africas-rainbow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3265237/ancs-fall-divisive-politics-darkening-south-africas-rainbow?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2024 21:30:08 +0000 For two years, China has forged its own path in its absolute commitment to a zero-Covid policy. This reflects Beijing’s ability to eliminate Covid-19 from within its borders and prevent millions of deaths when most countries, unable to do anything similar, decided to abandon such attempts. The arrival of the highly contagious but less lethal Omicron variant, combined with the increased availability of effective therapeutics and vaccines, should prompt a reassessment of the cost-to-benefit ratio... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3170693/china-must-prepare-move-its-zero-covid-policy-after-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3170693/china-must-prepare-move-its-zero-covid-policy-after-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Mar 2022 22:45:11 +0000 The United States last week hosted a Summit for Democracy. China took note and in response prepared its own International Democracy Forum, preemptively releasing a white paper on its own political system called China: Democracy That Works and organising a Dialogue on Democracy. The two sides are laying out a fundamentally different understanding of what defines a democracy. The American position has been clear for centuries: free and fair elections, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159838/us-china-democracy-summits-just-start-difficult-global-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159838/us-china-democracy-summits-just-start-difficult-global-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Dec 2021 19:30:12 +0000 China submitted its formal application this month to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). During this time of turbulence in international trade, and of progress and reform in China, it serves as a strong signal that China intends to stay open internationally and improve economic standards domestically. The trade pact is not new, of course. The US withdrawal in January 2017 of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, the CPTPP’s predecessor, ended... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3150385/chinas-cptpp-bid-underlines-its-commitment-trade-and-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3150385/chinas-cptpp-bid-underlines-its-commitment-trade-and-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Sep 2021 01:15:23 +0000