https://www.scmp.com/rss/518907/feed Selected opinion articles that are eventually published in the South China Morning Post are featured first on SCMP Plus. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Yanzhong Huang Yanzhong Huang In the grand theatre of international politics, soft power – the art of attraction without coercion or payment so eloquently defined by the late Joseph Nye – was long considered the gleaming crown jewel of American influence and the glaring deficiency in the Chinese arsenal amid the countries’ rivalry for pre-eminence. Yet since US President Donald Trump’s return to office, the balance of international attraction has been shifting remarkably in Beijing’s favour. On the domestic front, the US... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3310402/frittering-away-us-soft-power-trump-ceding-contest-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3310402/frittering-away-us-soft-power-trump-ceding-contest-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 03:02:53 +0000 Zhou Bo Zhou Bo This is another “DeepSeek moment” for China. By now, the world will have heard of how the Pakistan Air Force used Chinese-made J-10 fighter jets with Chinese-made PL-15 missiles to shoot down India’s French-made Rafale fighter jets, its best enlisted combat aircraft. What lessons might Beijing draw? First, this is a milestone for China’s defence industry. Until now, China’s state-of-the-art weapons have had no real chance of proving their reliability or lethal power. China has not been at war in... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3310276/4-lessons-china-pakistan-j-10s-down-indian-rafale-jets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3310276/4-lessons-china-pakistan-j-10s-down-indian-rafale-jets?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 May 2025 07:00:24 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent Southeast Asian tour has put the South China Sea – a simmering cauldron of territorial and maritime disputes – back into focus. Amid joint statements brimming with diplomatic finesse, Beijing is sending a clear message: it seeks to manage tensions and not escalate them while keeping its strategic compass firmly pointed towards cooperation and regional stability. The statements – issued alongside Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur – emphasise peaceful dispute resolution,... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3307405/xis-approach-south-china-sea-tensions-reduce-now-resolve-later?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3307405/xis-approach-south-china-sea-tensions-reduce-now-resolve-later?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 07:06:46 +0000 While the US and China tighten the screws on their respective artificial intelligence ecosystems, a quieter, more complex battle is playing out beneath the surface. This isn’t just about two superpowers clashing over chips and compute – it’s about two versions of what it means to be Chinese in tech, and which one ends up shaping the future. At the heart of it is talent. The United States remains the dominant hub for top AI minds – 27 per cent of elite AI researchers work there. But here’s the... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3305756/ai-rivalry-watch-between-china-and-chinese-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3305756/ai-rivalry-watch-between-china-and-chinese-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 02:48:27 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s assault on American universities is pushing the country’s intellectual landscape further towards the right in an upheaval that is altering the dynamics of the US-China great power rivalry. After facing the threat of a US$400 million reduction in federal funding, Columbia University has yielded to Trump’s demands to curb antisemitism and reform its Middle East studies department, among other changes. Liberal critics have decried Columbia’s compliance as an erosion of... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3303731/how-trumps-assault-us-universities-reshaping-rivalry-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3303731/how-trumps-assault-us-universities-reshaping-rivalry-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Mar 2025 05:31:47 +0000 The world, especially Europe, has been stunned by recent developments, particularly the intense debate within the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump and US Vice-President J.D. Vance. But what shocked the global community the most has been the sudden shift in the war narrative. Trump has framed Ukraine as the cause of the conflict and suggested that Nato, the transatlantic military alliance, was to blame for provoking Russia. This has completely... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3301142/europes-shock-trump-bringing-back-great-power-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3301142/europes-shock-trump-bringing-back-great-power-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:29:01 +0000 America’s recent push to end the war in Ukraine has involved talk of significant concessions to Russia and sidelined both Kyiv and the European Union. For China, the pace of the US-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia might have been equally surprising. Just weeks ago, China was comfortably positioned to play an important role in US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace efforts, with Washington seemingly open to working with Beijing to leverage China’s economic influence over Russia. This aligned with... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3299885/trump-cant-break-russias-alliance-china-he-can-shake-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3299885/trump-cant-break-russias-alliance-china-he-can-shake-it?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Feb 2025 08:25:11 +0000 Technological dominance was once synonymous with proprietary innovations. But recent history suggests differently: true disruption comes from making technology cheap, accessible and inescapable. China rejects the traditional high-cost, high-margin model of innovation. While foundational artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnological breakthroughs still largely originate in the United States, China excels at rapidly scaling up and optimising the costs of these innovations, turning them into... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3299087/ai-evs-chinas-tech-genius-making-it-cheap-and-accessible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3299087/ai-evs-chinas-tech-genius-making-it-cheap-and-accessible?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Feb 2025 04:36:08 +0000 Global trade tensions have escalated sharply in recent weeks after US President Donald Trump launched a series of aggressive tariff measures. While maintaining elevated tariffs on Chinese imports, Trump has now threatened to extend similar protectionist measures to the European Union, raising alarm bells across the Atlantic. These mounting pressures have prompted European leaders to re-evaluate their strategic partnerships and trade relationships, particularly with China. Against this backdrop... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3298304/trumps-trade-war-gathers-steam-china-and-europe-must-cooperate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3298304/trumps-trade-war-gathers-steam-china-and-europe-must-cooperate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 04:06:44 +0000 History was made at Donald Trump’s inauguration when China’s Vice-President Han Zheng became the first senior Chinese leader to attend a US presidential inauguration. While the invitation by the new administration is seen as a sign of a thaw in the strained relationship between the two superpowers, it comes against a backdrop of deep economic and geopolitical tensions. Joe Biden has handed over a US-China relationship marked by years of conflict – trade wars, blacklists and sanctions, all aimed... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3295623/will-trump-succeed-containing-china-or-fuel-its-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3295623/will-trump-succeed-containing-china-or-fuel-its-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2025 08:00:32 +0000 The Philippines’ coming midterm elections in May, the incoming Donald Trump administration and last year’s violent maritime clashes may keep bilateral ties between Manila and Beijing volatile. Leaders on both sides interested in easing tensions and preventing conflict have their work cut out for them. Luckily, economics could bind the two countries together while improved diplomatic efforts can moderate bellicosity. As the Philippines and China mark the 50th anniversary of official ties, both... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3294683/manila-and-beijing-can-still-choose-cooperation-over-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3294683/manila-and-beijing-can-still-choose-cooperation-over-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:38:19 +0000 China and its rival superpowers face tough years ahead as decades-old drivers of growth worldwide lose steam, the tailwinds promised by artificial intelligence prove more illusory than real and uncertainties multiply amid geopolitical conflagrations involving nuclear-armed adversaries. Those difficulties add to deep-seated challenges that are kindling societal discontent. The ageing population is one. This global demographic challenge will further slow economies after tepid growth as governments... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3292018/why-worlds-economic-powers-could-find-2025-year-great-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3292018/why-worlds-economic-powers-could-find-2025-year-great-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:17:18 +0000 China is at a crossroads as the most important player on the Korean peninsula. It must either tolerate continuous belligerent escalations from North Korea backed with nuclear weapons or promote peace and stability through denuclearisation of the peninsula and diminish US influence in the region. During the past two months, a whirlwind of profoundly important political events has occurred with far-reaching implications for the global order. US president-elect Donald Trump’s return to power has... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3290973/china-should-seize-moment-promote-peace-korean-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3290973/china-should-seize-moment-promote-peace-korean-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2024 07:34:58 +0000 China’s energy and climate change ambitions are in the spotlight again. This time, much of the attention comes from the recently concluded United Nations climate conference, Cop29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. During that often heated and contentious 12-day conference, Chinese diplomacy was at its finest, set against a markedly placid United States presence. Washington’s retreat in most things climate-related partly stems from Donald Trump’s re-election as US president given his apparent antipathy... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3289646/how-china-quietly-becoming-worlds-climate-champion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3289646/how-china-quietly-becoming-worlds-climate-champion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2024 07:17:26 +0000 Terry Su Terry Su As the key pieces fall into place for positions in US president-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, tea-leaf readings abound, especially with regard to the incoming administration’s hawkishness towards China. To say that Beijing can cope with Trump’s return with consummate ease is surely an exaggeration. However, there is a strong case to be made that China is in a better strategic position than four years ago, when current US President Joe Biden took over from the first Trump administration and went... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3288183/why-stronger-china-has-no-need-fear-second-trump-administration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3288183/why-stronger-china-has-no-need-fear-second-trump-administration?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Nov 2024 01:22:31 +0000 The United States is gradually closing its doors by reducing its trade with China. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed in his speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, that China would “open its door even wider to the world”. This declaration suggests a proactive strategy is under way to counteract US protectionist measures. To offset the potential loss in exports to the US, China needs to take immediate steps to become more self-sufficient and diversify... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3287353/4-steps-china-can-take-weather-trumps-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3287353/4-steps-china-can-take-weather-trumps-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2024 07:33:16 +0000 It won’t be long before the world finds out if North Korea has really sent troops to help Russia fight Ukraine. Despite denials from Pyongyang, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on October 31 that as many as 8,000 North Korean troops were in Russia’s Kursk region and expected to enter combat. Are North Korean troops a game changer in the grinding Russo-Ukrainian conflict? I think not. Russia has already gained the upper hand on the battlefield against the Ukrainians, who are weary, short... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3285213/north-koreas-support-russia-wont-be-game-changer-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3285213/north-koreas-support-russia-wont-be-game-changer-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Nov 2024 04:45:18 +0000 Israel’s air strikes on Iran and military incursions into southern Lebanon against local Islamic militant group Hezbollah are visible defeats for US diplomacy aimed at de-escalation in the Middle East. China is getting involved, too, but it is still not a credible alternative to the United States as a mediating power in world crises. In separate phone calls with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts, Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3284282/combined-china-and-us-pressure-could-get-warring-sides-talk-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3284282/combined-china-and-us-pressure-could-get-warring-sides-talk-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Oct 2024 06:50:00 +0000 Just before the 2024 Brics summit, India and China reached a significant agreement on de-escalating border tensions. In an interview on NDTV, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the deal would allow border patrols to be conducted the way they used to be in 2020, ostensibly before the deadly Galwan Valley clash. On Tuesday, this position was echoed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, who confirmed the progress, saying that China “will work with India to properly... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3283649/china-india-border-detente-paves-way-more-balanced-world-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3283649/china-india-border-detente-paves-way-more-balanced-world-order?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Oct 2024 07:22:44 +0000 Neutrality is essential to maintaining Southeast Asia’s stability and prosperity. To uphold Asean’s centrality, the region must remain steadfast in resisting the pressure to choose sides. As Malaysia seeks membership of Brics, the emerging economies bloc that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is expected to attend the grouping’s summit in Kazan, Russia, later this month. This, plus his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Eastern... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3281698/asean-centrality-remains-key-regional-peace-amid-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3281698/asean-centrality-remains-key-regional-peace-amid-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:44:32 +0000 Although the brief “golden era” of Sino-British relations between 2015 and 2017 is over, an extended period of more sober and pragmatic commercial relations may be at hand. UK media reports point to senior Chinese and British finance ministry officials setting the stage for detailed economic talks in the near future. Reports also suggest Britain’s new finance minister, Rachel Reeves, may travel to Beijing early next year to discuss trade and investment. The news follows China’s Vice-Premier He... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3281665/chinese-investment-could-soon-pour-back-britain-its-about-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3281665/chinese-investment-could-soon-pour-back-britain-its-about-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:03:21 +0000 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is busy playing down the risks of a major conflict in the South China Sea after yet another dangerous clash, this time with axe-wielding Chinese maritime forces that left injuries, including one Filipino soldier who lost his thumb. “We are not in the business to instigate wars,” Marcos Jnr told troops at a military base in Palawan, which embraces the South China Sea. “We refuse to play by the rules that force us to choose sides in a great power... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3268225/doubts-about-us-behind-marcos-downplay-latest-south-china-sea-clash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3268225/doubts-about-us-behind-marcos-downplay-latest-south-china-sea-clash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jun 2024 06:30:09 +0000 America’s reputation has been bruised in many parts of the world due to its actions, from destabilising uncooperative governments, overruling the mandate of newly elected foreign leaders and, in extreme cases, invading other countries. In recent years, its position has improved somewhat, not so much by its own doing but by those of its competitors and adversaries, which have shown they are not above pressuring foreign leaders, threatening outright hostilities or, as with Russia’s invasion of... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267472/no-good-reason-us-spread-anti-vax-rumours-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267472/no-good-reason-us-spread-anti-vax-rumours-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2024 04:11:58 +0000 China’s engagement in the Middle East has surged over the past decade, particularly following the Arab spring and amid the perceived withdrawal of the United States from the region. Traditionally, Beijing has worked to develop balanced relationships with all sides while avoiding the region’s many conflicts. As China’s global standing has strengthened, however, it has adopted a more proactive approach, positioning itself as a potential alternative to the US. At the same time, superpower... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267054/amid-us-rivalry-chinas-gamble-middle-east-paying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267054/amid-us-rivalry-chinas-gamble-middle-east-paying?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2024 07:32:55 +0000 The US has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and the European Union is expected to do the same, but most countries in the Global South have not followed suit. In particular, Mexico has become China’s second-largest car importer and has seen a recent surge in Chinese investment. China, the main trading partner of many Southeast Asian and African states, is becoming an important trading country for South America, long seen as America’s backyard. Given that the Global South represents 88... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3265616/mexico-ground-zero-china-takes-global-south-battle-us-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3265616/mexico-ground-zero-china-takes-global-south-battle-us-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2024 08:34:44 +0000 SCMP Plus provides early access for premium subscribers to some opinion articles. This article will be published soon on SCMP.com. The Shangri-La Dialogue is often cited as Asia’s premier security conference, but the Singapore gathering can no longer afford to focus exclusively on the Indo-Pacific’s geopolitical challenges. This year’s gathering – attended by defence officials, government leaders and diplomats from around the world – tackled issues but also highlighted divisions among the... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3265356/shangri-la-dialogue-shows-us-china-rivalry-extends-far-beyond-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3265356/shangri-la-dialogue-shows-us-china-rivalry-extends-far-beyond-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2024 09:31:49 +0000 After a four-year hiatus, leaders from China, South Korea and Japan reconvened in Seoul this week for their ninth trilateral summit. The meeting occurred against a backdrop of high geopolitical tensions and regional security threats, punctuated by North Korea’s failed reconnaissance satellite launch hours after the gathering. With Sino-South Korean ties at a nadir and Seoul-Tokyo relations enjoying a revival, the divergent values and priorities of the three nations raised questions about their... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3264517/china-japan-south-korea-are-talking-again-and-thats-good-start?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3264517/china-japan-south-korea-are-talking-again-and-thats-good-start?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2024 07:05:14 +0000