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Open Questions series

Open Questions series
Open Questions is a series of South China Morning Post interviews with global opinion leaders. SCMP Plus subscribers enjoy early access to these articles.
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Donald Trump

Open Questions | Trump-Xi summits: an inside view with US ex-diplomat William Klein

Former diplomat posted to Beijing speaks on Iran, Taiwan and global supply chains as details of Xi-Trump meeting are worked out.

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2026 Trump-Xi summit

Open Questions | US ex-diplomat’s inside view on Trump-Xi summits

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China's military weapons

Open Questions | War on Iran may spark nuclear arms race, Carnegie scholar says

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US, Israel war on Iran

Open Questions | Iran war’s impact on China limited, scholar Pan Guang says

China’s Middle East position ‘relatively favourable’, professor says, and regional spillover from US-Israeli attacks likely to be limited to Tehran’s Shia militia allies.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
China shipbuilding

Open Questions | US shipbuilding revival looks dead in the water, Li Yanqing says

China commercial shipbuilding veteran doubts protectionist US can take business from market-oriented Chinese yards, and slams Washington’s ‘fabricated facts’ about their rise.

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China trade

Open Questions | Abraham Newman on how world can resist US, China economic coercion

Threatening rivals’ economic choke points is nothing new, but Trump has politicised it, political scientist says. He suggests ways countries and companies can respond.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | AmCham chairman urges more US-China talks, fewer tariffs

James Zimmerman on US businesses’ desire for stable bilateral relations and fair treatment by China, and why Hong Kong autonomy matters.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Ukraine war

Open Questions | Historian on Trump’s new world order and a Europe in crisis

Luuk van Middelaar explains return of great-power rule, Europe’s wake-up call and its struggle to fend off Putin in Ukraine and respond to ‘danger’ from US.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | Lawrence Lau’s recipe for China? More school, higher pay

Economist on how China can improve its workforce, why it needs more basic research and the benefits a unified market in the Greater Bay Area would bring.

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Artificial intelligence

Open Questions | Why practical use of AI, not race for supremacy, is key for this author

Academic Jeffrey Ding explains why human capital will determine whether US or China wins the AI race, not which attains superintelligence first.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
United States

Open Questions | China wins if Venezuela ensnares Trump, Mearsheimer says

Maduro’s ‘kidnap’ and naked grab for Venezuela’s oil may leave US bogged down and less able to keep eye on China, political scientist John Mearsheimer says.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-Venezuela conflict

Open Questions | Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

Political scientist says the Western-led global order remains useful, and the Belt and Road Initiative isn’t a geopolitical project.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Amid US-China trade war truce, ex-diplomat preaches realism

Daniel Kritenbrink, once the top US diplomat for East Asia, doesn’t see a wider thaw in relations despite upcoming meetings between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

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Mainland China

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on Europe’s ‘China shock’, US snub

China’s challenge to Europe’s industrial might and the end of coalition with US has plunged continent into crisis. Can it recover, asks Bulgarian expert Ivan Krastev.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
US-China decoupling

Open Questions | Yeo on how Trump wants to avoid Taiwan upending China relations

Former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo says that Donald Trump is prioritising stable relations with China, and that the US is facing decline amid a shift to a multipolar world.

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Artificial intelligence

Open Questions | Why sci-fi’s Liu Cixin hopes AI surpasses humanity

The Three-Body Problem author on technology’s remorseless progress, why superintelligence isn’t a given and the decline of science fiction literature.

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China economy

Open Questions | Huang Yiping on AI and stablecoins’ risks and rewards for China

Influential economist says growth in artificial intelligence must protect livelihoods and Chinese central bank’s cryptocurrency caution is warranted.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel on Taiwan, the Ukraine war, China-US ties

Zhou Bo ponders Japanese PM Takaichi’s recent remarks, lessons from the Ukraine conflict and why China won’t be world’s policeman.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
China economy

Open Questions | Nicholas Lardy on China’s unique economic advantage

Economist at US think tanks on bright prospects for China, the challenges it faces and why more market discipline is needed.

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China economy

Open Questions | China’s weak consumption and how economist Lu Feng would fix it

With 15th five-year plan promoting consumption, Peking University expert spells out imbalances and contradictions in Chinese economy and ways to resolve them.

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Books and literature

Open Questions | Sci-fi author Ken Liu on why dawn of AI is like camera’s advent

Chinese-American science fiction author on why we should experiment with artificial intelligence, not worry about it.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Harvard University (US)

Open Questions | Michael Sandel on Trump’s rise, meritocracy’s downsides

Philosopher on US president’s politics of humiliation, inequality, humanities in peril and his wish for Chinese and Americans to learn from each other.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-China relations

Open Questions | John Mearsheimer on Taiwan, US-China rivalry, Trump and Ukraine

International relations scholar weighs risks of great power conflict in East Asia, West’s blunder on Russia and what Donald Trump got right about China.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

Economist, business executive advocates looking beyond geopolitics, avoiding policy pitfalls and building a culture that celebrates success.

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Shing-Tung Yau

Open Questions | Top mathematician on China’s talent gap, role of pure science

Tsinghua University’s Shing-Tung Yau on how China can stop being a follower in science, an opportunity for Hong Kong and chaos in Trump’s US.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Chinese culture

Open Questions | Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

The influential writer and chef’s first book is credited with bringing Sichuan’s fiery and aromatic dishes to world attention.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
United States

Open Questions | Martin Powers on imperial China’s influence on Western ideas

Enlightenment figures such as Thomas Jefferson borrowed from Chinese thinking about governing for the people, yet the West has forgotten this, art historian says.

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Books and literature

Open Questions | Yan Lianke, Chinese novelist and Nobel Prize contender, on a writer’s role

Author of multiple books, some of them banned, considers Chinese literature’s place in the world and China’s soft power projection.

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