China
China’s energy crisis
The absence of Xi Jinping from COP26 in Glasgow this weekend should strip away any illusion that China is a…
The rise and fall of Jack Ma
Jack Ma used to give rock star performances for his employees at Alibaba, Asia’s biggest online commerce company. He once…
Wuhan clan: the price I paid for my lab leak exposé
The price I paid for my lab leak exposé
China is using the climate as a bargaining chip
For China, the climate is a useful bargaining chip
Xi threatens Taiwan because he's weak
Over the weekend, China sent waves of warplanes racing towards Taiwan in numbers not seen before, forcing the democratic self-ruled…
Will China’s ‘digital yuan’ reinvent money as we know it?
The rise of the digital yuan
Portrait of the week: Petrol panic, Labour’s meltdown and China’s crypto crackdown
Home The crisis of the week was a shortage of fuel at garages. ‘There is no need for people to…
Is government preparing to shake the magic money tree again?
Will my bath water still be hot by Christmas? That’s not a question I’d normally feel a need to share…
The case against Aukus
The case against Aukus
The legacy of Stephen Toope
Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, has begun this academic year by announcing it will be his last in the…
China and the WHO are given an easy ride in the Covid blame game
Are you ready to relive 2020? That’s what Adam Tooze is offering as he tells the story of Covid-19 through…
China’s obsessive attempts to subvert the West
Most people who think themselves well informed know little or nothing about China. They – or I should say ‘we’…
Xi Jinping is weaponising China's sex scandals
Zhou Xiaoxuan was in tears when she emerged from the Beijing court around midnight on Tuesday. ‘I’m really sorry there…
China's war on effeminate men
A rectification notice from China’s state censor earlier this month included a peculiar admonition to ‘resolutely oppose’ effeminate men on…
How ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ is taking over China’s classrooms
How ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ took over China’s classrooms
Is it time to defund the world’s policeman?
It gets lost in the many creative purposes successive American administrations invented to justify remaining in Afghanistan, but the primary…
Did Chinese fentanyl kill Michael K. Williams?
Did Chinese-manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, kill Michael Kenneth Williams, the man who played ‘Omar’ in The Wire? Within minutes…
Portrait of the week: Britain leaves Afghanistan, hurricane hits New Orleans and Gove goes clubbing
Home Britain brought its last troops home from Afghanistan, having flown out more than 15,000 people since 14 August; but…
How China drove a wedge between America and Israel
Two weeks ago, CIA director William Burns – who has rather a lot on his plate just now – had…
Would Japan defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack?
In a parliamentary debate in early June about Covid, Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga said that Australia, New Zealand and…
The Supreme Court’s shameful statement on Hong Kong
In a statement which will doubtless surprise the scores of lawyers, democratic politicians and human rights activists who are currently…
China’s Great Game in Afghanistan
China greeted America’s chaotic retreat from Afghanistan and the Taliban seizure of power with a mixture of glee and trepidation.…
China’s zero Covid strategy is being undermined by mahjong
Mao Zedong once said that the game of mahjong should not be underestimated, because: ‘If you know how to play…
Iran's 'Ghost Armada' and its secret alliance with China
When a British security guard was killed in an Iranian drone attack last month, the response from the government was robust. Boris…
How China tried to suppress the lab leak investigation
The lead figure in the World Health Organisation’s work on the origins of Covid-19 has givena remarkable interview to Danish…
