China
Leading by example: Two different responses to China’s rise
Australia and the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) stand as critical security partners with the United States, and have supported the open, rules-based international order…
Commentary
Xi Jinping’s Strength is China’s Weakness
Unlike any other Chinese leader since 1949, he has no identifiable rivals and no likely successors. Originally published in The New York Times.
Commentary
The US, not China, is Australia's most difficult relationship
All the talk of “mateship” and ever “deepening ties” in relation to our alliance with the US tends to obscure the competitive nature of foreign policy. Originally published in the…
Commentary
A dysfunctional America helps China – but hurts Australia and our region
It doesn’t matter to Beijing who wins the presidential election. But a divided America may translate into an isolated Australia. Originally published in The Guardian.
China’s problematic lending comes home to roost
On 13 November, the finance ministers and central bankers of the G20 will hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss action to help poor countries struggling to pay debts. A key…
A Trump legacy?
The “who won” question isn’t quite resolved. Bleary-eyed pundits fossicking over every county result are making about as much sense – and as much noise — as a flock of seagulls…
Is China speeding up military modernisation? It may, but not yet
On 29 October, at the Fifth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the year 2027 was mentioned for the first time in the same breath as army…
Book review: The China bubble that never pops
Book review: Thomas Orlik China: The Bubble that Never Pops (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Way back in 2001, Gordon Chang wrote a book entitled The Coming Collapse of China…
Taking China seriously: A review of Geoff Raby’s “grand strategy”
Book Review: Geoff Raby, China’s Grand Strategy and Australia’s Future in the New Global Order (Melbourne University Press, 2020)
Since the middle of the 19th century, four…
Analyses
Digital Authoritarianism, China and COVID
The coronavirus has showcased China's cyber-powered social
control capabilities, with implications for human rights worldwide.