China
New Zealand and China: Contending with words and actions
New Zealand was one of the more than 130 countries which, at the recent World Health Assembly, sponsored a resolution setting up an independent inquiry into Covid-19 – a proposal…
Central Asian nations want to kick-start the BRI – and China is happy
For China, the Covid-19 question is answered by more Belt and Road. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi put it at a press conference during the 13th National People’s Congress…
China and Japan’s island dispute
When I was a news hack in 2012, I had the good fortune of interviewing Fumio Kishida, Japan’s foreign minister. He was only 16 days into his new post, and he was doing a four…
US break with WHO: Where does it leave the rest of the world?
International health law is closely associated with the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the treaties it oversees, of which the 2005 International Health…
The local cost of rising India-China tensions
India-China tensions have recently escalated at two Himalayan flashpoints: Ladakh and Sikkim. On 5 May, scuffles broke out between Chinese and Indian soldiers near Pangong Tso, a…
Commentary
With an ailing domestic economy, can China still pursue its global plans?
Soaring unemployment and a struggling economy must be tackled before its leaders can return to threats and bluster. Originally published in The Guardian.
The Trump card in the Sino-Indian rivalry?
As worrying details about the month-long India-China border dispute continue to pour in, Donald Trump, in his signature style, has muddied waters in two significant ways.
First…
Commentary
There is no quick fix to our parlous relationship with China
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.
Another pearl in China’s string?
The Cambodian island of Koh Rong, long a backpacker’s haven, lies just a quick boat ride from Sihanoukville, a city that has come to symbolise the governmental intimacy of…
Commentary
China and Australia's relationship is souring but not weakening
COVID-19 and politics are driving them apart but trade keeps them together. Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review.