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Illustration: Craig Stephens
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Opinion | Xi-Trump summit: what ‘strategic stability’ means for US-China ties

The main question isn’t whether the summit resolved the China-US rivalry but if it created common ground for addressing disputes.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Xi-Trump summit reveals changing shape of US-China tech rivalry

US-China relations

Opinion | China’s gift to the world we live in: predictability

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Diplomacy

Opinion | How China is making the most of the US’ faltering global leadership

As the US’ latest foreign adventures weaken American legitimacy, the world needs a political force that can act as a neutral arbitrator.

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Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, speaks at a daily briefing in Beijing in 2025. Photo: dpa
Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, speaks at a daily briefing in Beijing in 2025. Photo: dpa
2026 Xi-Trump summit

Opinion | Trump’s China visit hints the ‘2 eyes of the world’ can learn to live together

The twin superpowers may be slowly learning lessons from the ancient rivalry between Rome and Persia.

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Mainland China

Being Chinese | How to deal with this ‘very Chinese time’ in Western lives

The question is not whether outsiders are getting China or Chinese culture right, but what we choose to do with their attention.

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US-China relations

As I see it | Beijing had already won before the Trump-Xi summit even started

There’s a lesson for the US president in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in the early 19th century.

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US President Donald Trump (bottom right) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping upon arriving at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump (bottom right) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping upon arriving at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
Diplomacy

Outside In | Xi-Trump summit aside, 2 meetings in Asia matter for global trade

As Trump travelled to Beijing for the kind of bilateral dealmaking he prefers, two groups have continued their multilateral efforts.

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Brics

Opinion | Brics is less a structure than a sentiment

Despite lacking geopolitical alignment, Brics captures a prevailing mood among emerging economies that won’t fade away any time soon.

Diplomacy

Opinion | North Korea is not Iran. The same pressure tactics won’t work

North Korea’s nuclear reality and the overlapping interests of the US, China and Russia make tension reduction a prerequisite.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China economy

Opinion | Why the world needs China to save more, not less

The IMF assumes China should save less. China’s saving is key to financing the developing world’s need for green infrastructure.

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Workers head towards the connection point of the Chinese and Laotian sections of a shared power project on February 5. If China consumes more and saves less, there would likely be less global capital formation. Less infrastructure would be built abroad. Photo: Xinhua
Workers head towards the connection point of the Chinese and Laotian sections of a shared power project on February 5. If China consumes more and saves less, there would likely be less global capital formation. Less infrastructure would be built abroad. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

As I see it | US’ scientific self-harm will only help China

While Washington slashes funding for the sciences, Beijing is clinching its lead in everything from patent applications to publications.

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US-China relations

Opinion | US maximum pressure tactics unlikely to work with China

As the Trump-Xi summit approaches, China will be going into negotiations with a new diplomatic posture.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Opposing Taiwan independence is in America’s own interest

During Trump’s visit, Washington has an opportunity to send a restrained but clear signal that it is willing to work with China to manage risks.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy

Opinion | Just because Brics isn’t a coherent bloc doesn’t mean it’s impotent

The grouping has a future, not as a binding structure demanding policy alignment but as a tool for members to enhance leverage and maximise options.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy

Opinion | Latin America is reassessing the benefits of warm ties with Beijing

From Honduras to Cuba and Venezuela, leaders are taking a more transactional view of what relations with Beijing really bring.

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US-China relations

Opinion | China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

As fractures within the US’ network of alliances deepen, China’s strategic window opens a little wider, with some key caveats.

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China economy

Opinion | Can China engineer a price recovery that doesn’t make people feel poorer?

The producer price uptick offers a policy window: if reinforced by household demand and expectations, it could kick off a broader recovery.

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People cross a road near a shopping centre in Beijing on March 7. Photo: AFP
People cross a road near a shopping centre in Beijing on March 7. Photo: AFP
China economy

Opinion | Rise of China complicates ‘authoritarian’ vs ‘democratic’ binary

As China’s trajectory exposes the limitations of labels inherited from another era, understanding how governance systems work is more important.

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US-China relations

Opinion | China’s challenges in engaging with the US during the Middle East war

China needs the global system to succeed. So it must not get entangled with Iran nor jeopardise US relations over Taiwan.

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US-China relations

As I see it | Has China just ended the end of history?

As China continues to thrive, Western observers are beginning to rethink past assumptions about the country’s future.

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Tourists visit the Huangyao ancient town in Zhaoping county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on May 3. Photo: Xinhua
United States

Opinion | Thanks to Trump, the gloves are off. There may be no new global order

With the UN, IMF and World Bank mired in old power structures, universities could be the platform to shape how the global future unfolds.

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A South Korean protester wears a mask of US President Donald Trump during a protest against Trump’s request to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz, in front of the US embassy in Seoul on March 16. Photo: AFP
A South Korean protester wears a mask of US President Donald Trump during a protest against Trump’s request to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz, in front of the US embassy in Seoul on March 16. Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

Opinion | China unsurprisingly puts its own interests first. Can Europe do the same?

As Beijing seeks to influence Europe, Brussels must shape on its own competitiveness agenda and policy aims for engaging with China.

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China economy

Outside In | Prepare for ‘China shock 3.0’ to the global food economy

Imagine China applying the same industry policy playbook for electric cars, solar panels and AI to agriculture and food self-sufficiency.

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Asean

Opinion | Why China’s warning over military blocs is finding listeners in Asia

For regional governments, strategy is about preserving options. China has read this instinct carefully and given it a diplomatic vocabulary.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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