What gives the Communist Party legitimacy to rule China?
China is a proud nation which plays a key role in many international institutions, including the United Nations. It enjoys diplomatic relations with liberal democracies and when Xi Jinping speaks to J...
23 Aug 202214min
Is China able to broker peace in Ukraine?
Presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers from many countries have urged China to press Russia to stop its military actions in Ukraine. But are they right to assume that a word in Vladimir Put...
16 Aug 202213min
Hong Kong’s battle for freedom
For many decades, people in Hong Kong enjoyed a level of freedom which was in marked contrast to life in other parts of China. Following the end of the British colonial era in 1997, the Communist Part...
9 Aug 202215min
China’s problems with faltering growth and rising debt
One of the loudest messages from the Chinese Communist Party is that it has delivered wealth to citizens by creating an environment in which the economy grows and thrives. However, as a result of the ...
2 Aug 202215min
Waving the red flag: The rise of Chinese patriotism
The Chinese Communist Party routinely encourages people to be patriotic and to love their country. Textbooks which are studied in all of China’s schools highlight achievements of which they should be ...
26 Jul 202214min
How does the Communist Party view China’s wealth inequality?
China is a land of contradictions. This shows up in a stark gap between rich and poor, which is evident through the contrast between conspicuous consumption in the big cities and the much more basic w...
20 Jul 202214min
A powerful force: How cadres shape China
Much of the hard work in running China falls to about 40 million party and government officials, known as cadres. These include powerful figures, such as provincial governors, bosses of state-owned en...
12 Jul 202215min
What’s the best term for China’s unique system of governance?
The international media uses strong words to describe China’s system of governance. American newspapers often inform their readers that China’s regime is “authoritarian” or “totalitarian”, or both. Ye...
5 Jul 202215min
