Will common prosperity close the gap between rich and poor?
China is a far richer nation than it was 40 years ago, when it began to integrate with the global economy. However, income disparity has also widened, which is a concern to the Chinese Communist Party...
8 Mars 202213min
Threats to China's economy
China's leaders have revealed that they are worried about a number of threats to economic growth, some of them quite serious. Premier Li Keqiang adopted a downbeat tone in a recent speech, expressing ...
1 Mars 202212min
Hong Kong’s relentless battle with Covid
Just as much of the world seems to be emerging from the pandemic, the Covid-19 situation in Hong Kong is getting worse. By February 2022, hospitals were in danger of becoming overwhelmed with sick pat...
22 Feb 202212min
The middle income trap
Xi Jinping claims that China has achieved a tremendous feat by raising the standard of living of its citizens. "No other country can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in such a short ...
15 Feb 202214min
America's relationship with Taiwan - Reasons for concern
In January 2022 China's ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, warned Mr Biden: "If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will ...
8 Feb 202215min
Is Joe Biden recklessly risking conflict with China?
China is one of the most hotly debated topics in American politics and the cause of much division. In both the Senate and Congress, representatives tussle over whether China should be regarded as a st...
1 Feb 202213min
The political and economic thinking behind China's concept of “dual circulation”
As China strives to become more self-reliant, the Chinese Communist Party is keenly promoting a strategy it calls "dual circulation". This pushes for more goods and services to be developed in China, ...
25 Jan 202214min
Growing security concerns in East Asia
China’s increasing influence has profoundly changed the power dynamic in Asia. For decades, its economic growth has outstripped that of Japan and under Xi Jinping, there's also clear ambition to build...
18 Jan 202215min
