Zhu Ying asserts that the nub of the issue in the China-US trade war is a high level of distrust. Tariff tit for tats are just symptoms of that root problem. If not arrested, it will thwart any real progress in the trade talks.

Despite the local government’s best efforts to create “China’s Manhattan” in Tianjin, the Yujiapu and Xiangluowan business areas in Binhai — once looked upon with much promise — have not been as successful as hoped. Lim Zhan Ting visits the developments for a firsthand look.

Influential Hong Kong political commentator Simon Shen argues that Beijing is seeking to control the economic and political freedoms of the Hong Kong people by controlling the business community. He cautions against state corporatism of the sort employed in fascist states of the past and discusses how such state control can creep into our everyday lives.

In the unfolding academic fraud furore in China, Rao Yi, former dean of Peking University’s School of Life Sciences and president of Capital Medical University, fires a salvo of new accusations against three contemporaries.

On the first anniversary of her arrest in Vancouver, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou pens an open letter about her days under house arrest. In an emotive account, she says the strength she draws from warm words and gestures will light her way forward. This is the English translation of her full letter in Chinese. The original Chinese version of her letter is included at the end.

The word "ghost" (gui) is commonly found in the Chinese lexicon. Professor Poo Mu-chou draws links between history, culture and one’s personal experience to interpret the way humans conjure ghosts up in their own image and likeness in a bid to understand the inexplicable.

Hong Kongers used to call Beijing “Grandpa”. But the recent protests and the district council elections show that they no longer see mainland China as an authority figure. Tai Hing Shing analyses how Beijing lost its standing in Hong Kong.

Two weeks ago, the Philippine Senate heard that China may end up controlling the power grid in the Philippines. Should the Filipinos be concerned? ISEAS senior fellow Malcolm Cook examines what this might mean for the Philippines.

China's Amity Printing Co. (APC) produces an average of 70 Bibles per minute. This month, Jiangsu-based APC celebrates the printing of its 200 millionth Bible. Yang Danxu observes that its monopoly over the Bible economy helps to ensure that Christianity in China adapts to the context in China, as desired by the Chinese government.

What made Hong Kongers stand with the rioters during the recent district council elections? Does this landslide victory for the pro-democracy camp really count as a win for Hong Kong? How will Beijing react? Veteran China affairs journalist and associate editor of Zaobao Han Yong Hong gives her opinion.