Xiang Lanxin
Chair Professor, Security Policy, Shanghai University of Political Science and LawArticles by Xiang Lanxin
Politics
Chinese professor: Did Trump choose the wrong team?
Trump’s picks for his team is not simply about rewarding loyalty; it reflects key geopolitical goals for his second term. In this case, the idea of “kakistocracy” — rule by the worst people — misses the mark, says Chinese professor Xiang Lanxin.
Xiang Lanxin
20 Dec 2024
Politics
How the weakening of major powers affects the world
Chinese academic Xiang Lanxin believes that over the past few years, not only have the relationships between the major powers deteriorated, but these powers are also becoming weaker in different ways. How will such changes impact the world and the powers?
Xiang Lanxin
30 Jan 2024
Politics
Will the US's 'integrated deterrence' keep China in check?
US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has recently stressed the importance of "integrated deterrence", ostensibly against China. This involves all-around coordination with allies and preparation across fields such that the opponent will think twice or thrice before making rash moves. Xiang Lanxin assesses, however, that the conditions for integrated deterrence to work are lacking and there is a high chance that various parties will misjudge the Taiwan Strait issue.
Xiang Lanxin
12 Aug 2021
Politics
The real reset of US-Russia relations has begun?
While international opinion has largely been negative about the outcomes of the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva, Xiang Lanxin remains positive, saying that the US nursed Russia's psychological wound by referring to the two countries as "two great powers" and paved the way for the US and Russia to work together against the China threat.
Xiang Lanxin
30 Jun 2021
Politics
China must understand the 'tragedy complex' of Biden's team
Understanding the psyche of Biden's team will help China in its strategic calculations. First of all, members of Biden's inner circle are different from the hawkish officials in the Trump administration, but they do have a "tragedy complex" that could leave them expecting the worst to happen. Could the upcoming China-US dialogue in Alaska be a first step towards re-orienting bilateral relations? Switzerland-based academic Xiang Lanxin takes a look at the factors at play.
Xiang Lanxin
17 Mar 2021
Politics
The Indo-Pacific strategy could turn into an empty shell under Biden
The Indo-Pacific strategy, with the China threat at the back of its mind, was a vital plank of the Trump administration's foreign policy. Professor Xiang Lanxin considers the flaws of the concept when put into practice, and wonders if the policy will become something of a white elephant under the Biden administration.
Xiang Lanxin
02 Feb 2021
Politics
China's wolf warrior tactics confusing, misleading and unprofessional
When it would have been advantageous to watch and wait while the US leadership transition is carried out, China has decided to up the ante with a high-profile show of wolf warrior diplomacy. Is it setting itself up for a boomerang effect?
Xiang Lanxin
06 Jan 2021
Politics
China-US relations: 'Strategic clarity' on Taiwan may lead to hot war
The three communiques in US-China relations gave both the US and China a certain cloak of strategic ambiguity, but with senior members of the US government appearing to go against the tenets and China stubbornly holding the US to its clauses, what is left seems to be stark, opposing positions that make drifting into hot war all the more likely.
Xiang Lanxin
25 Nov 2020