Jin Jian Guo

Political commentator

Jin Jian Guo is a political commentator living in Shanghai.

People walk past the Drum Tower in Beijing, China, 5 March 2023. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Chinese commentator: China’s nationalistic frenzy stems from an inferiority complex

Chinese netizens were riled into a nationalistic frenzy when free ice-cream was allegedly given to a foreigner but not a Chinese person at the Shanghai Auto Show. How could such a small incident ruffle so many feathers? Commentator Jin Jian Guo explains.
French President Emmanuel Macron meets students at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou on 7 April 2023. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)

Chinese commentator: Macron wants to be different, but does he understand China and the world?

French President Emmanuel Macron has integrated de Gaulle’s anti-US sentiments and Mao’s spirit of daring to fight against a major power into his comments during his recent China trip, says Chinese commentator Jin Jian Guo. However, a deeper analysis shows that Macron does not truly understand these various actors on the global stage, including China.
China fans celebrate their team's first goal in the stands during the friendly football match between New Zealand and China at Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on 26 March 2023. (Marty Melville/AFP)

Scandal-plagued China soccer: China's 'whole nation' system failed again?

China’s soccer industry development has been disappointing, made worse by the recent corruption probes into the league’s senior officials. Political commentator Jin Jian Guo notes that the introduction of the "whole nation" system to boost the country’s soccer profile has left it wanting, to no surprise given the system’s abysmal history.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma visits Hangzhou Yungu School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China in this handout picture released on 27 March 2023. (Hangzhou Yungu School/Handout via Reuters)

Jack Ma has returned but Chinese entrepreneurs will still have a hard time

Jack Ma’s recent return to China has made waves and offers some hope for the revival of the entrepreneur class in China. But this group of people have never shaken off their dual identity as entrepreneur-capitalists. With the rise of a group of diehards romanticising the glory of past eras, entrepreneurs, and in turn the development of China’s market economy, face obstacles.
People visit a riverside in front of the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, 7 March 2023. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Can the US remove China's developing country status?

In per capita terms, China may seem more like a developing country than the might of its overall economic, technological and military prowess suggests. Be that as it may, the duality of its identity suits the CCP’s purpose in trumpeting China’s strengths at home while holding on to the right to developing country status benefits internationally. While the US will be keen to strip China of such flexibility, China will likely fight tooth and nail to keep this advantage.
Container ships at the Port of Oakland on 8 March 2023 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/AFP)

How US is continuing to restructure globalisation and the global trade system

Commentator Jin Jian Guo assesses that the global trade situation has undergone structural changes, in terms of China gradually losing its status as the world’s factory, amid competition from India and other countries in Southeast Asia. One major reason is the US’s actions in pursuing regional and bilateral free trade agreements that excludes China and have limited China’s trade scope.
Ukrainian service members prepare a mortar to fire toward Russian troops in the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released 13 February 2023. (Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Independent Kholodnyi Yar Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)

Bipolar world: Two main changes from the war in Ukraine

As the world marks one year of the war in Ukraine this month, commentator Jin Jian Guo looks at how the global situation has changed in that time, within the European continent and in the world at large. It is clear that in various aspects, Russia is not in a promising position, and China, as a pole that challenges the American order, will face significant obstacles.
China's Vice-Premier Liu He addresses the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, 17 January 2023. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

China can still shine if it acts on Vice-Premier Liu He's Davos advice

At this year’s Davos forum, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He laid out five points that have led to China’s success so far. However, his session did not see a packed crowd, while China’s claims of sticking to reform and opening up seem less than convincing when taken against its actions. Commentator Jin Jian Guo delves into the importance of staying the course.
A pedestrian walks at Central Business District (CBD) in Beijing on 16 January 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

Politics a threat to China’s economy

Political commentator Jin Jian Guo observes that China economic policy has always been ruled by politics, and while it seems that the pendulum is swinging back in favour of private firms after a period of bashing and stifling, this is not a given as the politics of the day still rules.