Politics

Commentator William He analyses reactions to a Chinese balloon being detected in US airspace, and US-China relations being hit by another cold snap. Are we going back to Cold War times?

With a new military leadership in place after the 20th Party Congress, China’s military establishment looks set to focus on advancing technological development for China’s military modernisation in the near future.

EAI senior research fellow Lance Gore explains why the sudden reversal of globalisation, constant turbulence due to global developments and the fragmentation of international relations are some very real coordinates of China’s "new era". In response, apt and concrete policies along the socialism axis can be devised to meet the challenges.

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.

Japanese academic Tomoki Kamo points out that one can no longer rely on economic relations to keep Japan-China relations on an even keel. Trapped in a security dilemma exacerbated by diverging views of the international order, what common interests can Japan and China still find to go the distance?

Amid ongoing tensions, a high-level visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China in the coming week shows hope for improved relations between the two economic powerhouses. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while the meeting may not produce practical results, it is a much needed exchange to manage and control China-US relations from worsening.

While the Americans have made noticeable progress in their “pivot” to Asia, the crux of successful regional engagement rests on Washington’s ability to work with and around China’s indisputable links and influence in this part of the world, while managing its own relationship with Beijing.

With rumblings of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy possibly visiting Taiwan in spring, Yang Danxu observes that this will not be the last we see of the “Taiwan card” being played by US politicians as they move into the second half of the current US presidency.

While some analysts have spoken of the “white paper protests” against Covid restrictions in China as a turning point in citizen movements aggregating change, Taiwanese academic Wen-Hsuan Tsai says that the CCP had made its own calculations regarding easing China's Covid policy. Moreover, with its high-tech methods of monitoring protesters, the events of last November were well within its sights to deal with.