Wuhan Coronavirus

Beijing's wholesale market cluster sparks fear of a repeat of Wuhan's ordeal

After largely bringing the coronavirus under control, and keeping Beijing out of the fray, China is facing the possibility of a fresh outbreak, this time focused on a cluster involving the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing. That the coronavirus was found on a chopping board for cutting imported salmon has sparked much debate about transmission via salmon, and the prospect of a second wave of Covid-19. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu weighs up how Beijing will tackle the problem.

Yang Danxu

15 Jun 2020

China: Sole preoccupation of US foreign policy

Chip Tsao says that US foreign policy has for two decades focused on threats such as the "axis of evil" and global terrorism. With the coronavirus escalating US threat perceptions of China, will the rising dragon now dictate its every move?

Chip Tsao

02 Jun 2020

Guangzhou robot restaurant: Robot chefs did their part during the epidemic

The use of robot chefs in restaurants has been on the rise in recent years. Zaobao journalist Zeng Shi takes a closer look at how Foodom, a robot restaurant in Guangzhou is bringing us one step closer to the future. But that is not all - the robot chefs also volunteered their service in Hubei during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Zeng Shi

29 May 2020

When the only option is fraud: How institutional faults led to the spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan

Chen Kang attributes the blindspots in China's handling of the Covid-19 outbreak to the tendency of officials to withhold information and put up appearances for their own interests. As such, decision-making could be impaired by the asymmetry of information and misaligned interests between superiors and subordinates, especially at the local level. Results then vary based on how well one navigates the minefields of groupthink, collusion and that seemingly innocuous aim of not rocking the boat. Using the prism of formalism, or what is prizing form over substance, Chen points out the weakness of a centralised system.

Chen Kang

11 May 2020

Blame game can lead to showdown between China and the US

China and the US are pointing fingers at each other for the coronavirus, with the US seeking accountability and compensation from China. Will it work? And what consequences will there be for China-US relations? Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan examines the circumstances.

Yu Zeyuan, Edwin Ong

04 May 2020

Warming up of China-Japan ties hijacked by the pandemic

A severely disrupted supply chain, an inevitable blame game, a collision in the East China Sea... Dr Amrita Jash says that like many things this year, the warming up of China-Japan ties has been hijacked by the spread of Covid-19 and its aftermath.

Amrita Jash

30 Apr 2020

Covid-19: Is deglobalisation on the cards?

The pandemic has exposed the flaws of a globalised world characterised by interconnectedness. Dr Yu Hong asks: "If there are no safeguards in place for risk control and management, would it still be in the interest of each country to pursue globalisation? Do the economic and trade benefits of globalisation outweigh the impact of its potential systemic risks? How should each country safeguard domestic public health while driving economic globalisation forward?"

Yu Hong

29 Apr 2020

Covid-19: A leaderless age is fast approaching

Like scales falling from their eyes, the international community is seeing how a dearth of global leadership has left countries flailing for themselves since the onset of the pandemic. Who or what will step forward and take up the leadership mantle? Not the US, and not China either.

Sahashi Ryo

29 Apr 2020

China faces avalanche of calls for coronavirus compensation

The US is leading a drive to seek accountability and compensation from China for losses and damages sustained due to the coronavirus. Economics professor Zhu Ying looks at whether these efforts will bear any fruit.

Zhu Ying

28 Apr 2020

Salvaging China's economy: Economic growth is meaningless if the society is ruined

Professor Zheng Yongnian recognises that the economic impact of the coronavirus will be deep. Beyond thinking about whether short-term cash payouts should be given, he mulls over measures that can see China through protracted headwinds. Key is the political will needed to move the country's strategies away from GDPism, or an obsession with GDP, to those of building social safeguards as the country strives to build a sustainable economy.

Zheng Yongnian

27 Apr 2020

Without cash payouts, are China's Covid-19 economic measures enough?

Japanese academic Kai Kajitani examines the enormous impact that the coronavirus is having on the Chinese economy. Measures are in place to absorb the shocks - but unlike many countries, the country has so far gone with other routes apart from direct cash payouts. Will these efforts be enough? And are the voices of the underclass in society being heard?

Kai Kajitani

24 Apr 2020

New battleground for China-US competition: International organisations

From bilateral and multilateral diplomatic situations, to international economic organisations and non-economic organisations, the competition between China and the US has intensified in a different way during the pandemic, as new battlegrounds for influence are created. Chinese researcher Peng Nian presents the possible areas that the US and China might continue to clash, even after the pandemic eases.

Peng Nian

24 Apr 2020