While some China observers believe that China has sought to displace America from the regional and global order and possesses a grand strategy in the military, political and economic realms, Indian researcher Hemant Adlakha asks if this sense of threat is a mistaken perception or even a grand illusion. But even as the Chinese repeatedly deny such ambitions, Washington looks set to tighten the noose around Beijing. In such an event, China will be left with no choice but to challenge the US twin strategies of encirclement and containment.
New Cold War
Politics
Recent comments by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have people speculating if Japan is taking a more hawkish stance on Taiwan. Japan-based academic Zhang Yun explains that this is a combination of factional politics between the liberal-leaning Kochikai faction led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the neo-conservatives within the LDP, as well as the dynamics of Japan’s relationship with the US and China. With the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties between Japan and China taking place next year, will the Taiwan card be further in play?
Politics
Australia, the US and the UK recently launched the enhanced trilateral security partnership “AUKUS”. American academic Zhu Zhiqun believes that AUKUS is divisive and serves the interests of the US military-industrial complex. It has also raised the stakes in China’s threat perceptions, given the unspoken target of the grouping. And now that Australia has picked a side, how will power dynamics play out in the Indo-Pacific region? Will China also seek alliances to strengthen itself?
Economy
Analyst Zheng Weibin says that while the China-US competition is a tussle for power that some would compare to the Cold War of the 20th century, digital technology is making all the difference in the 21st century. Today's competition is taking place amid changing definitions of national strength and economic power, and China needs to catch up in terms of growing its digital economy and meeting the challenges that come with it.
Politics
Based on the experience of the Cold War, the US can see merit in letting the enemy undo itself in its strategy against China. For the Soviet Union, it was the ills of Stalinist socialism and the failure of the command economy. For China, will its inherent contradictions lead to its own unravelling?
Politics
Whether the Communist Party of China will escape the fate of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union depends greatly on the extent to which it has rooted out the six major ills that plagued the Soviet system. Only then can it rise smoothly and peacefully to the benefit of the world.
Politics
The current upheaval in Hong Kong must be seen for what it is — a clash of two systems, two sets of values and two ways of life. It is a microcosm of the clash China faces with the world, especially the West. How the CCP deals with policies there will determine if it can shake off its “evil” label in international discourse and win approval from the world.
Politics
Economics professor Zhu Ying looks at the similarities and differences between NSC-68 targeting the Soviet Union during the Cold War period, and the recent Strategic Competition Act targeting China, which may soon pass into law. What can we infer about the current state of China-US relations?
Politics
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.