Soviet Union

A screen grab from a video featuring Lu Shaye (left) engaging with Darius Rochebin (right) on French television. (Internet)

Are Chinese diplomats lacking in media sparring skills?

Chinese ambassador to France and wolf warrior diplomat Lu Shaye recently sparked a furor with his claim that post-Soviet countries have no effective status as sovereign nations, putting both French President Emmanuel Macron as well as Beijing in difficult positions. How can China repair the damage?
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.
Delegates attend the handover ceremony during the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on 16 November 2022. (Willy Kurniawan/Pool/AFP)

Chinese balloon saga jeopardises 'Asian peace'

For years after the Cold War, given its military dominance, the US saw itself as instrumental to maintaining an “Asian peace”. With that mindset, the more it perceives China as a threat to its Asian primacy, the more it will be on the defensive. In truth, Asian peace was achieved through various efforts, and Asia-Pacific countries all have a stake in seeing it maintained.
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, US, 4 February 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters)

A Chinese balloon derails US-China rapprochement

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?
In 1954, First Secretary of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev visited China and had a good discussion with Chinese President Mao Zedong. This was when China-Soviet relations were at their closest. However, bilateral ties went downhill soon after.

[Photo story] 100 years of China-Russia relations

Over the past century, China’s relations with the Soviet Union — and later Russia — have had its ups and downs. From early communist links and Soviet occupation of China, to today’s economic dealings, China’s leaders have navigated the tricky waters of history and geopolitics. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gives us a window into the past.
A security personnel keeps watch next to a Chinese Communist Party flag before the new Politburo Standing Committee members meet the media following the 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 23 October 2022. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Can the CCP truly serve the people?

Recent protests against the Covid restrictions show that the CCP’s mantra of “serving the people” is a double-edged sword. The platitude lends ideological ammunition and justification for people to retaliate, and may also give far leftists fodder for accusing the party of abandoning their original mission. Rather than a nameless “the people” which can be manipulated politically, perhaps it is time to think of the people as each and every person whose rights need to be safeguarded.
People walk along a pedestrian street surrounded by shops and shopping malls in Shanghai, on 12 October 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

George Yeo: China's rise is creating a multipolar world that could benefit the US

George Yeo, Singapore’s former foreign minister, delivered the Goh Keng Swee Lecture on Modern China to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute on 15 December. In covering issues of the day such as China-US rivalry, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the South China Sea, he concludes that a multipolar world is good for both China and the US. This is the full transcript of his speech.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an exhibition marking the anniversary of a historical parade in 1941, when Soviet soldiers marched towards the front lines during World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, 8 November 2022. (Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin/Sputnik via Reuters)

The world is no longer safe from a nuclear war

Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong remarks that the likelihood of a nuclear war has suddenly increased manyfold since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Besides Russia, the US has also become the main actor that could initiate the use of nuclear weapons. He shares his thoughts on these major powers’ historic and present-day views of nuclear weapons. Are they willing to risk it all?
US President Joe Biden gestures to the media as he walks towards Marine One for departure to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, 7 August 2022. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

The US's new National Security Strategy: An action plan to defeat China

The US’s recent release of its new National Security Strategy (NSS) represents its vow to outcompete its rivals, especially China, on the international stage. Political commentator Jin Jian Guo says that the ideological tussle between China and the US is becoming a new Cold War and for the NSS to be released during the period of China’s 20th Party Congress, the starter’s pistol has been fired in a strategic competition where there can only be one winner.