EAI senior research fellow Lance Gore notes that US concerns over what is perceived as China’s overcapacity might be unfounded and even indicative of US protectionism, and the fear that China might dominate manufacturing.

Academic Lian-Hee Wee and researcher Ng Kum Hoon rue the decline of Hong Kong comics, even if classics like Tony Wong’s crime syndicate-related, pugilistic stories live on to today. Politics aside, is it a question of Hong Kong’s youths being too pampered? Or is the industry bent on sterilising itself?

China has made great strides in its space exploration efforts in the past few years, most recently with the successful launch of Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship. However, Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while China is narrowing the gap in aerospace technology with the US, there is still a long way to go to catch up.

Japanese academic Shin Kawashima says that China’s unclear application of its anti-espionage law is severely hindering people-to-people exchanges between Japan and China.

Although China’s industrial overcapacity, which sits near the worst levels in the last decade, looms large in the minds of foreign leaders and policymakers, it is not new in the country.

Chinese academic Peng Nian says that Balikatan 2024, the annual joint military exercise between the US and the Philippines held in an expanded format, will escalate tensions in the South China Sea.

Since last year, European and American funds have become less interested in investing in the Chinese market while Middle Eastern sovereign funds have upped their investments in Chinese assets. Many Chinese entrepreneurs and venture capital firms have since been eager to court Middle Eastern funds. However, the latter have more complicated motives for investing in China than just wealth accumulation. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Liu Sha explains.

US academic Zhu Zhiqun explains the China-Russia quagmire in US-China relations, pointing out that US officials should ask themselves: is it realistic to expect Beijing to curb trade with Russia when Washington itself is forming all the security alliances to counter China? 

Taiwanese academic Chih-ming Wang reflects on the seeming openness to Chinese popular culture influences and Chinese social media platforms among Taiwan youths. Is it all pure entertainment or are efforts at soft power infiltration behind the fun and games?

While there was much fanfare over former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to China in April, Taiwanese academic Wen-Hsuan Tsai observes that Taiwanese sentiment, especially among young Taiwanese, has been mostly lukewarm.

The race for some Southeast Asian countries to anchor themselves in the global semiconductor industry is open and evolving, even as it is complicated by factors like great power rivalry.