This Month
- Opinion
- Trade
Australia-China trade will be caught in middle of Trump’s tariff war
Australia is now more dependent on a single market than it has ever been since the late 1940s when our biggest customer was the United Kingdom.
November 2024
- Opinion
- China relations
Xi got his message across, but calls to oppose protectionism are a bit rich
Australia is right to rail against Donald Trump’s tariffs, but we should also make our voice heard on Xi Jinping’s “China First” policies.
October 2024
- Opinion
- Global economy
Understand Xi and you’ll adjust expectations for China stimulus
Where Beijing’s powerful state economy is headed will be determined by the Great Helmsman.
August 2024
- Opinion
- China relations
Beijing could do without Trump’s unpredictability on steroids
The conventional idea is that China would prefer the chaos of second Trump term. But on the ground, officials and scholars are wary of a Trump victory.
July 2024
- Opinion
- China relations
The smarter way to exploit China’s technical expertise
China has a lot of know-how of its own. We should be working out how to absorb it rather than walling it off.
June 2024
- Opinion
- China relations
Australia-China ties are not ready for AUKUS
It’s no surprise that Li Qiang will head straight to Australia’s mining capital and most pro-Chinese city. But he will bypass the Stirling naval base where US nuclear-powered submarines will arrive.
May 2024
- Opinion
- Global economy
US-China trade war choices for Chalmers’ green budget
The new incentives for critical minerals and green hydrogen are about more than industry policy. They will play out in a global contest over rival political systems.
March 2024
- Opinion
- China relations
The Wang-Wong doctrine: embrace and fight at the same time
China and Australia’s foreign ministers are both adept at the art of making frenemies. It’s working for now, but for how long?
- Opinion
- ASEAN
How Australia can avoid predictable ASEAN pitfalls
South-East Asia will happily talk to us about stability and trade, but ignore us if we are only interested in pushing values and rivalries.
February 2024
- Opinion
- Inside China
Why the Peak China story is overdone
China’s economy is no longer about to dash past the US, but its ability to mobilise capital, people, resources and military muscle for specific purposes remains enormous.
January 2024
- Opinion
- Taiwan
Why Taiwan’s election is a disaster for China and dilemma for the West
A third win for the DPP would be a terrible failure for Beijing. But other nations must frame support for Taiwan beyond just the threats of war.
December 2023
- Opinion
- Electric vehicles
German car colossus too slow as Chinese EVs dominate
But thanks to the boom in demand for lithium, Australia has been able to profitably surf in the slipstream of China’s ascendancy.
November 2023
- Opinion
- China relations
A dramatic new twist in Taiwan’s politics
A joint ticket between two China-friendly candidates has narrowed the field in Beijing’s favour in the crucial January election.
- Opinion
- Foreign relations
Labor’s AUKUS woes a boon for Beijing
The Chinese are unlikely to raise AUKUS during Albanese’s visit this weekend, but they will not be displeased by the security pact’s funding troubles.
September 2023
- Opinion
- Australia's China challenge
China is steadily building an alternative world order
While it purports to steer clear of superpower competition, Beijing’s global governance initiative is driven by it, unfurling in a slow burn over more than a decade.
August 2023
- Opinion
- China relations
What does Australia do in the economic world war?
China is turning its economy inwards on to a near-war footing. America is mobilising for clean energy revolution. But there is a place for Australia too.
June 2023
- Opinion
- Foreign relations
The truce with China is a fragile one
The trade war is winding down because it has outlived its usefulness to Beijing. We should not rely on the new stability for political leverage at home or abroad.
- Opinion
- China relations
China’s new culture war on America
Beijing is returning to the ‘Asian values’ debate of the 1980s and 1990s in its efforts to exclude the West from the Indo-Pacific region.
May 2023
- Opinion
- Japan
An ambassador most extraordinary
The closeness of Japan’s man in Canberra Shingo Yamagami to the hawkish Morrison government left this unconventional diplomat out of sync with Labor.
March 2023
- Opinion
- Foreign relations
How does Australia square AUKUS with Taiwan?
Will the nuclear submarine deal with Washington drag Australia into a conflict with China? Not if Canberra uses its diplomatic powers well.