This Month
Airwallex CEO brawls with Silicon Valley heavyweight over China links
Jack Zhang accused venture capitalist Keith Rabois of trying to damage the company after he claimed it was a “Chinese backdoor into sensitive American data”.
November
China’s ‘red tourism’ boom attracts patriots young and old
International travel has yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, but sites of historical importance to the CCP are proving popular with domestic tourists.
October
The Trump-Xi truce shows who really holds the leverage
The US retains formidable advantages such as frontier AI capabilities and wealthy allies. Yet, the Trump administration repeatedly undermines these strengths.
China’s rare earths gambit exposes Trump’s weak spots
Whatever one thinks of Beijing, Xi has set clear policy objectives – to dominate high-tech industries and use them as leverage against the US – and has laid out the road map to get there.
Chinese hackers are targeting WFH employees
Workers’ home routers and smart devices are being hijacked to breach corporate systems and create a sprawling network of infected gadgets.
September
The government has a tough climate policy task
Readers’ letters on the need for social licence for climate policy, energy security, Trump’s paracetamol claims, Albanese in New York and Nvidia’s AI deals.
Don’t believe China’s lies about Taiwan
It’s ironic to see the CCP attempting to use the high-profile commemoration of the WWII military victory against fascism to justify its fictional narratives.
Daniel Andrews reaches for new clients with Xi Jinping handshake
The former Victorian premier has a long history of cultivating business ties with China, and is on the hunt for more clients.
Beijing’s show of force sounds alarm in Canberra
The demonstration of China’s weaponry of choice in the military parade should trigger urgency in the Australian government.
China unveils missiles, drones and lasers. But will they work?
New torpedo-shaped drones and an array of hypersonic weapons that can be fired from land, sea and air would be a serious threat for the US and its partners.
Be wary of Chinese ambassador’s promises of friendship
China is embarking on the most rapid military buildup since World War II to underpin an expansionary territorial and geopolitical agenda.
August
How Donald Trump has turned the White House into his Imperial Court
Trump’s brute exercise of America’s size and strength is making him the most powerful president in recent history. But what comes next?
Xi Jinping’s spy games on Chinese Australians are only getting bolder
Surveillance and harassment of Australian citizens and residents have stepped up, and call for novel responses from Australia.
July
We’re letting Xi Jinping weaponise our economy all over again
Australia’s pursuit of growing trade dependence on China is making us increasingly vulnerable to Beijing and its coercion toolkit.
Albanese pitches tourism, sport to China as he seeks to rebuild trust
The prime minister is using cultural ties to mend relations as he hopes to revive the multibillion-dollar Chinese visitor market despite geopolitical friction.
Rumours of Xi’s downfall distract from China’s real challenges
The notion that Xi Jinping is about to be toppled is a distraction from the real cleavages in Chinese politics.
June
Trump’s ‘deal’ with China is just a waypoint to the next fight
Donald Trump behaves as though he has an unfettered ability to dictate terms to foreign countries, but that doesn’t work when you are so reliant on a single supplier.
China’s brutal EV price war is raising quality fears
An extreme discount war on electric vehicles has Beijing worried about a race to the bottom and damage to its international “Made in China” brand.
November 2024
Trump wants ally Australia to ‘stand up to China’
The president-elect’s picks for secretary of state and national security adviser both want Australia to do more to tackle China’s aggression in the Pacific.
August 2024
Fear and loathing in the NSW Liberals
A preselection candidate has gone to the Federal Court, alleging he was rejected by the NSW branch for the last state election because of his race.