This week, in an act of tit-for-tat after the European Union imposed sanctions on Chinese officials involved in Xinjiang human rights abuses, China imposed its own sanctions on five Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), three members of national parliaments, two EU committees, and a number of European think tanks and experts on China. [...]
China’s wolf warrior diplomacy might have had an active year, but China’s foreign relations are on the wrong track. One often overlooked reason for this is China’s limited understanding of how democracy, rule of law or separation of powers function in foreign countries. The European tour of the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in [...]
It’s difficult to think of a more famous piece of off-the-mark but still common wisdom about China than the idea that China’s government thinks and plans in generations, decades, or centuries, acting in its long-term interest. Today, especially in foreign affairs, China often lacks a long-term vision, while its short-term actions are sabotaging its [...]
Who would have imagined street stalls could grab so much attention in China? Premier Li Keqiang’s comments about expanding street stalls to promote employment and the apparent pushback by Xi Jinping’s allies against his proposal have also revealed something that has become an afterthought in the Xi era: the power and importance of the [...]
Huawei has steadily emerged as a 5G pioneer, showing how a Chinese company can become a global heavyweight. Yet it has also become a different kind of pioneer: the first victim of a foreign blockade of Chinese technology companies, which could upend Beijing’s plans to become a global tech leader. The argument underpinning [...]
The Chinese leadership’s decision to introduce national security legislation in Hong Kong has attracted global attention and condemnation. This move was unsurprising, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been trying to tighten control of the autonomous city over the past years and the lack of a national security law has been a [...]
Over the past 40 years, China’s economic rise has been powered by the work, sacrifices and creativity of hundreds of millions of citizens. Yet its rise as a global power has come about thanks to many unsung heroes: its diplomats. There are no movies, memorials or patriotic recruitment clips dedicated to them, but some [...]
When the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in 1949, almost 40 years had passed since China’s territory had last been administered by a functional central government, the Qing Dynasty. This period of chaos and war affected hundreds of millions of lives. In 1949, life expectancy at birth in China was only somewhere between [...]
Now that China has done away with presidential term limits, Xi Jinping can retain all his current titles and power long into the future. Most commentary defending the move argues that Xi is consolidating power to push through difficult reforms and strengthen China, and that he wants to remain in charge beyond 2022 to [...]
Xi Jinping said it and the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) confirmed it: it’s a new era, including for the party and its process of institutionalization. Xi entered the congress as a very powerful leader, but one who still respected almost all of the traditions and precedents that guided Chinese [...]