China offers two contrasting visions: of regional economic growth and nationalist competition. Which will it ultimately choose?
China on the Defensive?
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xi jinping
Making China Great Again
If the U.S. and China think they can grow at each other’s expense, they’re snookering themselves.
China: Harmony vs. Power
China’s increased military spending might not preclude its “peaceful rise,” but Beijing isn’t inspiring any confidence among its neighbors.
Can China Win Back Hong Kong?
Relations between Hong Kong and mainland China have fallen to some of their greatest depths since the city’s handover to Beijing.
Beneath the Surface, China Simmers
Not long ago, Chinese authorities detained Xu Zhiyong, a prominent civil rights advocate, for “assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place,” despite the fact that he had been under house arrest for over three months. Although the incident comes as little...
Overcoming ‘Strategic Suspicion’ — Goal of Obama-Xi Summit
This week’s relatively informal and unscripted summit between the presidents of the United States and China on a private estate in southern California is being welcomed by most analysts here as a virtually unprecedented opportunity for each side to gain a better understanding of the strategic aims of the other.
China’s Transformation: A Southeast Asian Perspective
China’s once-in-a-decade leadership transition will have major implications for China’s neighbors in Southeast Asia. Given this, it might be worthwhile to review the changing understanding of the momentous developments in China on the part of people in our region, using my generation—the so-called “baby boomers”—as an example.
Our Man in Beijing?
When Hu Jintao took over as the leader of China in 2002, U.S. companies welcomed his accession as a “good sign for American business.” Political analysts described Hu as a fourth-generation member of the Communist party leadership who might very well turn out to be a “closet liberal.” Playing it safe, the media tended to portray him as a pragmatic enigma. In the wake of 9/11 and high-level cooperation on counter-terrorism, Hu proved to be a reliable U.S. partner, prompting Colin Powell to remark in 2003 that U.S.-China relations were the best since 1972.
Letter from Okinawa
Dear Mom:
I haven’t written much from Okinawa. I’m sorry about that. I guess maybe you were expecting lots of exciting war stories from your son the Marine. But honestly, the most exciting thing we’ve done is put in a sea wall over by the Torii Beach shoreline and then take it down again when it wasn’t doing its job of controlling erosion.