Mr. Xi’s swift reversal of more than three decades of apparent movement toward collective leadership and a less intrusive party has surprised both U.S. officials and much of the Chinese elite. In hindsight, though, the roots of his approach are visible in key episodes of his life. Read Here | The Wall Street Journal
This time last year, concepts such as “lockdowns,” “mask mandates” and “social distancing” were unknown to most of us. Today they are part of our everyday language as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact all aspects of our lives. The following 12 charts and graphics attempt to quantify and provide an overview of research in the […]
As 2020 draws to a close, many of us cannot wait for this annus horribilis to end. And for good reason: this year has seen more than a million and a half COVID-19 deaths; an economic collapse far greater than that of the 2008 financial crisis; a boiling-over of resentment against decades of racial and social injustice; […]
Deng, when he was in charge, warmed to USSR again. In fact, he brought Gorbachev to Beijing in 1989. We don’t know if Xi will follow Deng and eventually change China’s international position, but certainly the global situation for Beijing is far more complicated than 40 years ago. Read Here | Asia Times
U.S.-China relations sharply deteriorated in 2020, after three years of steadily declining under the Donald J. Trump administration. Beijing and Washington traded blame over the coronavirus pandemic, remained locked in a trade war, competed over 5G networks and other technologies, and clashed over rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, among other issues. Read Here […]
Although Joe Biden has ambitious proposals to raise taxes and spend trillions of dollars over the next decade, he will be constrained if Republicans retain control of the Senate. He should welcome that outcome as an opportunity to govern in the mode of Bill Clinton, rather than as the ideologue others would like him to […]
After the 2008 U.S. housing and credit market crisis, Chuck Prince, the former Citibank CEO, explained his bank’s speculative activity during the bubble by noting that when the music is playing you have to dance. Today, with the world’s major central banks continuing to supply the markets with ample liquidity, there can be little doubt […]
China’s experience of the coronavirus pandemic has reaffirmed this assessment of faltering American global leadership, the failing capacities of the West to address the challenges of the new century, and the resilience of China’s socialist economy in comparison to capitalism; most importantly, they think it has also validated the superiority of their political system. Read […]
When General Pervez Musharraf stepped down as Pakistan’s president in 2008, many had hoped the nation’s coup-riddled politics were headed in a decidedly more democratic direction. Fast forward to the present, Pakistan has moved from a brief period as a functional electoral democracy to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “hybrid” regime, where elected and military officials […]
China’s foreign policy today is driven by a toxic mix of nationalism and past grievances, but it is also infused with pragmatism and patience. Powered by its extraordinary economic growth, China continuously seeks to test the ability of any foreign country to stand up to its interests as defined by the CCP. Read Here | […]
looking beyond borders 