Why is Taiwan's opposition leader meeting Xi Jinping? In this week's Economist, I unpack what Cheng Li-wun, the new Kuomintang leader, hopes to get from her visit to China and why the trip is controversial at home and in the U.S. www.economist.com/china/2026/0...
In this week's episode of The Economist's Drum Tower podcast, our defense editor Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social joins to me to talk about Taiwan's drive to to build "China-free" drones for itself and other countries worried about over-reliance on Chinese tech www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
In the latest Drum Tower podcast, I'm joined by former co-host @dsorennie.bsky.social to ask if Germany's big bet on China is turning into a costly mistake. We also reminisce about the VW Santana and hear from Johannes Volkmann, German MP & grandson of Helmut Kohl. www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
The Economist is looking for a China Researcher/News Assistant in Taiwan. This is a great opportunity for a Mandarin-speaking journalist seeking to hone their skills with one of the best China teams in the business. Details are in the link. www.telummedia.com/jobs/view/ta...
Can China lead the world on climate action? In a 6-part special report in this week's Economist, Gabriel Crossley and I explore how China became the world's green energy superpower and why it has reached a tipping point in its approach to climate change www.economist.com/special-repo...
Deal or no deal? In this week's Drum Tower podcast from The Economist, Sarah Wu and I discuss last week's Xi-Trump meeting and whether their 1-year trade war truce can hold. We're joined by Jon Czin, former CIA China analyst and NSC China director. www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
What is Taiwan's Plan B? In the latest issue of the Economist, I looked into how Taiwan is hedging for the risk that America abandons it. Rubio says U.S. policy towards the island won't change for a trade deal. The question is whether Donald Trump feels the same way www.economist.com/asia/2025/10...
Throuple trouble. On the latest Drum Tower podcast, Sarah Wu and I examine why China's unhappy with Russia's closening ties to North Korea — and what Beijing is doing about it. @tpbeijing.bsky.social joins to talk about his recent trip to the North Korean border. www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
The toxic cycle of China-America trade talks continues. For the latest issue of The Economist, I dug into how channels of communication have changed since Trump 1.0, why they're now malfunctioning so badly, and why it's so hard to find a reliable go-between. www.economist.com/china/2025/1...
In this week's Drum Tower podcast, my co-host Sarah Wu takes a ride in a flying car and chats with me about China's "low-altitude economy". Could Chinese skies soon be buzzing with aerial taxis and delivery drones? www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
For this week's Economist, @tpbeijing.bsky.social and I explore China's relations with North Korea. We found that China is boosting economic ties again. But not because it's ok with North Korean nukes. It seems worried about Russia's growing sway over Kim Jong Un www.economist.com/china/2025/0...
I'm thrilled to be back in Taiwan, where I'll be based for the next few years as The Economist's Chief China Correspondent and co-host of the Drum Tower podcast. I'll be jointly leading our China coverage from here, focusing on foreign policy, military affairs, Taiwan and Chinese influence abroad.
Just as India's showdown with Pakistan was spiralling out of control, it seems to be coming to a halt. After 4 days of fighting and some Pakistani nuclear signalling, they've agreed to a ceasefire. Will it hold? My story from Delhi with Cyril Almeida in Islamabad
www.economist.com/asia/2025/05...
This India-Pakistan crisis looks unlike previous ones. With fighting at its worst since 1999, both are now hitting military targets in big cities far beyond Kashmir. They're using drones and other high-end weapons. And now the nuclear signalling has begun. My story www.economist.com/asia/2025/05...
How a plan to sell two ports on the Panama Canal dragged Hong Kong's richest man into the US-China rivalry. On this week's Drum Tower podcast from The Economist, I join my colleague, Emma Irving, to explore why and how Xi Jinping might block the $23bn deal www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
Can India and Pakistan control a new cycle of escalation? Our take in this week's Economist on the biggest Indian aerial attack on its neighbour in more than 50 years. By @shashj.bsky.social in London, Cyril Almeida in Islamabad and me in Delhi. www.economist.com/asia/2025/05...
Are India and Pakistan heading for war? For this week's Economist, Cyril Almeida and I looked at India's options for military strikes and Pakistan's likely response. The short version: this standoff could be more perilous than the last major one, in 2019 www.economist.com/asia/2025/05...
How will India respond to last week's Kashmir attack? For The Economist, I look at India's options for military strikes on Pakistan. Modi faces public pressure to go further than a 2019 airstrike. But some advisers want a calibrated response to avoid escalation. www.economist.com/asia/2025/04...
What happened to the China hawks? For the latest Economist, I look at the waning influence of conventional China security hawks around Trump despite the trade war. His broader China goals are unclear but among advisers, homeland-focused "restrainers" are ascendant www.economist.com/china/2025/0...
I did an update on the Panama ports deal for this week's Economist. The signing has been postponed amid more signs of Chinese dissent. But has Xi made a final decision to block it or is he trying to gain leverage for broader talks with Trump on trade, Taiwan etc? www.economist.com/china/2025/0...
Why India sees opportunity as well as risk in Trump's trade war. Indian officials hope to benefit from higher tariffs on China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and quickly seal a trade deal with the US. But domestic resistance could be stiff. With @gavinjackson.bsky.social www.economist.com/asia/2025/04...
In this week's Drum Tower podcast for The Economist, @aliceysu.bsky.social and I explore how China aims to capture Taiwan without even fighting a war. Might economic coercion, psychological warfare and political infiltration be enough? www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
To learn more, check out this analysis lnkd.in/ea-cPB2v and other great work by @ibkardon.bsky.social who has been tracking China's overseas port network for years. Thanks also to Jacob Gunter at MERICS @merics.bsky.social and @zoe-liu.bsky.social at the Council on Foreign Relations @cfr.org.
The short story: China has many informal ways to intervene in a deal that could almost halve its overseas port network and reshape maritime trade in America's favour. But doing so would intensify scrutiny of that port network and private Chinese companies. Maybe carve a few ports out of the deal?
How far could Xi Jinping go to resist the Panama Canal port deal? For this week's Economist, I parse the latest signs of Chinese displeasure at BlackRock's planned purchase of 2 Panama ports and 41 others from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison www.economist.com/china/2025/0...
This was a trip down memory lane for me, recalling my first trip from India to China in 1992 and my earlier postings in both. But we also chat about my eye-opening visit this month to a mega-factory opened near Delhi last year by Vivo, the Chinese company that makes India's top-selling smartphones
What if China & India became friends? I join @aliceysu.bsky.social on The Economist's Drum Tower podcast this week to discuss whether India & China can grow closer economically after their October border deal -- and what that might mean for Asia and the world. www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
Might India take up Trump's new offer to sell it F-35 fighters? Could it pick Russia's Su-57 instead? And do either meet India's immediate needs? For the latest Economist, I went to India's biggest airshow to witness the contest over the world's top weapons importer www.economist.com/asia/2025/02...
China wants to avoid the UN censure that Russia faced after invading Ukraine, says @chongjaian.bsky.social of the National University of Singapore. Beijing also wants protection from any Western actions if it attacks or blockades Taiwan. And it's making rapid progress, esp. in the global south.
Of 193 UN member states, 119 also now use China's preferred formula for backing its sovereignty claim over Taiwan. That's more than double the number in early 2023. For more details, check out this groundbreaking new study by @bherscovitch.bsky.social interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/one...