Category: Thinking About China

Behind Eileen Gu’s Smile, a Chained Woman Cries

Commentary The month of February has presented the world with two very different images of China: two women with objects around their necks. One, Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier and model, has two gold medals around her neck; the other, meanwhile, has a chain. For every Eileen Gu, as I have discussed before, there are…


Beijing Bows to the Davos Mandate

Commentary What’s the difference between the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) new “common prosperity” policy and the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Great Reset? Nothing … except for the marketing. The WEF in Davos, Switzerland certainly knows its way around public relations and a slick website. Xi and Schwab: Birds of a Feather? At the 2022 annual…


China’s ‘Robo-Yak’: Not Its Best Foot Forward

Commentary In recent commentaries, I have written a lot about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its efforts to embrace “intelligentized” warfare. These means creating “intelligent weapons” such as autonomous systems, for example, robots. Robotics systems of warfare are basically drones, capable of operating without human controls. Increasingly, autonomous systems are being considered for any…


India Bans Game Apps on China Surveillance Fears. And the World Should, Too

Commentary Shares of Sea Ltd., a Singapore-based technology company, slumped over 18 percent on Feb. 14 after India banned 54 game apps, including Sea’s popular Free Fire game. While Sea is located in Singapore, its American depositary receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). While it is the city-state’s most valuable company…


US Media Outlets Promote China’s Zero-COVID Propaganda

News Analysis Beijing’s “zero-COVID” policy is subjecting China to sporadic lockdowns and restrictions that state media, as well as some Western media, are supporting. “US media outlets now recognize China’s zero-COVID policy. Is it too late for them?” wrote China’s state-run news tabloid Global Times, touting the fact that some U.S. media outlets are supporting…


America’s Problem With Eileen Gu: The Lack of Patriotism Has Consequences for US Security

Commentary Olympic skier 18-year-old Eileen Gu is now famous for her accomplishments at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and equally infamous in the United States for choosing to represent China rather than the country in which she was born and raised. The actions of this young woman are lamentable, and she will rue the day she…


Chinese Warship Lasered an Australian Surveillance Plane—When Will We Hit Back?

News Analysis China’s Navy is firing lasers again, this time at an Australian surveillance plane within Australia’s own exclusive economic zone, and very likely within sight of the Australian mainland. This is a laser redux of similar aggression by China’s Navy against U.S. and Australian pilots that has occurred on multiple occasions over the years,…


A Message to Donald Trump: Beware of Chinese Hackers

Commentary Donald Trump is back. On Feb. 20, Truth Social, his new social media platform, went live. Now, just a few days later, it’s one of the most popular apps in the country. Why is Truth Social important? In short, Trump’s new platform will directly compete with Big Tech tyrants, especially the likes of Twitter and Facebook. Silicon Valley elites are watching Truth…


News on US-China Trade: Some Bad, Some Good

Commentary On the matter of China-U.S. trade, there is one item of bad news and two of good news. The bad news is that China has failed to meet its commitments under the first phase of the trade agreement signed in January 2020. This is hardly a surprise to anyone who has followed the data,…


US Capital Pours Into China, Posing Risks

Commentary The unraveling of Chinese property giant Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer, has prompted an unusual intervention by a U.S. investor. Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management seized control of “Venice,” a massive apartment complex near Shanghai, after the project defaulted on a secured loan that Oaktree provided late last year, according to reporting in…