Category: Thinking About China

Beijing Easy Rattled in the Face of a Strong US Presence

Commentary The U.S. military is breaching the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s “bottom line” about Taiwan and it’s becoming a regular occurrence. More frequently we’ve heard China’s spokesman say they have “no tolerance for U.S. challenges.”  In less than two months, U.S. military aircraft have landed in Taiwan three times, a frequency that has caused some…


Japanese ‘Host Nation Support’ for US Forces: End It

Commentary The United States and Japan will soon restart negotiations over “host nation support.” That’s the money Japan pays to cover part of the costs of basing U.S. forces in Japan. If a recent Kyodo News article is correct, the Biden administration plans to ask the Japanese to increase from the $1.84 billion Tokyo currently…


The Future of Doing Business in Hong Kong

Commentary Okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve been a long-time fan of Hong Kong. From my first visit to this amazing used-to-be entrepreneurial city in 1971, when it was a jewel as the British Crown colony providing a window and a door to mysterious mainland communist China, Hong Kong has been a center of freedom, free…


Did America Just Miss the Chinese Sputnik Moment?

Commentary On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union (USSR) launched the world’s first satellite, the Sputnik, into space. The moment was characterized as the “Sputnik Moment” because America recognized they had grossly underestimated the capabilities and intentions of the USSR. Now twice in the past month, the world has witnessed the Chinese communist regime building…


Tokyo Sends Beijing a Still More Explicit Message (Washington, Too)

Commentary Rising Japanese defense spending, as I wrote last month, has already sent a message to Beijing. In just the last few weeks, Tokyo has made that message still more pointed, for Beijing, to be sure, but also for Washington. Clearly, the future will contain heightened Sino-Japanese hostility and if not a direct confrontation, very…


Decoding the Lingo of Communist Officials in China (Part One)

Commentary Given codewords and sentences with hidden meanings, we often think about old time gangsters from Hollywood mafia movies. On the other side of the world, not only does today’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have values that are worlds apart from others, they also have a set lingo that serves their needs during internal struggles,…


Can Taiwan Deter China?

Commentary Can Taiwan deter China? It’s not a rhetorical question, nor is it an idle inquiry. In fact, whether or not Taiwan can successfully dissuade China from attacking it could be the focal point for war and peace in Asia for the next 20 years. Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have persisted for decades. Twenty-five…


Chinese Companies Becoming Increasingly Uninvestible

Commentary After a tumultuous period for U.S.-listed Chinese companies, many U.S. investors are finally concluding that Chinese companies are not worthy of a place in their portfolios. On July 30, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a broad halt on new Chinese IPOs listing in the United States until risks posed to investors can…


China’s Obstruction of Virus Origin Investigation Gets Official American Support

Commentary China has rejected a World Health Organization plan that would further probe the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19, including the possibility that it escaped from a Chinese laboratory. American officials are taking a similar obstructionist stance, but evidence for the laboratory origin has been mounting since early 2020. As Israeli microbiologist and…


Xi Jinping Is War Hungry, at China’s Expense

Commentary Chinese leader Xi Jinping is increasingly taking China down a disastrous path of scientific decoupling and military buildup that leads to the country’s estrangement from the world, and risks war. On July 30, according to the South China Morning Post, Xi made a series of comments promoting China’s military power and economic independence, with…