Alex Lo
Columnist
Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, commenting on China and international affairs. He is also a member of the editorial writing team. A journalist for 30 years, he has worked for various publications in Hong Kong and Toronto as a news reporter and editor. He has also lectured in journalism at the University of Hong Kong.
Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, commenting on China and international affairs. He is also a member of the editorial writing team. A journalist for 30 years, he has worked for various publications in Hong Kong and Toronto as a news reporter and editor. He has also lectured in journalism at the University of Hong Kong.
Areas of Expertise:
Hong Kong politics, society and economyLanguages Spoken:
Cantonese, English, Mandarin
While China builds its AI data centres at home, America’s hyperscalers are increasingly turning to the Global South for expansion – with Washington’s blessings.
By stymying the WTO’s appellate body and citing treaties it has not ratified, Washington proves the rules-based order is actually a rules-for-thee order.
As Israel denounces Nobel Peace laureate Navi Pillay, the US sanctions the entire International Criminal Court.
From industrial decline and debt woes to political polarisation, Europe’s crisis is home-grown – and blaming China won’t fix it.
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US Congressman says it’s OK for America to sell massive bombs to Israel but not coffee in Xinjiang.
The Anthropic CEO and AI pioneer discovers the age-old ‘China threat’ card works as well for Silicon Valley as for Washington.
The novelty here is that a blockbuster from an outside power declines to exoticise the locals as nameless props, villains or victims.
Three authors warn that America’s techno-fascists are about to bring on the apocalypse for all of us.
As alternative networks like China’s CIPS gain traction, the multilateral pushback is steadily eroding US financial dominance.
Outright enmity is too costly for both superpowers. Even without trust, shared interests leave room for pragmatic cooperation.
If Washington can’t or won’t defend the island, Taipei has no choice but to settle with Beijing.
Geopolitically, it’s like a feudal hierarchy: small island nations as vassals, Australia and New Zealand as local lords and the US as king.
Whereas Hong Kong people experienced a milder form of colonialism, mainland Chinese were subjected to the extremes of Western imperialism.
The US is haemorrhaging goodwill around the world, but China will have to build up its own trustworthiness and credibility to win hearts and minds.
From Nazi Germany to Vietnam, history is rich with examples of countries that simply refuse to surrender to bombing.
The city’s first post-handover leader had strategic instincts to spare, but not the tactical and political skills needed for execution.
Argentina has history, geography and justice on its side. The 1984 Joint Declaration offers a clear precedent for a peaceful, negotiated transfer of sovereignty.
Research co-authored by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu finds labour shortages can spur, rather than slow down, productivity and growth.
Washington aims not only to counter growing Chinese influence but to reestablish hegemonic control in the region.
While China does have a large trade surplus, economist Michael Pettis’ argument that Beijing is most vulnerable to a global adjustment is not convincing.
How Taiwan dragged its former diplomatic partner Grenada through US courts to collect on defaulted loans should be a lesson for island nations currently holding Taiwanese debt.
China’s sustained engagement across the continent stands in stark contrast to a US approach driven purely by strategic utility.
While Washington says it is monitoring certain countries, including Japan, for foreign exchange interventions, it also coordinated with Tokyo to prop up the yen.
An Indian writer and an American businessman explain how de-industrialisation and the rise of oligarchs handicapped the US ability to compete.
US and other Western multinationals were all chasing the lowest price that China offered – and willing to sacrifice jobs for easy profits.
Stephen Roach and his like-minded critics should let go of their fantasy of a bygone era. The city has already moved on.
China’s most enduring philosophical tradition didn’t merely revere the past; it drew upon history to construct the future.
From Indian colonisation to the opium trade, an empire of avarice and brutality was powered by the East India Company.
While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.
