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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Ukraine war

Opinion | Europe risks a self-fulfilling prophecy of war with Russia

The EU should secure its future through fair contributions to Nato and a lucrative transatlantic defence market, not conflict with Moscow.

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Asia housing and property

The View | How AI helped Asia’s real estate sector pass the tariff stress test

US-China relations

Opinion | Trump’s pivot puts Pacific Rim at heart of global power shift

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Donald Trump

Opinion | Why America can no longer build something like the Manhattan Project

Rather than owning the engine of innovation, Washington is standing in line like a customer to buy tech services it doesn’t control or understand.

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Tech leaders (from the left) Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington on January 20. Bezos’ Amazon has pledged to invest up to US$50 billion to expand AI and supercomputing infrastructure for “US government customers”. Photo: Pool via Reuters
Tech leaders (from the left) Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington on January 20. Bezos’ Amazon has pledged to invest up to US$50 billion to expand AI and supercomputing infrastructure for “US government customers”. Photo: Pool via Reuters
War and conflict

Opinion | Quiet courage of ordinary people can rebuild a world in crisis

It’s easy for us to feel powerless as deadly wars rage on, but the resilience of ordinary men and women gives us hope for the new year.

Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | In both China and the West, the art of parenting involves letting go

Grandpa, very much in the traditional mould, believed in toughening children up for the world. Mum, raising her only child, was not impressed.

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Banking & finance

Opinion | To harness crypto ingenuity, financial threat must first be neutralised

Future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose, not by rent seeking and speculative bubbles.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Social media

Opinion | West is getting on the same page as China for children’s social media use

Governments face the same problem: how to let young people grow up in a connected world, around products not designed with their well-being in mind.

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Why Wall Street remains bullish on China amid economic slowdown

Just because fund managers were too bearish on China doesn’t mean their concerns were misplaced – economic fundamentals matter.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Seoul holds the key to US-North Korea denuclearisation talks

South Korea is taking steps to cool tensions – from moving to opening joint military drills to consultations to easing up on immediate denuclearisation demands.

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President Donald Trump with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a dinner event in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 29. Photo: AP
US-China relations

Opinion | US and China must get serious about AI risk

It would be irresponsible for Washington and Beijing to race ahead without engaging each other on the dangers – or the immense opportunities – AI presents.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Belarus

Opinion | Can Belarus balance relations with Russia, China and the US?

Minsk aims to rebalance its foreign policy towards Beijing and Washington but geopolitical realities prevent a full break from Russia.

Ukraine war

Opinion | How the West’s sanctions against Russia are fuelling a protracted war

For hubs of transit trade from Armenia to the UAE, economic self-interest is best served by having sanctions on Russia in place indefinitely.

Technology

Opinion | Forget the US dollar. Watch water and energy resources instead

In our increasingly hi-tech-based economy and financial systems, energy and water resources will be macroeconomically critical.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Education

Opinion | As UK universities lose prestige, Asian institutions stand to benefit

The decline of Britain’s universities and the challenges facing Western academia in general stem from education no longer being treated as a national investment.

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People walk past the Bridge of Sighs at Oxford University in Britain on December 5. Photo: Reuters
People walk past the Bridge of Sighs at Oxford University in Britain on December 5. Photo: Reuters
United States

Opinion | How Trump is hastening the end of American hegemony

Although the US economy is growing and inflation remains low, the uncertainty sowed by the president’s policies will have sobering long-term consequences.

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Japan

Macroscope | Japan’s economic security push heralds rising protectionism in Asia

The emphasis on securing supply chains and stockpiling critical resources is no substitute for free and open trade and investment.

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Taiwan

Opinion | Taiwan intervention may just spell the end of the West

Mutual economic destruction or worse for China and the West should be enough to deter everyone from internationalising the Taiwan question.

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A member of the People’s Liberation Army scans the sea during military exercises, with Taiwan’s frigate Lan Yang in the distance, on August 5, 2022. Photo: Xinhua via AP
A member of the People’s Liberation Army scans the sea during military exercises, with Taiwan’s frigate Lan Yang in the distance, on August 5, 2022. Photo: Xinhua via AP
Diplomacy

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Mark 2025. It’s the year China became a peer power to America

China not only forced a trade war backdown, it displayed its hi-tech military might from the waters off Australia to the skies near Japan.

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Technology

Opinion | Why AI chatbots are unlikely to bring about human extinction

Stories of chatbots behaving in surprising ways are fuelling the rise of ‘AI doomers’ who warn of the risk of human extinction. This extreme view is misguided.

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Photo: Reuters
European Union

Opinion | A complicated new EU-China showdown is quietly taking shape

For now, both sides still need each other and there is nowhere else to turn. But behind this reliance, irritation and paranoia are rising.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
United States

Opinion | For Trump, the only communists to really dislike are those at home

The limited discussion of China in the new US national security document indicates that the US president’s focus is on domestic challenges to his authority.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China still needs Nvidia’s advanced AI chips – but for how long?

Beijing seems determined to take up the challenge of building most parts of the AI supply chain domestically.

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European Union

Opinion | As Doha Forum made clear, Europe is losing its seat at the table

Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum in Qatar on December 6. Photo: Reuters
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