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US President Donald Trump speaking on the South Lawn, at the White House in Washington, on August 19. Photo: Reuters
United States

Opinion | America’s foreign policy of coercion must end

Trump’s routine use of threats and ultimatums in place of diplomacy may yield immediate gains, but it inflicts lasting damage to America’s global standing.

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United States

As I see it | It’s the end of the world – and I don’t feel fine

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control

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US-China relations

Opinion | The US-China relationship has stabilised but on Beijing’s terms

Managed rivalry is not peace; it is a rules-based pause with China largely writing the rules. The test is whether the US can live with it.

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Illustration: Dennis Yip
Illustration: Dennis Yip
US-China relations

Opinion | The porcupine dilemma: why US-China diplomacy is about distance, not deals

Xi and Trump’s latest summit shows the need for cooperation even as deep differences continue to shape ties between the two powers.

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US-China relations

As I see it | China and the US can make nice, if not peace

Outright enmity is too costly for both superpowers. Even without trust, shared interests leave room for pragmatic cooperation.

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Asean

Opinion | In a US-China world, Asean must do more than avoid choosing sides

Following the uneasy truce at the Xi-Trump summit, Asean must go beyond passive hedging and forge middle-power partnerships to secure its autonomy.

Illustration: Henry Wong
Illustration: Henry Wong
China trade

Opinion | China’s industrial strengths must also benefit its trading partners

By shifting towards domestic consumption and exporting industrial know-how, Beijing can give global partners a genuine stake in its growth.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Don’t let AI take over our human creative expression

The grand promise of AI has been inverted: while we continue doing the grunt work, AI is writing poetry and painting masterpieces.

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Who has the upper hand in financial markets, the US or China?

Against the rising resilience of Chinese markets, the sharp reappraisal of US debt and dollar risks makes the answer far from clear-cut.

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A cargo ship sails along the Huangpu River in Shanghai on September 23. The last time President Xi Jinping was in the US for a state visit in September 2015, China’s markets were in turmoil. This is not the case today. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

Opinion | Bad money decisions are coming home to roost for the US and Japan

For major economies that have relied on debt to maintain living standards since 2007, high inflation might be one way out.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 1. Photo: Reuters
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 1. Photo: Reuters
Taiwan

As I see it | Taiwan might as well give up now

If Washington can’t or won’t defend the island, Taipei has no choice but to settle with Beijing.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Xi and Trump face their greatest challenge yet: building US-China trust

AI is the test case. A foundational agreement will prove trust is possible – otherwise, mistrust will harden and the detente will dissolve.

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North Korea nuclear crisis

Opinion | Why Trump-Xi summit must put Korean peninsula back on the agenda

US and Chinese indifference risks reinforcing North Korea’s calculation that the world will settle for merely managing its nuclear threat.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju-ae, attends the commissioning ceremony of the destroyer Kang Kon, at Wonsan Port, North Korea, on September 6, in this picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. Photo: KCNA via Reuters
US-China relations

Opinion | Success of Xi-Trump summit lies in what happens afterwards

The real value of the Washington meeting between the presidents of the US and China is whether its understandings survive the next bilateral dispute.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Pacific nations

Opinion | Pacific island states are trapped in Cold War 2.0

Geopolitically, it’s like a feudal hierarchy: small island nations as vassals, Australia and New Zealand as local lords and the US as king.

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China-North Korea relations

Opinion | New North Korea-Russia bridge delivers a powerful message to China

The Yalu bridge remains unused years after completion – a reminder that despite economic reliance on Beijing, Pyongyang still decides where to invest its political attention.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Middle powers don’t have to wait for a Trump-Xi-Putin summit

Rather than waiting for great powers to reshape the world, middle powers can find agency by deepening connections between hubs of cooperation.

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People pass a themed installation at a business district in Shenzhen on August 10. Moscow has suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold a trilateral meeting at the Apec summit. Photo: Xinhua
People pass a themed installation at a business district in Shenzhen on August 10. Moscow has suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold a trilateral meeting at the Apec summit. Photo: Xinhua
Diplomacy

Opinion | What China really means when it says it’s being ‘strategic’

Rather than geopolitical manoeuvring or calculation, this diplomatic label aims to convey seriousness, patience and a willingness to work for mutual long-term benefit.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | AI doesn’t just answer questions – it legitimises bad ones

Readily available AI analysis can give weak ideas credibility they have not earned. Decision-makers need to get the question right before reviewing the answer.

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Chinese culture

Being Chinese | The unspoken reason my Chinese friends choose America

When friends say they can just ‘exist’ in the US, they mean they can stop performing to the Confucian expectations that define Chinese life.

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A noodle restaurant along a largely deserted pavement in Arcadia, California. Outside the Confucian system, there is no perpetual appraisal of your earning power, your waistline or your marital status. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
ICBMs

Opinion | Why cities have the responsibility to demand nuclear disarmament

As cities are the main targets of nuclear weapons, they have a responsibility to speak out and encourage efforts to eliminate them.

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A woman walks past the Atomic Bomb Dome in the centre of Hiroshima in 2025, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Photo: AFP
A woman walks past the Atomic Bomb Dome in the centre of Hiroshima in 2025, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Who’s in control of Japanese monetary policy? Tokyo or Washington?

Bessent’s intervention could have adverse implications for Japan’s economy, the BOJ’s credibility and tech-heavy stock markets in Asia.

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Russia

Opinion | Why Russia’s AI-powered economic future lies in its Far East

With a 10-year plan, the Far East gives Moscow what mature economies lack: room to redesign systems at regional scale.

United States

Opinion | The world is not so much embracing China as recoiling from Trump’s US

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.

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US President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, en route to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on August 21. Photo: Reuters
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