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Open Questions series

Open Questions series
Open Questions is a series of South China Morning Post interviews with global opinion leaders. SCMP Plus subscribers enjoy early access to these articles.
Illustration: Henry Wong
China-EU relations

Open Questions | Pascal Lamy says Europe at ‘moment of truth’ on China trade

Former World Trade Organization chief believes Chinese authorities’ lack of interest in addressing structural macroeconomic imbalance presents a ‘huge problem’ for European Union.

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Yuan

Open Questions | Private equity’s Fang Fenglei on investing in China

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China jobs

Open Questions | How China Works author on the data economy, robots and AI

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China-Middle East relations

Open Questions | Iran expert on China’s balancing act amid conflict with US and Israel

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute says Beijing was wise to stay out of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which he believes could spark up again.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
China’s Communist Party

Open Questions | Wang Gungwu on lessons of Chinese history and Cold War

Historian says the past holds the keys to the future, both for Chinese as they seek further socioeconomic progress and for US as it looks to undermine China.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel on US’ decline and China’s nuclear arsenal

Zhou Bo of Tsinghua University weighs US’ commitment to Taiwan, how big a nuclear deterrent China needs and the risks of AI warfare.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Nobel economist on anti-China, anti-science US, AI’s risks

MIT’s Simon Johnson, former IMF chief economist, on Trump’s wrong turns, including tariffs, the AI threat to Chinese jobs and the chances of a global recession.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Banking & finance

Open Questions | Citic Capital CEO on making China a financial powerhouse

Ex-Wall Streeter Zhang Yichen on attracting capital to China, building up its bond market and helping foreign firms better serve Chinese consumers.

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South China Sea

Open Questions | Wu Shicun on why Beijing will not rule out Scarborough Shoal construction

Leading Chinese expert says more fixed facilities could be built in the South China Sea if ‘external forces leave us no choice’.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Sun is setting on US dominance of the world, Wu Xinbo says

Fudan University expert says while China’s influence grows, US under Trump has lost credibility and its ability to drive international action has stagnated.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China consumption

Open Questions | Nomura economist on China’s deflation woes, fraught Japan ties

Richard Koo on the difficulty of raising consumption spending, why fraying Tokyo ties should worry Beijing, Trump’s weakness and fallout from Iran war.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China’s Communist Party

Open Questions | Ex-Harvard Chinese author on why West doesn’t get China

Nie Huihua, economist trained in the West, explains why viewing China’s development through a Western lens misses the full picture.

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Banking & finance

Open Questions | AIIB chief Zou Jiayi on financing Asia’s green transition

President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on how it bridges differences to build a more sustainable, climate-resilient world.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | Nobel economist on China’s chance to upskill youth for AI age

James Heckman, Nobel laureate, points to the economic benefits for China of making changes to education, especially in rural areas.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
HKEX

Open Questions | Charles Li on making Hong Kong a magnet for global IPOs

As HKEX CEO, Charles Li forged Stock Connect link to mainland markets. He says an ‘IPO connect’ could draw international companies to list in Hong Kong.

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Illustration; Victor Sanjinez
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Open Questions | China-US stability may not last, ex-Asia adviser to Obama says

Evan Medeiros warns of growing US opposition to Donald Trump’s detente with Beijing and the risk that the Taiwan issue could cause a crisis in relations.

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Taiwan

Open Questions | Trump narrows space for Taiwan independence, mainland scholar says

Wu Yongping says US president’s comments after summit with Xi Jinping show a return to ‘strategic ambiguity’ about Taiwan after a shift away from it under Joe Biden.

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Taiwan

Open Questions | Taiwan’s KMT leader on how to restore stable peace with Beijing

Taiwan must choose peace over war, opposition party chairwoman Cheng Li-wun says, as she reflects on her visit to mainland China to meet Xi Jinping and upcoming trip to US.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China's economic recovery

Open Questions | How China can avoid a repeat of Japan’s ‘lost decades’

Bai Chongen, an economist and adviser to China’s government, explains how the country can dodge ‘Japanification’ and why its economic rise is misunderstood.

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Banking & finance

Open Questions | Euro, yuan unlikely to match US dollar, Daniel Gros says

German economist doubts EU and Chinese currencies will be widely used for international trade or that stablecoins will take off outside the ‘shadow economy’.

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China-EU relations

Open Questions | Europe lacks China strategy, needs new US approach, Biscop says

Sven Biscop, director at the Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels, on what the Iran war and the transatlantic collision reveal about Europe’s place in a fast-changing world.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China energy security

Open Questions | Iran war to test China’s self-reliance, Goldman Sachs economist says

Andrew Tilton, Goldman’s chief Asia-Pacific economist, on Iran conflict’s impacts, why exports continue to drive China’s growth and an end to its housing slump.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-China relations

Open Questions | Euro, Chinese yuan to end US dollar dominance, top economist says

Kenneth Rogoff sees yuan as a reserve currency within five years, Europe asserting financial independence and greater regulation of stablecoins.

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Open Questions | US ex-diplomat’s inside view on Trump-Xi summits

Former envoy in Beijing William Klein on US leader’s approach to foreign policy, tariffs, China weaponising rare earths and risks of Taiwan conflict.

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China's military weapons

Open Questions | War on Iran may spark nuclear arms race, Carnegie scholar says

Zhao Tong says return to law of the jungle signalled by current US actions could spur countries without nuclear weapons to start acquiring them.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
US, Israel war on Iran

Open Questions | Iran war’s impact on China limited, scholar Pan Guang says

China’s Middle East position ‘relatively favourable’, professor says, and regional spillover from US-Israeli attacks likely to be limited to Tehran’s Shia militia allies.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
China shipbuilding

Open Questions | US shipbuilding revival looks dead in the water, Li Yanqing says

China commercial shipbuilding veteran doubts protectionist US can take business from market-oriented Chinese yards, and slams Washington’s ‘fabricated facts’ about their rise.

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China trade

Open Questions | Abraham Newman on how world can resist US, China economic coercion

Threatening rivals’ economic choke points is nothing new, but Trump has politicised it, political scientist says. He suggests ways countries and companies can respond.

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