(Originally published here by South China Morning Post.) In the great Sino-American rift that opens wider by the day, the word “civilisation” is already overdone. The C-word now occupies the debate around the current United States-China trade war in the same way that vape pens have become a fixture of adolescence. Both trends are equally [...]
The anti-China blaze of hostility Donald Trump started may sink trade talks
(Originally published here in South China Morning Post.) If it was US President Donald Trump alone calling the shots from above during last week’s negotiations with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, we’d be reporting this week about the preparations for a summit with President Xi Jinping next month. That meeting looks doubtful since the latest round of [...]
The self-defeating logic in Steve Bannon’s rallying cry against China-friendly corporate America
(Originally published here by South China Morning Post.) Former White House adviser Steve Bannon made a splash in Washington last week with his call to brand those who have profited from business relationships with China as traitors. The audience at the event erupted in cheers, not surprising given that it was comprised mainly of members [...]
If friends of Huawei want to hit the US where it hurts, they should tackle the legitimacy of US sanctions
(Originally published here by South China Morning Post on April 2, 2019.) In the final stage of Patrick Ho Chi-ping’s bribery trial in New York last week, the prosecution held back, the judge doled out a lenient sentence, and the convicted man made a tearful apology. The sentencing of Hong Kong’s former home affairs secretary [...]
A Donald Trump who’s sceptical of tech and Boeing is a friend of China
(Originally published here by South China Morning Post.) In the torrent of heartbreaking news last week, perhaps the only silver lining was that none of it was created by a Donald Trump executive order. Leave aside the US president’s denial that the massacre in Christchurch was part of a rise in white nationalism, and we can [...]
Stumbles over Meng Wanzhou’s arrest won’t help the US case against Huawei
(Originally published here by South China Morning Post.) As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced an onslaught of political attacks last week over accusations of back-room dealing, Beijing piled on the pressure. When a member of China’s state-owned press questioned Canada’s judicial independence in light of accusations that Trudeau tried to interfere with a judicial [...]
China shouldn’t celebrate if Donald Trump loses his border wall battle – his successor may be even harder on Beijing
(Originally published here by South China Morning Post.) Of all of the cuts Donald Trump has invited by declaring a national emergency to fund a border wall between the United States and Mexico, The Wall Street Journal’s might be the deepest. Citing former US Supreme Court chief justice Robert Jackson, the newspaper’s editorial board pointed out that “a president’s power is [...]
