Articles | Lowy Institute

5 Sep 2019
China

Japan

Africa
Can Japan catch up in the economic scramble for Africa?

Anthony Maliki

From used-car markets to giant infrastructure projects, Asia’s leading powers see more than a continent in need of aid.
2 Sep 2019
United States

Trade

China
A light amid the gloom of the US-China trade war

John Edwards

Everything leaks in Washington, except the 150-page summary of the trade talks – and that’s a good sign of seriousness.
28 Aug 2019
South China Sea

China

Philippines
The Philippine standoff over China

Malcolm Cook

President Rodrigo Duterte has chosen to woo Beijing, in spite of widespread public objection.
21 Aug 2019
China

Technology

Hong Kong
Battleground states: Twitter and Facebook ban Chinese-linked accounts

Sarah Logan

It’s not only the complications of international politics here, but the commercial desire to keep platforms “social”.
21 Aug 2019
Australia in the World

United States

China

European Union

United Kingdom
Houses divided

Allan Behm

In Australia – and in a world in thrall to populists – political and business elites need to talk to each other.
20 Aug 2019
China

Hong Kong
Hong Kong: popular protests, live-streamed

Vivienne Chow

Public backing for the demonstrations is bolstered by their propaganda-puncturing uses of social media.
20 Aug 2019
China

Technology
All may not be smooth along China’s Digital Silk Road

Chan Jia Hao

Tech transfers allow emerging economies to leapfrog a development stage but may not guarantee competitive advantage.
16 Aug 2019
South China Sea

China

Vietnam
The Vanguard Bank standoff shows China remains undeterred

Trinh Le

Coercion rather than conciliation is Beijing’s preferred tactic in South China Sea disputes.
13 Aug 2019
China

Hong Kong

Rules Based Audio
Hong Kong Protest City: Podcast out now

Kelsey Munro

Ben Bland and Primrose Riordan discuss the ongoing political unrest in Hong Kong.
13 Aug 2019
Australia

China

Antarctica
The (other) continent we can’t defend

Elizabeth Buchanan

A rude challenge awaits Canberra’s cosy assumptions about the Antarctic Treaty System and its ongoing relevance.
12 Aug 2019
China

India

Pakistan
Geopolitical moves in Jammu and Kashmir have a local cost, too

Alexander Davis , Ruth Gamble

The planned dissolution not only creates a regional disturbance, but tips the balance against minority rights.
9 Aug 2019
Global Economy

United States

China
US, China now have a three-week window to avert trade talks collapse

John Edwards

There will have to be a negotiation to enable negotiations to resume, and quick, otherwise the US election will intrude.
7 Aug 2019
Global Economy

United States

China
China-US currency clash: Who’s manipulating who?

Roland Rajah

Trumpian currency intervention is a bigger risk than China weaponising the renminbi.
6 Aug 2019
United States

Trade

China
Coordinating with America to pressure China on trade

Stephen Grenville

Beijing should pay legitimate intellectual property charges yet the system is an imperfect way to reward innovation.
5 Aug 2019
China's Economy

China
Balancing act: China’s nationalist consumer boycotts

Elliott Zaagman

Outbursts of patriotic consumer outrage has become an increasing risk for foreign businesses in China.
2 Aug 2019
China's Military

China
What China’s defence paper tells us about Beijing’s regional ambition

Pooja Bhatt

Threat perceptions dominate, as expected in a defence statement – but with wider goals to reshape security architecture.
1 Aug 2019
Trade

Australia

China

Papua New Guinea
Economic diplomacy: Guns versus butter, trade wars, and feeding PNG

Greg Earl

Could trade talks with China be split from broader diplomacy in order to escape a security dilemma?
1 Aug 2019
Pacific Islands

China
China’s aid: lend your money, (don’t) lose your friend

Alexandre Dayant , Sulagna Basu

“Friendship” is a common formula Beijing’s uses describe its Pacific ties – but what does being friends really mean?
31 Jul 2019
Diplomacy

Australia

China
A podium protest aimed at swimming’s administrators, not China

André Leslie

Those trying to turn Mack Horton’s spat with Sun Yang into an attack on China have plunged down the wrong lane.
31 Jul 2019
China's Military

China
China’s intelligence gathering ships change the equation

James Goldrick

If not quite a return to the Cold War, there are operational consequences to China’s increasing naval capabilities.
29 Jul 2019
Defence & Security

China

North Korea

Russia

South Korea
The trouble in the air on a tense Tuesday in Northeast Asia

Peter Layton

The ruckus after South Korea fired warning shots at a nosy Russian spy plane marks a significant rise in tensions.
26 Jul 2019
China

Antarctica
The importance of trust in preserving Antarctica’s future

Tony Press

China’s Antarctic law-making plans hinge on winning consensus – very different from proposals that win little support.
25 Jul 2019
China's Military

China
China’s head-spinning defence white paper

Dennis J. Blasko

The difference between how China sees the world and how the world sees China can lead to a seriously dizzying view.
23 Jul 2019
Asia

China

Southeast Asia
What the rest of Asia thinks about China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Greg Raymond , Alice Dawkins

A better sense of South-South cooperation helps understand the direction of China’s trillion-dollar flagship.
23 Jul 2019
United States

Trade

China
Trump and Xi need a trade deal and they need it soon

John Edwards

With the US election looming, the window for an agreement is closing – yet the two sides are closer than often assumed.
22 Jul 2019
China

Emerging Threats

United States
What Tom Cruise can teach us about great power competition

Dirk van Graver

Hollywood’s “Healthy Development” of an audience in China carries a cost should reel life mask the real thing.
16 Jul 2019
China

Review
Xi Jinping: much more than just one man

Geoff Raby

Xi has sworn enemies and many hold grievances, but many more support him and the system of which he is a creature.
16 Jul 2019
China

Rules Based Audio
Richard McGregor on the backlash against Xi Jinping - podcast out now

Kelsey Munro

In Episode 5 of Rules Based Audio, Lowy Senior Fellow Richard McGregor talks about China’s leader Xi Jinping.
11 Jul 2019
China

Antarctica
The heights of China’s ambition in Antarctica

Nengye Liu

Beijing’s aim to declare a special managed area at the ice sheet’s highest point is a test of Antarctic governance.
10 Jul 2019
China

Taiwan

Hong Kong
Hong Kong sets an example to push Taiwan even further from China

Randy Mulyanto

Taiwan’s close watch on Hong Kong has only firmed its opposition to Beijing’s “one country, two systems”.
10 Jul 2019
Asia

China

Southeast Asia
China’s Belt and Road Initiative: status report

Peter McCawley

Some projects will succeed. Others will fail. And in the end, China will likely find the political gain is quite mixed.
2 Jul 2019
China's Economy

China
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, from the inside looking out

Denghua Zhang , Jianwen Yin

To understand the goals of China’s flagship program means also considering the perspective of state-owned enterprises.
28 Jun 2019
Global Economy

China's Economy

China
China’s financial risk and lessons from the Baoshang Bank collapse

Stephen Joske

This incident has dented the Chinese government’s claim to be in control and the financial danger zone is approaching.
27 Jun 2019
Public Opinion

Australia

Australian Public Opinion

China
Australian attitudes to China shift: 2019 Lowy Poll

Kelsey Munro

A deep dive into the 2019 Lowy poll reveals an across-the-board hardening of Australian attitudes towards China.
26 Jun 2019
China
Australian PM talks US China tensions ahead of the G20

Kelsey Munro

In his first big foreign policy speech since the election Scott Morrison stressed Australia's commitment to free trade.
18 Jun 2019
Global Economy

United States

China

Technology
Are we ready for a rare earths trade war?

Jeffrey Wilson

As China holds extraordinary power over material essential to high-tech products, Australia is key to diversification.
17 Jun 2019
China

Hong Kong
The deeper malaise in Hong Kong’s civil service

Alvin Y.H. Cheung

The political capture of once neutral institutions of government should be just as alarming.
17 Jun 2019
China

Hong Kong
Hong Kong climbdown eases external pressures on China

Ben Bland

Beijing is fighting many fires at once, so taking the heat out of Hong Kong will suit Xi Jinping.
14 Jun 2019
China

Hong Kong
Umbrella Movement 2.0 exposes flaws in “one country, two systems”

Vivienne Chow

Even more than the last pro-democracy demonstrations, at stake is Hong Kong’s future with common law at its heart.
14 Jun 2019
Defence & Security

Australia

China
Baby milk and tantrums after Chinese ships show the flag in Sydney

Erin Watson-Lynn

Plenty of real tensions exist in Australia-China relations and media myth-making doesn’t help escape misunderstanding.
13 Jun 2019
China

Hong Kong
Why China’s rulers won’t admit they could be wrong

Audrey Jiajia Li

By never conceding a mistake – whether over Tiananmen or now in Hong Kong – the cost is a loss of people’s trust.
7 Jun 2019
Defence & Security

Australia

China
Fierravanti-Wells’ outburst tells more than just a China story

Sam Roggeveen

A Liberal senator’s spectacular break with party discipline shows differences on Beijing cut across partisan lines.
6 Jun 2019
Asia

United States

China

Singapore
Singapore steers the US-China extremes at Shangri-la

Richard McGregor

Was Lee Hsien Loong critical of China, giving the stick to America, or perhaps resigned he could please neither?
5 Jun 2019
China
Tiananmen’s “core” secret in the weeks that followed

Graeme Smith

New documents from weeks after the 1989 crackdown show grovelling officials set China on a path to today’s lonely rule.
4 Jun 2019
China
China wants us to forget Tiananmen, it is important that we don’t

Alex Bellamy

Controls over information by authoritarian governments have made history all the more important in protecting rights.
3 Jun 2019
Asia

China
Charting China, the (not always) super power

Bonnie Bley

Measuring Beijing’s influence shows mixed results for all the supposed diplomatic sway and billions spent on media.
31 May 2019
Pacific Islands

China

Taiwan
The importance of Taiwan’s diplomatic partners in Oceania

Timothy S. Rich

With the China challenge in the Pacific, Australia and the US could work together to help Taiwan preserve regional ties.
30 May 2019
China

Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s road to the BRI

David Brewster

Experience in Bangladesh shows how countries can mould engagement with China in ways that mitigate strategic concerns.
28 May 2019
Global Economy

United States

China

Technology
Huawei and the decoupling dilemma

Darren Lim , Victor Ferguson

If Washington wants to liberalise China’s economy, it must also accept China’s deeper integration with global markets.
22 May 2019
China

The Trump Presidency
What’s behind the popularity of President Trump in China?

Elliott Zaagman

Even the trade war hasn’t dented Trump’s popularity in the feelings of the Chinese people.