Joseph Xi

Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was notorious for his repeated purges of army officers, given his fear of rivals to his absolute rule, and China’s absolute leader is descending down the same dark path into petty paranoia and brutal vengeance.

Stand up, Australia

While the United States under Donald Trump has emerged as a greater threat to Western unity and territory than China in recent months, Australia must still find some backbone in standing up to its nearest regional challenger.

Engineering the future

The most productive countries – from the Roman Empire to the British Empire and the USA – tend to dominate the world and a new book outlines how that mantle has passed onto China, whose increasing political and military power is a direct consequence of its overwhelming manufacturing and engineering capacity.

Is China a superpower?

China’s economic power, military modernisation and aggressive foreign policy towards Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific may not be enough to grant it super power status, according to a new book by historian Frank Dikotter.

Chinese sea power

China’s announcement of a new aircraft carrier is part of a rapid naval modernisation and expansion programme aimed to establish dominance in the oceans of the Asia-Pacific.

A room without mirrors

Chairman Xi’s fear of humiliation explains China’s projection of strength abroad and the Communist Party’s obsession with control at home, but the CCP’s inability to admit fault and deal with internal problems will doom it to collapse, like every authoritarian regime before it.

China’s military marches on

The enmeshing of military and civilian industries via extensive technology exchanges—known as ‘military-civil fusion’ in China—has helped to transform the Chinese military from a territorial force into a major maritime power.

A memoir of freedom

Cheng Lei’s “A Memoir of Freedom” details her harrowing detention of more than three years by the Chinese Communist Party and offers a first hand account of the bullying and brutality of its tyrannical regime.

How Apple built China

A new book outlines how Apple’s quest to boost its profits by shifting its production to China helped kick-start China’s massive manufacturing and technology advantage over the west.

Sense and stability

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s current, six-day visit to China is meant to be another step in stabilising the relationship between the two countries. The problem is that no such efforts, by Australia or others, have made much difference to China’s behaviour.

The dying of the light

Hong Kong is marking five years of life under China’s national security law – opposition parties have disbanded, while democracy activists remain in jail or exile.

Ukraine’s drone triumph gives hope to Taiwan

The stunning success of Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s bombers offers a fearful lesson for the Chinese invasion force preparing to attack Taiwan.