In Moscow on 22 March 2023 Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian President Vladimir Putin that ‘Right now there are changes — the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years — and we are the ones driving these changes together.’ Leaving the hyperbole aside, there is evidence that many of certainties of the Western-led … more
‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’ This is a well-known philosophical question about observation and perception. While there are no actual trees falling in Contemporary Queer Chinese Art, the question remains pertinent: If no one knows about the existence of queer artists … more
According to its official website, The University of Mountains and Rivers (or Shan He Da Xue 山河大学, or SHU) is located on No.1 Shan He Road, in a special administrative region where China’s four northern provinces, Shandong 山东, Shanxi 山西, Henan 河南, and Hebei 河北 intersect. The name Shanhe is a portmanteau of the four … more
Policy consistency and diplomatic decorum have been the dominant themes of Canberra’s approach to Beijing since the May 2022 federal election. The Albanese Labor government has reaffirmed its Coalition predecessor’s priorities: among other things, trying to minimise China’s security role in the Pacific; deterring military aggression, including against Taiwan, by obtaining nuclear-powered submarines through AUKUS; … more
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a curtain has risen on an engrossing theatre of international relations. The spotlight has swivelled towards China. In May, China cast a surprising vote in the UN General Assembly, supporting a resolution that described Russia as the aggressor in the conflict—a term that China had previously … more
Informal economic sanctions reinforced by state-sponsored consumer boycotts have made the Chinese market volatile for multinational corporations (MNCs) over the past decade. MNCs must be careful not to offend Beijing and nationalists in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, a definition of what it means to ‘offend China’ 辱華 is rather elusive. Examples range … more
In October 2016, more than 1,000 veterans rallied outside the Ministry of National Defence in Beijing in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to demand better government support. In February 2017, a similar incident occurred outside the offices of the Central Commission for Discipline and Inspection, also in the capital. The next year, more than … more
At the Communist Party of China (CPC) Congress in October 2022, Xi Jinping was confirmed for a third term as the Party’s General Secretary. The Party had already passed a historic resolution the year before — only the third in its 100-year history — establishing Xi as the ‘core of the central committee and of … more
The Party Congress 中国共产党全国代表大会 is the most important meeting in the calendar of activities of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Since 1977, one has been held every five years. Before that, they were less regular. Delegates to the congress formalise changes to the Party’s leadership, review the previous five years, and set policy directions … more
Australia-People’s Republic of China (PRC) relations appear to be on a healthy win-win-win track. Australia’s federal ministers are back on talking terms with their PRC counterparts, visits to the PRC are resuming from Canberra and by state premiers, our longsuffering ambassador in Beijing, Graham Fletcher, is finally getting to meet appropriate Chinese peers, and some … more
