Neican: Plenum, PLA, focus on China, esports

1. Sixth Plenum preview The Sixth Plenum is currently underway in Beijing and will run until Thursday. For background on plenums and how they fit into China’s political system, see our explainers (written | video) from last year. The outcome of this Plenum is important to both policies in China as well as Xi’s prospects … more

Protecting its citizens in the Middle East: China’s expanding interests in the region

China’s policies towards the Middle East region, including policies aimed at protecting its citizens there, have been based on the principle of non-interference. But with growing engagement and the increasing frequency of violence against Chinese nationals and assets in the region, the efficacy of this approach will be increasingly challenged in the coming years. China’s … more

Neican: Common prosperity, AfPak, privacy

1. Common prosperity The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, China’s highest economic decision-making body, held a meeting to discuss “common prosperity” 共同富裕 (the Chinese term is also the literal translation of “common-wealth”, but Commonwealth means something quite different from common-wealth nowadays). You can find Adam’s take on the topic and his translation of the … more

Neican: Alibaba, Huawei, and public opinion on military

1. Alibaba fined Chinese authorities hit Alibaba with a ¥18.2 billion fine on Saturday for abusing its market dominance, restricting competition and stifling innovation. Last November, Beijing torpedoed Alibaba’s sister firm Ant Group’s IPO at the eleventh hour. In December, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced its investigation of Alibaba. Alibaba should be counting … more

China warily watches Indian nationalism

India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said last week that the deadly clashes on the disputed Sino-Indian border this year had “completely changed national sentiment” in his country towards China. There is evidence that Beijing recognises the dangerous double-edged sword of nationalist public opinion in India. So far, this recognition of Indian public opinion’s role in … more