China relations
‘Not usually a target’: Rumours run wild as Xi’s top diplomats vanish
Chinese elite politics is an opaque business, especially under President Xi Jinping. Yet even as his grip tightens, speculation about power plays inside the “black box” is rampant.
- Lisa Visentin
Latest
Australians are choosing to travel to Asia over the US. It’s not because of Trump
Japan, China and Vietnam are fast becoming the top travel destinations, while visits to the US remain below pre-pandemic levels.
- Millie Muroi
‘Irrational’: China’s top spy agency attacks ASIO over espionage ‘threat’
Beijing has verbally attacked Australia’s intelligence agencies, accusing them of fabricating a spy threat while carrying out their own espionage in China.
- Lisa Visentin
Warning from Washington: Speak out about Chinese threat or risk AUKUS subs
Policymakers in Washington are getting nervous that the Albanese government is “less vocal about what the problem is” compared with predecessors, experts say.
- Michael Koziol
- Analysis
- Trade wars
Trump stokes fears about what he will do to get his red-carpet moment with Xi
The US president’s decision to extend China’s trade-negotiating window averts a return to a triple-digit tariff war between two superpowers. But Republican hawks fear it shows Trump has swapped cudgel for carrot – and that it won’t end well for the US.
- Lisa Visentin
Hermes handbags, multiple properties and a $24,000 Rolex: Alleged ‘unexplained wealth’ of woman charged with foreign interference
The Chinese national, who is also an Australian permanent resident, has been denied bail after she was charged with spying on an Australian-based Buddhist group.
- Penry Buckley
- Analysis
- Xi Jinping
China’s EVs are dirt cheap. Its policymakers are concerned
Electric vehicle makers are locked in a death spiral of cost-cutting. It is part of broader overcapacity problem troubling China’s manufacturing sector - one that has its leaders worried.
- Lisa Visentin
US, China barred from attending top Pacific political forum
The Solomon Islands prime minister said 21 donor countries wouldn’t be invited to the Pacific Island Forum, a move that follows pressure from China to exclude Taiwan from the meeting.
- Kirsty Needham
- Analysis
- Trade wars
Trump’s tariff strike on India plays into China’s hands
Donald Trump’s economic assault on New Delhi stands in stark contrast to his conciliatory approach to Beijing in recent months.
- Lisa Visentin
‘Bad timing’: US-India tensions throw Albanese-Trump meeting into doubt
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plans to meet Donald Trump in India next month look shaky because of the US president’s punishing tariffs on Indian exports.
- Matthew Knott