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China
List of China articles
![New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference after his first cabinet meeting at Downing Street, London, on July 6.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/starmer-china-GettyImages-2160180036-e1720428495447.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Keir Starmer Should Rethink Britain’s China Policy
Festering issues—from Beijing’s support for Moscow to domestic interference—fill the Labour government’s inbox.
![A photo illustration shows a large Chinese flag drape hangs at left with the silhouette of Joe Biden walking behind it as he holds a binder and small U.S. flag. Three EU flags are seen on stands at right.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/us-grand-strategy-china-europe-GettyImages-1206811779.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Europe Has a New Role as U.S. Strategy Shifts to China
The U.S.-European relationship will have several practical benefits for Washington’s rivalry with Beijing.
![The BYD Explorer No. 1 car carrier gets loaded with new-energy vehicles for export at the port of Yantai, Shandong province, China.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/EV-china-eu-GettyImages-1926884696.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
How China Could Retaliate Against the EU’s Looming EV Tariffs
China wants to contain growing trade threats without further alienating Europe.
![Security personnel stand outside the entrance of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/china-japan-embassy-beijing-GettyImages-1630323658.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
In China, Tragedy Sparks Push Against Online Ultranationalists
The country mourns the death of a bus attendant who tried to stop a knife attack against a Japanese woman and her child.
![A photo illustration shows the Qing-era Summer Palace in Beijing behind an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping walking.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1-china-qing-empire-xi-jinping-illustration.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Revisiting Chinese Empire
A new book explores parallel lives spent on its periphery.
![A police officer adjusts the crime scene barricade tape at the blast site a day after a suicide attack on a van near the Confucius Institute in Karachi, Pakistan.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/pakistan-terrorism-china-confucius-GettyImages-1240266719.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Pakistan Unveils New Counterterrorism Plan
The timing of the announcement suggests that China could play a role in the strategy.
![An aerial view shows long, narrow ponds filled with a thick brine, dug into the bed of a dry lake in the desert in Nevada. Piles of white minerals are mounded between the ponds.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/lithium-GettyImages-1245260927.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Washington Wants a White Gold Rush
The Biden administration looks to domestic lithium mining to boost U.S. energy security and counter China.
![Men sit on the railway line near the airport in Kolwezi, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 7, 2018.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/drc-railway-congo-katanga-copper-lobito-GettyImages-957960666.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Africa’s Critical Mineral Race Heats Up
Competing railway corridors pit the United States against China; Kenya faces a violent crackdown on tax protests.
![Leaders in business attire in a row on a golf course look up at the sky.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/g7-summit-day-one-GettyImages-2156775446.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
A New Era of Financial Warfare Has Begun
The West’s latest actions against Russia carry risks for the global system and could provoke China.
![Brian Gu, co-president of Xpeng Inc., has his photo taken next to Xpeng G6 and X9 electric cars in Hong Kong.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CHINA-EV-CARS-TARIFFS-GettyImages-2152791138.png?w=800?quality=80)
Western Protectionism Needs an End Date
Reliance on tariffs to shield against superior Chinese products is a trap.
![U.S. and Philippine soldiers take part in a joint live fire exercise as part of the annual 'Balikatan' (shoulder-to-shoulder) U.S.-Philippines war exercises, on March 31, 2022 in Crow Valley, Tarlac, Philippines.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/south-china-sea-usa-philippines-GettyImages-1239639277.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Against China, the United States Must Play to Win
Washington’s competition with Beijing should not be about managing threats—but weakening and ultimately defeating the Chinese Communist Party regime.
![A China Coast Guard vessel sails near a Philippine military vessel in the disputed South China Sea.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/South-China-Sea-GettyImages-2054049407.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China Tests U.S. Red Lines With Attacks on Philippine Vessels
The viability of the rules-based order is at stake in the South China Sea.
![A student enters a school on the first day of the national college entrance exam, known as "gaokao," in Wuhan, China.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/china-school-education-exam-GettyImages-2155741073.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China’s Secondary Schools Are Not Equal
A vocational student’s against-the-odds placement in a math competition draws attention to disparities in education.
![Chinese Premier Li Qiang watches uniformed members Australian military in dress uniform as they perform an honor guard gun salute with a cannon outside of the parliament building in Canberra. A cloud of smoke emerges from the mouth of the cannon, and the air is thick with smoke. Chinese and Australian flags are visible farther in the background.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CHINA-COLDWAR-GettyImages-2157346385.png?w=800?quality=80)
The President Needs to Lead the Cold War on China
A comprehensive economic strategy can forestall Beijing.
![A child attends morning prayers at a mosque in Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan province, China, on Aug. 12, 2019.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/muslim-hui-china-children-2019-08-12T050058Z_200393205_RC17D89C4170_RTRMADP_3_RELIGION-EID-CHINA.JPG.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Beijing’s Crackdown on Islam Is Coming for Kids
Techniques honed in Xinjiang are being normalized against new targets.
![People walk past a train on a platform with their luggage.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/africa-development-china0-GettyImages-2059538426.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
What Africa Can Learn From China’s Rise
The continent’s human capital is its greatest resource.
![Residential buildings under construction are seen in Hangzhou, China, on May 9.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/china-property-crisis-GettyImages-2151570640.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Can China Turn Its Property Glut Into Affordable Housing?
A previous plan to build 36 million homes led to widespread corruption.
![Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sits onstage at a party meeting. He crosses his arms and puts one hand over his face in contemplation as he watches the proceedings.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/modi-taiwan-india-GettyImages-2147791258.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Modi’s Taiwan Ties Have Rattled China
India’s overtures to the island have coincided with a breakdown in its relationship with Beijing.
![U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/XI-BIDEN-USCHINA-GettyImages-1353512955.png?w=800?quality=80)
A New Cold War Needs Its Own Rules
Conflict with China is inevitable—but controllable.
![A China Coast Guard ship monitors a Philippine fisherman aboard his wooden boat in the South China Sea.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/South-China-Sea-GettyImages-2152606260.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China’s South Sea Aggression Is Backfiring
Beijing is ramping up efforts to cow neighbors such as the Philippines in the South China Sea but is getting nowhere fast.
![Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun sits onstage in front of a bright blue wall as he attends the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He wears a black military dress uniform and glasses, and one hand is raised to his face to adjust his microphone wire.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/china-dong-jun-shangri-la-GettyImages-2155063853.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China Postures at Shangri-La
Military leaders’ aggressive rhetoric may say more about China’s domestic politics than its position in the Indo-Pacific.
![Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Tunisian President Kais Saied (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/XI-CHINA-ECONOMY-GettyImages-2154759631.png?w=800?quality=80)
Why Is Xi Not Fixing China’s Economy?
Explanations from insiders range from ignorance to ideology.
![A photo collage illustration shows the Star of David from Israel's flag overlaid atop a WWII-era map of China and a photo of Jewish refugees lined up against the rail of a ship as they attempt to flee Europe.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/China-Israel-Homeland-Yunnan-plan.png?w=800?quality=80)
What if Israel Had Been in China?
How Albert Einstein, a Brooklyn dentist, and pre-World War II Chinese leaders tried to create a Jewish homeland in Yunnan.
![The prow of a boat is seen in the foreground two other vessles in the ocean in front of it. The horizon is tinted orange at sunset or sunrise.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/philippines-south-china-sea-war-GettyImages-2062181957.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The South China Sea Risks a Military Crisis
The Philippine president drew a red line this week, but mutual restraint from Manila and Beijing can calm tensions.
![Electric cars are waiting to be loaded onto a cargo ship for export at a port facility in Yantai, China, on Jan. 10.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/china-tariff-ev-GettyImages-1915751404-e1717052570757.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Biden’s New Tariffs Should Raise Alarm Bells in Beijing
In the fight for economic dominance, Washington is playing the long game.
![Protesters step on a caricature of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a demonstration against Chinese maritime incursions in front of the Chinese consulate in Makati, Manila on April 9.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/china-philippines-us-GettyImages-2141959502-e1716995476671.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
How to Respond to China’s Tactics in the South China Sea
Beijing is testing the U.S.-Philippines alliance, and a new strategy is needed.
![Filipino fishermen along with civilian volunteers arrive at a meeting point in the South China Sea on May 15.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/philippines-fishermen-south-china-sea-GettyImages-2152478937.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Philippines Needs Butter, Not Just Guns
To counter China, Washington must help its ally address economic issues.
![A man stands next to a glowing electric vehicle charging station as he plugs in his car at night.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/electric-vehicle-biden-china-GettyImages-1242853588.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Is Biden Deferring the Green Transition to Contain China?
Electric vehicle tariffs put geopolitics before climate change.
![U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a summit meeting in Woodside, California on Nov. 15, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/us-china-hotline-talks-GettyImages-1783880876-e1716794754303.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Can a U.S.-China Military Hotline Stop the Downward Spiral?
New communications channels between the superpowers are a hopeful sign.
![A Uyghur family gathers for a meal during the Corban Festival in Xinjiang province, China.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1-Uyghur-Xinjiang-china-cuisine-women-GettyImages-606021738.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China Is Trying to Remake Uyghur Kitchens
Traditional food is painted as backward and dirty—except for tourists.
![U.S. President Joe Biden (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together after a meeting in Woodside, California.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1784317745.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Are U.S.-China Talks Accomplishing Anything?
Meetings on climate and AI show some progress, but tech competition still dominates the relationship.
![A story in the front page of a newspaper in Tehran covers the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties on March 11, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/saudi-iran-china-diplomacy-GettyImages-1248021168.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Democracies Aren’t the Peacemakers Anymore
How Washington can reclaim its diplomatic primacy in an authoritarian age.
![An aerial photo shows shipping containers stacked at the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in Ningbo, China.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1-china-US-Trade-compeition-GettyImages-1258495460.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Democracy Needs an Economic NATO
Fighting Chinese coercion requires new alliances.
![A sign for the U.S.-based McKinsey & Company management consulting firm is seen on a wall in Geneva, carved in a serif font in an expanse of gray stone.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CONSULTANCIES-INFORMATION-MCKINSEY-GettyImages-1239940060.png?w=800?quality=80)
Consulting Firms Have Stumbled Into a Geopolitical Minefield
The era of free-flowing information is over.
![An illustration of a blooming plum branch shows a statue of Chairman Mao at left with workers walking across a bridge before the scene turns into one of growth and modernity with city skyline plane and construction cranes.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/China-Abundance-post-Mao-illustration-Final.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
What Produced the China Miracle?
A powerful new book challenges conventional wisdom about the role of the state in Beijing’s rise.
![Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and first lady Wu Mei-ju gesture after his inaugural speech at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/taiwan-lai-ching-te-inauguration-GettyImages-2153272117.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Taiwan’s New President Pledges Not to Yield to China
Lai Ching-te, inaugurated on Monday, received a relatively mild response from Beijing.
![A worker in a reflective vest and hard hat leans against the wheel of a truck used in nickel mining. The vehicle is massive, and the wheel alone is four or feet taller than the worker. The vehicle is parked on an expanse of packed dirt, but rocks and some vegetation are visible in the background.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2037335996.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Why a Small Pacific Island Territory Is Upending Nickel Prices
Violent riots in New Caledonia are having an outsized global impact on critical mineral supply chains.
![A woman in a futuristic suit lifts her hand above her head as she looks into the distance. Behind her is a robot soldier with a human head and a Western vigilante in cowboy hat and long coat, with a hole where his nose should be.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/fallout-series-amazon-site.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The True Horseman of the ‘Fallout’ Apocalypse
Amazon’s adaptation of the video game knows what Americans should really be afraid of.
![BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 29: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), speaks to the media following talks at the Chancellery on November 29, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Scholz met with the five leaders as part of an annual, informal dialogue over the global economic situation. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1245208976-e1715013917670.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
What Biden’s New China Tariffs Mean for World Trade
“We are very concerned,” says WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
![A uniformed person is seen from behind saluting a large navy ship with sailors on the deck.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/us-navy-ships-GettyImages-1399203519-e1715956048623.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The U.S. Navy Can’t Build Ships
Decades of deindustrialization and downsizing have left America without shipyards to build and maintain a fleet.
![Air Force One’s shadow is seen on farmland after taking off with then-U.S. President Barack Obama and the first family on board, seen in Merced County, California, on June 19, 2016.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/China-U.S.-farmland-GettyImages-541546840.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Chinese Companies Keep Buying U.S. Land Near Military Bases
National security experts warn that some of those purchases are too close for comfort.
![U.S. President Joe Biden announces increased tariffs on Chinese products in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 14.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIDEN-TARIFFS-CHINA-GettyImages-2152931249.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The U.S. Should Stop Playing the Victim Over China Trade
Washington can accept reality and shift strategies.
![Josep Borrell arrives for a summit at the EU Parliament in Brussels.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/josep-borrell-eu-GettyImages-1246942097.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
‘We Are Allied, but We Are Not Aligned’
Josep Borrell, Europe’s outgoing foreign-policy chief, on the U.S., China, Ukraine, and Gaza.
![A small crowd is silhouetted against a giant blue screen with global gridlines that displays the Gasprom logo.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Nordstream-globalization-russia-europe-gazprom-GettyImages-1235746762.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Gazprom’s Declining Fortunes Spell Trouble for Moscow
The gas giant’s record loss should worry the Kremlin on several fronts.
![An aerial shot shows lines of dozens of new electric cars, seen from overhead in a packed-dirt lot as they wait to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, China. Most of the cars are black or white but a few are yellow.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/china-electric-vehicle-ev-cars-GettyImages-2147918971.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Can the U.S. Catch Up to China on EVs?
It’s not clear if Biden’s expanded tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles will ultimately serve U.S. interests.
![Workers wearing reflective orange jackets stand on an airport tarmac and sweep a red carpet that extends from the boarding steps of the Chinese president's airplane. The pavement around the carpet is damp with puddles, and the sky overhead is gray and overcast.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XI-EUROPE-GettyImages-2151387589.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Europeans Need to Trump-Proof China Policy
The United States is an unpredictable ally—but Beijing isn’t a better option.
![A group of American elementary school students stands outside in rows. Most of the students are dressed in winter coats and holding hands with their classmates and raising them in the air.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/US-CHILDREN-FERTILITY-GettyImages-1920697241.png?w=800?quality=80)
The United States Has a Keen Demographic Edge
Competitors of the United States face plunging birthrates and social gloom.
![Aerial view showing the construction works in the area where the Chinese company Cosco Shipping is building a port in Chancay, some 80 km north of Lima, on August 22, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CHINA-COSCO-PERU-GettyImages-1617815374.png?w=800?quality=80)
Peru Learns to Read the Fine Print in China Deals
A mistaken provision has given Beijing control of a key port.
![Following increased Chinese military exercises near the island, flares are fired during a Taiwanese military live-fire drill in Pingtung, Taiwan.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/taiwan-us-china-GettyImages-1243039879.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China and the U.S. Are Numb to the Real Risk of War
The pair are dangerously close to the edge of nuclear war over Taiwan—again.
![Tesla vehicles stand outside of a Brooklyn showroom and service center in New York City.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1024608362.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
What’s Ailing Tesla?
More people are buying electric cars, just not from Elon Musk.
![A locally produced drone is seen on display during a media tour at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1248205491.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Taiwan Wants Suicide Drones to Deter China
Taipei is seeking U.S.-made loitering munitions to help deter or ward off a potential Chinese invasion.
![Migrants walk by the jungle near Bajo Chiquito, Darién province, Panama, on Sept. 22, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/migration-darien-gap-GettyImages-1683905554.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Why Are More Chinese Migrants Arriving at the U.S. Southern Border?
Asylum-seekers and others are making the journey through the risky Darién Gap in the wake of the pandemic.
![French President Emmanuel Macron greets Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in France as part of a five-day trip to Europe.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2151150775-e1715095141691.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China Wants to ‘Divide and Conquer’ Europe
Why Xi Jinping is visiting France, Serbia, and Hungary this week.
![U.S. President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping, both wearing dark suits, are seen from behind as they walk through a large wooden doorway. Biden reaches out to pat a hand on Xi's back. Small trees flank the entrance.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/china-us-cold-peace-war-AP23320113553469.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
No, This Is Not a Cold War—Yet
Why are China hawks exaggerating the threat from Beijing?
![Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Joe Biden sit in brown armchairs flanked by flags with a small table in between them.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/amlo-biden-GettyImages-1787532639.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Mexico and the United States Need to Talk About China Now
Near-simultaneous presidential elections risk putting bilateral relations on a collision course.
![Two people walk past a sign for TikTok on a wall. Scribbles on the sign annotate the TikTok logo with the words "young," "trending," and "viral" in English along with characters in Chinese.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/china-tiktok-us-ban-GettyImages-2075608549.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Washington Keeps Choosing the Wrong Moment to Challenge China
The TikTok ban shows how decisions end up rushed—after being ignored.
![A photo collage illustration shows Russian President Vladamir Putin walking with a shadow cast before him on a red field. In front of him is the crown of a Russian tsar and a Soviet-era statue with hammer, sickle, and star.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/putin-empire-fall-russia-soviet-imperialism-foreign-policy-illustration-HPoverride.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
A New Age of Empires
What makes a modern empire, from Russia to cyberspace.
![A historic photograph shows a group of workers surrounding a man who is weighing opium at a factory.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1-opium-british-colonialism-india-china-drug-trade-GettyImages-1354468705.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Opioid High of Empire
Two new books turn a spotlight on how the colonial past lives on in unacknowledged ways.
![From left to right: Jacob Helberg, an advisor to Palantir's CEO; Vinod Khosla, founder, Khosla Ventures; and Republican Sen. Todd Young speak onstage at the Hill & Valley Forum on AI security at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2151026352.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Tech Hawks Took Down TikTok. Now What?
Silicon Valley and Washington are finding common ground on China. But some worry about groupthink.
![French President Emmanuel Macron walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping after inspecting an honor guard during a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1250816620.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Can Xi Win Back Europe?
The Chinese leader’s visit follows weeks of escalating tensions between China and the continent.
![A worker checks a robot arm at a robotics company during a tour in Xianghe county in China's Hebei province on Oct. 22, 2017.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/XIJINPING-CHINA-SCIENCE-GettyImages-864966652.png?w=800?quality=80)
Xi Believes China Can Win a Scientific Revolution
Beijing’s techno-nationalist policies are more geopolitical than economic.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping make a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Putin-Xi-GettyImages-1248996591.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Very Real Limits of the Russia-China ‘No Limits’ Partnership
Intense military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is a problem for the West. Their bilateral trade is not.
![Chinese President Xi Jinping waits in front of a painting of the Great Wall at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1-imperial-china-xi-Jinping-history-GettyImages-1026454152.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Xi’s Imperial Ambitions Are Rooted in China’s History
Myths of peacefulness belie a record as expansionist as any other power.
![Chinese President Xi Jinping sits at a wood-paneled desk, shuffling through paper documents as he presides over a meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Xi is a middle-aged man wearing a black suit and red tie, and he wears a serious expression as he reads the documents.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/XI-CHINA-ECONOMY-GettyImages-2067279983.png?w=800?quality=80)
Xi Jinping Has Tough Economic Choices Ahead
China is likely to pick security over prosperity.
![Taiwan’s reserve soldiers take part in military training during a two-week education convocation at a local Taoist temple in Hsinchu, Taiwan.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2088922563.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Congress Helps Steer Taiwan Toward the ‘Porcupine Strategy’
The national security bill gives Biden more leverage to tell Taiwan what weapons to buy.
![China’s silver medalists, Xu Jiayu, Yan Zibei, Zhang Yufei, and Yang Junxuan, stand on the podium next to the British gold medalists after the final of the mixed 4x100m medley relay swimming event during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/china-olympics-swim-tokyo-GettyImages-1234334011.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Does China Have to Play by the Rules?
New reporting implicates Beijing and anti-doping officials in covering up Chinese Olympic swimmers’ positive tests in 2021.
![Construction cranes are seen near the construction site of the Venture Global LNG plant in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, Louisiana.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LNG-US-CHINA-GettyImages-1741633597.png?w=800?quality=80)
Is the U.S. Preparing to Ban Future LNG Sales to China?
The Department of Energy’s “temporary pause” opens the door.
![New Zealand’s then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/new-zealand-nato-GettyImages-1535790855-e1713859549247.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
New Zealand Becomes the Latest Country to Pivot to the U.S.
Beijing’s bullying tactics have pushed Wellington into Washington’s welcoming arms.
![German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appears with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the State Guest House in Beijing on April 16.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Germany-china-scholz-xi-GettyImages-2147853143.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Strategic Unseriousness of Olaf Scholz
His latest trip confirms that Germany’s China policy is made in corporate boardrooms.
![An illustration shows the Colosseum of the Roman Empire juxtaposed with a digital sphere and iconography for a story about digital superpowers.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/digital-empire-internet-superpower-illustration.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The New Empires of the Internet Age
Cyberspace has upended the old world order.
![Newspapers in Tehran feature news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1248021114.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
How Much Leverage Does China Really Have Over Iran?
Washington wants Beijing to rein in Tehran, but experts say it’s not that simple.
![A new floating production, storage, and offloading vessel is under construction at a shipyard in Nantong, China, on April 17, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/china-shipyard-shipping-GettyImages-1251939897-1.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Forget About Chips—China Is Coming for Ships
Beijing’s grab for hegemony in a critical sector follows a familiar playbook.
![Chinese President Xi Jinping walks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/xi-china-iran-GettyImages-1247150277.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Beijing Walks a Fine Line in the Middle East
Iran’s attack on Israel has undermined some of China’s diplomatic credibility in the region.
![A group of people on motorbikes ride on the street in front of a massive microchip fabrication plant. The company name, TSMC, is displayed in large red letters on the front of the building.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/taiwan-microchip-taichung-GettyImages-1708749142.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Chipmaking World Hedges Its Taiwan Bets
Earthquake or not, building semiconductor factories off the island has become a global imperative.
![U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stand for their national anthems during an arrival ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/biden-kishida-GettyImages-2147028142.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Question Looming Over Biden’s White House Summit: Where Are the Exit Ramps?
As the leaders of Japan and the Philippines present a united front with America, China is getting stronger, too.
![An illustration on industrial policy shows a factory worker in a hard hat looking over three conveyer belts, one with the yellow stars of China, and the others with white stars on blue conveyer belts for the U.S.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/china-us-industrial-policy-illustration-iStock-1457369809.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
America’s Flailing Industrial Policy Can Take Lessons From China
Beijing’s experiences are a road map for both opportunities and traps.
![U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shakes hands with Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, during her visit to the central bank’s headquarters in Beijing.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/yellen-china-central-bank-GettyImages-2139242834.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China Won’t Change Tack on Economic Policy
Beijing’s political leadership isn’t likely to listen to friendly advice from foreign investors or criticism from foreign officials.
![U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks into a microphone at a podium while she attends a press conference.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Janet-Yellen-China-GettyImages-2139245223.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Janet Yellen Has a Three-Body Problem With China
The U.S. treasury secretary blasted Beijing’s industrial overcapacity, but it’s a tough message to carry off convincingly.
![An illustration shows a tiger chasing a dragon up an economic indicator line against a graph paper background. The dragon is turning to snarl at the tiger.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/india-economy-china-middle-power-reshidev-rk-illustration.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Is India Really the Next China?
The case for its economic ascent is strong, but government policies still stand in the way.
![Security officials walk with dogs in Tiananmen Square.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CHINA-BELTANDROAD-GettyImages-1730511574.png?w=800?quality=80)
China Is Gaslighting the Developing World
Beijing’s promises of equality are a guise for hegemony.
![Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends the inauguration ceremony for Taiwan-made warships in Yilan.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/taiwan-navy-ship-tsai-GettyImages-2105340826.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
It’s Debatable’s Greatest Hits
In their 100th column, Matt and Emma revisit clashes over Taiwan, Ukraine, Iran—and how to deter an alien invasion.
![Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1730507535-1.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Sri Lanka Hones Its Balancing Act
Colombo has demonstrated its own brand of strategic autonomy on issues from Russia’s war in Ukraine to China’s global footprint.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony to mark the delivery of nuclear fuel to Turkey's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, via a video link from Moscow.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Putin-Russia-GettyImages-1252231905.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Did Russia Come Close to Using a Nuclear Device in 2022?
CNN reporter Jim Sciutto on the return of great-power conflict.
![Philippine Coast Guard personnel are seen aboard an inflatable boat speeding past a Chinese Coast Guard ship after conducting a survey at the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/philippines-china-ship-boat-spratly-GettyImages-1252225619.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China-Philippines Tensions Heat Up
Saber-rattling in the South China Sea comes as Manila builds alliances in Washington and beyond.
![Fuel holding tanks are seen at Colonial Pipeline's Dorsey Junction Station in Woodbine, Maryland, on May 13, 2021.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/colonial-pipeline-cyberattack-infrastructure-GettyImages-1232866182.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’: U.S. Officials Warn of Increased Cyberthreats
Washington prepares for a worst-case scenario of attacks on critical infrastructure.
![A blue vise with a U.S. flag for a pin holds a red missile with the stars of the China flag in its grip.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/China-US-power-illustration-Nicolas-Ortega-3-2.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Power Is the Answer in U.S. Competition With China
A fight for global values demands a stronger coalition.
![A 19th century engraving depicts the people's uprising in Paris in February 1848.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2-revolution-europe-1841-paris-france-GettyImages-164078557.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Are We Living in a Revolutionary Age?
On the nature of revolutions, past and present.
![Andrew Sweetman, a deep-sea ecology professor wearing a gray boiler suit and white hard hat, kneels on one knee as he gestures to research equipment on the deck of a ship beneath a pale cloudy sky in the Pacific Ocean.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-1234090806-1.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Washington Wants In on the Deep-Sea Mining Game
The scramble for critical minerals is heating up under the sea, but lawmakers fear the United States could be left behind.
![A person walks past a mask display at the World Health Expo in Wuhan, China, on April 7, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/health-expo-masks-GettyImages-1480617421.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Asia Should Take the Lead on Global Health
The region’s health care systems and innovations show how solidarity can shape well-being.
![British members of Parliament Tim Loughton, Iain Duncan Smith And Stewart McDonald, hold a press conference after allegations that China is responsible for cyberattacks on the U.K. Electoral Commission in London on March 25.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/uk-china-hacking-scandal-GettyImages-2105322909.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
U.S. and U.K. Sanction Chinese Hacking Group
The censure isn’t likely to rein in Beijing’s cyberespionage campaigns.
![An illustration of Chinese leaders jailed for corruption and members of China's military.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/suffering-davis-deena-so-oteh-illustration.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Art of Propaganda
Are brilliant films and TV shows made in Xi’s China?
![A historic image of four businessmen at a table with basketballs.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1-china-america-trade-labor-charles-abrams-don-king-vodka-F3HHT3.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
How ‘Made in China’ Became American Gospel
The canny marketing of imports from vodka to basketballs transformed the U.S.-China trade relationship.
![A historic photo of families at the beach.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/resort-history-britain-economics-GettyImages-152511113.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
The Rise of the All-Inclusive Resort
The economics work, but the politics can be troubling.
![A man walks past a booth during the Appliance and Electronics World Expo in Shanghai. The section of the exposition hall is somewhat dim, with most the light coming from blue and purple neon lights on a large TikTok music note logo.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TIKTOK-CHINA-AMERICA-BAN-GettyImages-2076692675.png?w=800?quality=80)
The Case Against TikTok Is Thin at Best
There are real issues—but they go far beyond one app.
![A migrant worker wearing a camouflage patterned jacket and a yellow hard hat rides a tricycle on a road in front of a building wall with a large mural. The man's head is tilted toward the mural, which shows three red and black fists against an orange and yellow striped background.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/china-economy-GettyImages-52774918.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
China’s Public Wants to Make a Living, Not War
Discontent about the country’s poor economic reality is starting to drown out nationalist calls to attack Taiwan.
![A woman tests a VR product during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 7, 2023.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/china-vr-ai-shanghai-GettyImages-1512317286.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Beijing Pushes for AI Regulation
A campaign to control generative AI raises questions about the future of the industry in China.
![An illustration shows a stopwatch, at the center of which is a repeated TikTok logo—which is shaped like an eighth note in music—spinning like the second hand of a watch.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Tiktok-times-up-illustration-foreign-policy-illustration.jpg?w=800?quality=80)
Is TikTok’s Time Finally Up?
The United States may ban one of the world’s most popular apps.
![A modern-looking plaza is seen beneath a partially cloudy sky. The shops lining either side of the walkway are closed, dark behind their glass windows, and a hotel building looms in the background, with green plants hanging from its balconies. No people are visible either in the plaza or in the hotel.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FORESTCITY-MALAYSIA-CHINA-REALESTATE-GettyImages-1636810845.png?w=800?quality=80)
Malaysia’s Forest City Went From Boomtown to Ghost Town
China’s real estate collapse is sinking projects beyond its borders.