US Opinion and Commentary

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The World — Including China — Is Unprepared for the Rise of China

Posted November 9th, 2015 at 9:02 am (UTC-4)
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For the first time in centuries, China affects the global economy as much as it is affected by the global economy. In the years ahead, China is likely to account for between one-third and one-half of growth in global incomes, trade and commodity demand…

China: Have More Kids or Granny Gets It

Posted October 30th, 2015 at 1:11 pm (UTC-4)
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The question that is on the minds of most young Chinese couples isn’t whether to have one child or two. It’s whether they should have any children at all. Beijing’s current nudge for more kids comes after disappointing application numbers for a second child by eligible families.

The U.S. Navy Has Sailed Past China’s Artificial Islands—And Must Do So Again.

Posted October 30th, 2015 at 12:13 pm (UTC-4)
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By undertaking freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea as a regular operation in pursuance of long-standing U.S. principles, the administration has the opportunity to show Beijing, and the rest of the region, that America can do more than just give speeches to uphold stability in the world’s most dynamic region.

The Case for Optimism

Posted October 28th, 2015 at 10:20 am (UTC-4)
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Fears that troubles in China will somehow pull the United States into another recession are overdone. It’s time for Americans to embrace optimism.

Think Again: Myths and Myopia about the South China Sea

Posted October 28th, 2015 at 9:49 am (UTC-4)
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Chinese strategy resembles not chess but a different Chinese board game named weiqi…. Rather than concentrating on frontal battles with the enemy, the idea is to manipulate the propensity of things so that the situation will work for you.

Two-Child Policy is Too Little, Too Late

Posted October 26th, 2015 at 2:09 pm (UTC-4)
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Though total fertility in China is in long-term decline, lifting the cap on births entirely might at least encourage rural parents to produce more kids. What China really needs to do, though, is the same thing Japan’s struggled with for so long: import labor.

Our Unused Strength

Posted October 19th, 2015 at 8:08 am (UTC-4)
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In many ways, and contrary to whatever Donald Trump may say, the next president will inherit an America in better shape — better positioned for world leadership — than the nation that George Bush bequeathed to Barack Obama.

The Global Economy Is in Serious Danger

Posted October 8th, 2015 at 12:01 pm (UTC-4)
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As the world’s financial policymakers convene for their annual meeting Friday in Peru, the dangers facing the global economy are more severe than at any time since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in 2008. The problem of secular stagnation — the inability of the industrial world to grow at satisfactory rates even with very loose monetary policies — […]

12 Nation Trans-Pacific Partnership Aims to Rebalance Global Economic Power

Posted October 7th, 2015 at 4:39 pm (UTC-4)
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Amid the din of news about Russia’s air strikes in Syria and the deadly – but mistaken – U.S. bombing of a charity hospital in Afghanistan came a quieter, but no less significant, change in the global landscape. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is touted by President Obama as a “21st century trade agreement” that brings together 12 nations, including the U.S. and Japan, in a far-reaching free trade deal. Central to the debate over its merits is China. Should China have been included? Or was it the right call to keep Beijing out?

What Xi Jinping and Pope Francis Have in Common

Posted September 25th, 2015 at 3:20 pm (UTC-4)
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On the surface, the two world leaders making high-profile visits to the U.S. this week have little in common, except that each stands at the head of more than 1 billion followers … Each man is in the midst of a historic struggle to defeat an entrenched bureaucracy that has constrained his predecessors.

China Calling

Posted September 25th, 2015 at 3:16 pm (UTC-4)
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Cybersecurity. A trade imbalance of almost $350-billion. Intellectual property theft. Island building in the South China Sea. North Korea. Human rights. Those are just some of the issues on the table for this week’s U.S.-China summit. Presidents Obama and Xi announced an agreement — details of which are still to be worked out — that their governments will not knowingly support cyber theft of intellectual property or commercial trade secrets. In the next breath, Obama warned of possible sanctions for cybercrime that has happened, or may happen in the future. Despite the stern smiles and niceties of state dinner toasts, there is a lot of work to do on both sides of the U.S.-China relationship.

China-U.S. Trade Soars, Benefitting Both Nations

Posted September 22nd, 2015 at 12:06 pm (UTC-4)
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As President Xi Jinping visits the United States this week, history tells us that Sino-U.S. economic cooperation is win-win. For more than 30 years, our bilateral trade and investment has brought real benefits to our peoples and contributed to great development in both countries.

Susan Rice: “With China, we speak openly about persistent human rights violations, pressing our concerns at every level.”

Posted September 21st, 2015 at 3:42 pm (UTC-4)
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Tensions – Some Old, Some New – Won’t Be Ignored When China’s Xi Visits US

Posted September 21st, 2015 at 3:04 pm (UTC-4)
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Xi Jinping has visited the U.S. six times before. But this week’s tour, which begins Tuesday in Washington the state, then to Washington the capital before ending in New York City, will be his first state visit as China’s leader. Activists will clamor for President Barack Obama to denounce the rise in dissident crackdowns. But Beijing’s market roller coaster ride and Xi’s military aggressiveness in the region may force Obama’s hand.

Why China’s Economic Bubble Burst

Posted August 25th, 2015 at 3:41 pm (UTC-4)
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As American economists try to assess the health of the U.S. economy, Asian markets tumbled further after last week’s so-called “correction.” Much of the blame for the 500 plus point drop on the New York Stock Exchange is being directed at China. Beijing has lost control of its economy, experts say, pointing out that the formerly fast-growing economy was unsound from the start.