Today
Jimmy Lai’s 20-year sentence follows Beijing’s playbook on dissent
The sentence for the media mogul, along with long prison terms for his editors, shows how Hong Kong enforces Xi Jinping’s red lines with a new severity.
January
Why Xi’s military purge should unsettle Australia
For US allies in the Asia-Pacific, the danger is not that Beijing is suddenly more eager for war, but that it has become more prone to miscalculation.
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption purge will be his undoing
With childhood friends and top leaders no longer safe, China’s system is frozen with fear as bureaucrats shift instinctively to risk avoidance.
Purging the generals confirms Xi’s absolute power
The question for countries like Australia and its allies is how the generational upheaval at the top of the Chinese military affects its ambitions and capabilities.
China’s top general ‘leaked nuclear secrets to US’
Xi Jinping purged the military official, who is reportedly accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear weapons program.
Xi takes sole control of Chinese army after military purge
The president has just completed the biggest purge of the military in China’s history, according to analysts, amid concerns about graft and disloyalty.
An insider lifts the lid on China’s gruelling gig economy
In the best-selling “I Deliver Parcels in Beijing”, author Hu Anyan captures the drudgery of gruelling low-wage work and the personal toll it takes.
China’s population plummets in blow to baby drive
China’s birth rate fell last year to its lowest level since 1949, highlighting a deep demographic struggle despite incentives to encourage couples to have children.
How China’s one-child policy led to a rising tide of resentment
A long-standing preference for sons created one of the world’s starkest gender imbalances, spawning desperate bachelors and dubious gurus.
What life is really like as a Chinese soldier
Members of the People’s Liberation Army exist in an environment that is isolated, restrictive and tightly controlled, although conditions are improving.
December 2025
The married scientists torn apart by the COVID lab leak theory
A Chinese virologist fled to America, aided by allies of Donald Trump who sought to promote her unproven theories about the virus. Her husband still can’t find her.
FIRB delays puts $100m energy retailer buyout on brink of collapse
TPC Consolidated had agreed to sell itself to Chinese government-backed Beijing Energy in March last year, but approval has not been forthcoming for 18 months.
November 2025
China’s factory slump hits longest stretch on record
Data from China’s national statistics agency indicates persistent weak demand in its economy even as the trade war with Donald Trump eases.
Aussie firms return to Hong Kong as IPO market booms
Jason Chang, the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong’s new chair, says two of the world’s biggest IPOs demonstrate the strength of the Hong Kong market.
China wants in on 6G build, says Beijing’s man in Australia
China’s plan calls for building a modernised industrial system, consolidating and enhancing the competitiveness of the country’s traditional industries.
Australia’s warning for Japan in growing China spat
China’s furious backlash against Japan’s new prime minister revives wolf-warrior diplomacy and using trade as a weapon. It’s a scenario Australia knows well.
The Australian food blogger with a huge following in China
YouTuber Amy Lyons founded the “Blondie in China” channel that has more than one million followers, including mainland Chinese.
Aussie retailers livestream to Chinese homes to turbocharge sales
Australian exporters spent hours livestreaming to Chinese consumers to promote products for the Singles’ Day shopping spree, even as confidence stayed subdued.
China bridge spectacularly collapses months after opening
A section of the tall bridge in mountainous Sichuan Province fell, apparently after a landslide. No casualties were reported.
Aussie exporters double down on China despite fear of ‘getting burnt’
Even as Washington and Beijing spar over tariffs, Australian companies are rushing to re-establish footholds in China’s vast consumer market.
