Month: September 2026

Restaurant named after Xi Jinping attacked by Chinese nationals in South Korea

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A restaurant in South Korea named after Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been vandalised by a group of Chinese nationals who fled home right after the attack, police say. Surveillance footage from the restaurant in Seongnam, a city south of Seoul, shows four masked men storming the premises in the early hours of 24 September, smashing furniture and spraying lacquer. The restaurant’s owner told local media he picked the name Xi Jinping because he “wanted it to be the best Chinese restaurant [in South Korea]”. He added that “There was…

China pressure accelerates Philippines-Taiwan ties, analysts say

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Taiwan’s plan to open a second trade office in the Philippines is an example of Manila and Taipei accelerating cooperation in response to Chinese pressure in the South China Sea, analysts told Radio Free Asia. During a radio interview on Sept. 15, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said that Taipei’s plan to open a second representative office in Cebu, the Philippines’ second largest city, was going smoothly. Taipei’s trade offices serve as de facto embassies and consulates in countries that officially recognize China, but maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan, which…

What Did Chinese Analysts Think of the Trump-Xi Summit?

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Both in China’s official media and in the world press, the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump last week – their second so far this year – generated usual, predictable descriptions: “ambiguous,” “highly symbolic,” “historic summit,” and so on. However, a section of China’s strategic affairs community – definitely not the pro-U.S. faction – has taken exception to Trump’s “dramatic,” “personal diplomacy” hospitality in welcoming Xi. Cautioning Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership to tread carefully with the untrustworthy, capricious, and unpredictable Trump, a skeptic in…

The Voices Behind ‘Made in China’

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When British authorities passed laws targeting working-class pamphlets during the Industrial Revolution, they did so because they knew that words can be powerful. The poetry and writing of those who experience hardship can be galvanizing. In China, the People’s Republic, a genre of literature known as “workers’ literature,” written by gig-economy and factory workers, is becoming increasingly popular. It’s also under increasing government scrutiny. Today my colleague Yan Zhuang writes about the fine line that Chinese worker-poets have to walk. In Seoul, where I live, it’s normal to place an…

Why am I obsessed with China’s ancient golden age? I took my daughter on a trip to find out

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Tang During the Tang dynasty, which lasted from the seventh to the early 10th century, Vikings were raiding the coasts of what today is called Europe. In the small archipelago now known as Britain, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms flitted by. Meanwhile, in Mesoamerica, after 3,000 years of flourishing, the Maya civilisation was collapsing. In the east, China had been united for nine centuries and the Tang dynasty was already a proverbial high point of world culture. The Tang dynasty achieved an incredible level of social and cultural sophistication. Advances in science and…

North Korea issue dwarfed by more pressing concerns during Trump-Xi summit

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed a wide range of issues during their summit in Washington last week, but Washington and Beijing offered few details about any discussion of North Korea, indicating that Pyongyang was not a high priority among other more pressing issues, experts told Radio Free Asia. In separate statements released following the summit, China’s Foreign Ministry and the White House said the two leaders did discuss the Korean peninsula but did not elaborate, whereas both statements described in detail discussions on the economy,…

The Frenemy: How Australia navigates superpower rivalry

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The war scenario playing out before us is part of a major joint exercise known as “Southern Jackaroo” – a training programme involving the Australian, American and Japanese armed forces aimed at strengthening defence co-operation across the Indo-Pacific. “We like to call ourselves America’s 911 response force,” US Marine Kevin Hicks says. And in terms of numbers, they are more prepared than ever. In 2012, just 200 US Marines were deployed to Australia for an annual six-month deployment. Today, that figure has risen to around 2,500. A quick read of…

Two of China’s EV Makers Announce a Deal as Auto Industry Moves Toward Consolidation

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Two leading electric carmakers in China said on Monday they would combine their battery charging subsidiaries, in the latest sign of consolidation in a severely crowded Chinese car industry. The deal will combine divisions of Nio and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, with Nio also acquiring 10 percent of a separate Geely business. The transaction comes just two weeks after another Chinese automaker, Guangzhou Automobile Group, announced plans for a complex tie-up with First Automotive Works, a large manufacturer. Last year, two of the Chinese car industry’s giants, Dongfeng Motor and…

China Maritime Report #58: Tightening the Institutional Cage: The PLA Navy’s Discipline Inspection Commission

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Main Findings: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operates a pervasive system of discipline inspection commissions (DICs) spanning the Party and military hierarchy to enforce political discipline and loyalty. The PLAN headquarters DIC supervises a system of subordinate PLAN DIC organizations located in major units across the navy. Broadly speaking, that system is designed to enforce party discipline among PLAN personnel. The CCP’s specific priorities for discipline in the PLAN have shifted over the years, and they currently center on failure to adhere to (or succeed in implementing) political priorities, lax…

Foie gras, live dolphins and toasters: China and US cut reciprocal tariffs on $30bn each of goods

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The US and China have released reciprocal lists of goods worth about $30bn each on which they plan to cut tariffs, ranging from consumer electronics and agricultural products to artificial flowers and live dolphins. The announcements are the latest tack away from the intense trade war between the world’s two largest economies that dominated much of last year, though major strategic products are not included and no timeline has yet been given for the reductions. The US list includes 77 categories of Chinese products including bed linen, garden umbrellas, toasters,…