China

Yes, “harder years, tough years” are coming for Germany. But they could be all the harder because the country’s leadership still is not ready to acknowledge its past failures or to apply the lessons to its future policy settings. […]

China’s President Xi Jinping once said that Soviet Communism collapsed because its ideals and beliefs had been shaken. Would he not expect the same of countries unwilling to stand up for their own ideals and beliefs? […]

Winston Peters’ comments on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre were candid. Where Western politicians have turned not upsetting China over its human rights record into an art form, the Foreign Minister left diplomatic niceties behind. […]

For a change, Europe’s worries do not originate from the continent itself. Instead, they stem from the fallout of China’s dramatic slowdown. […]

The Chinese know that any money they dedicate to Europe would be a highly risky engagement. They realise that Europe’s growth inertia, debt dynamics and demographic change are condemning the Europeans to decades of slow decline. And they are fully aware that Europe’s social model is finished. […]

There is no doubt that China’s resilient economic growth has prevented the economic crisis from becoming an economic catastrophe for the world. Yet among the dark sides of China’s rising economic power is an astonishing disrespect for intellectual property. […]

The Europeans are ignoring both the opportunities and dangers of China at their peril. Closing their eyes to the Chinese awakening will not put the Chinese dragon back to sleep. […]