Ian Williams

Assad’s fall is also a blow to Beijing

10 December 2024 10:17 pm

Russia and Iran kept Bashar al-Assad in power and are the biggest strategic losers from the toppling of his brutal…

The corruption scandal gripping Xi Jinping’s army

30 November 2024 10:19 pm

In an effort to create a cutting edge force, the Chinese Communist party (CCP) has spent billions of dollars expanding…

The academic paper mills helping China commit scientific fraud

25 November 2024 3:35 am

Few people embody the ideal of scientific excellence as much as Albert Einstein. Each year a Berlin-based foundation bearing his…

The paper mills helping China commit scientific fraud

23 November 2024 5:30 pm

Few people embody the ideal of scientific excellence as much as Albert Einstein. Each year a Berlin-based foundation bearing his…

Keir Starmer’s desperate cosying up to Beijing

19 November 2024 3:27 am

Keir Starmer has met President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, telling the Chinese leader that…

Why did China censor reports of a deadly hit-and-run?

14 November 2024 1:40 am

In many respects, the Chinese Communist party’s (CCP) response to one of the deadliest mass killings in recent Chinese history…

Will Trump and Musk fall out over China?

10 November 2024 9:00 pm

Xi Jinping was quick with his congratulations, urging Donald Trump to ‘forge the right path for China and the United…

Why the Great Firewall of China is waging war on Halloween

31 October 2024 5:00 pm

The Chinese Communist party (CCP) is spooked by Halloween. In Shanghai, police have rounded up people gathering in costumes that…

Why billionaires are fleeing China

30 October 2024 7:43 pm

‘To get rich is glorious’ is perhaps the most over-used slogan attributed to Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader who reformed…

How cozy is Tim Walz with China?

26 October 2024 5:00 pm

The term ‘old friend of the Chinese people’ has a sentimental, almost innocent ring, but the Chinese Communist party (CCP)…

Is Tim Walz an ‘old friend’ of China?

22 October 2024 12:30 am

The term “old friend of the Chinese people” has a sentimental, almost innocent ring, but the Chinese Communist Party regards…

While Xi reigns, China’s economy is unreformable

25 September 2024 4:00 pm

It was presented as a bold stimulus to boost China’s ailing economy – but while it excited stock markets in…

Why can’t China play football?

21 September 2024 9:00 am

It would be tough for any country to lose 7-0 in a World Cup qualifier, but when the losing team…

What’s behind China’s overseas policing drive?

15 September 2024 4:00 pm

So China wants to make the world more ‘safe, reasonable and efficient’ by training thousands of police officers from across…

Are Hong Kong trade offices just Chinese propaganda machines?

15 September 2024 2:21 am

China has reacted with anger at American threats to close Hong Kong’s trade offices in the United States, pledging to…

Xi speech warrior: Elon Musk’s love affair with China

7 September 2024 9:00 am

Elon Musk revels in the role of ‘free speech absolutist’. Last week, for instance, he jumped to the defence of…

The cracks are appearing in Putin’s relationship with China

23 August 2024 12:04 am

Relations between China and Russia are going from strength to strength – or so they say. In reality, the strain…

Labour are bowing to China’s influence

21 August 2024 1:57 am

The new Labour government is supposedly committed to ‘defend[ing] our sovereignty and our democratic values’, as its manifesto put it,…

The controversial truth about China’s new gas field

17 August 2024 4:30 pm

The news was seemingly big but the announcement curiously low key. Earlier this month, China declared that it had discovered…

Why Xi is anxious about Biden stepping down

24 July 2024 10:31 pm

The Chinese Communist party is rarely shy about highlighting America’s chaotic politics. State media and the CCP’s growing army of…

China’s Arctic ambitions should trouble the West

21 July 2024 4:00 pm

Four Chinese warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska last weekend. According to the US coast guard, the ships…

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan remains unlikely

26 May 2024 3:23 am

For a second day, yesterday, Chinese fighter jets and warships surrounded Taiwan for drills which the People’s Liberation Army said…