There's no #China at the #WorldCup. A country of 1.4 billion has been unable to find 11 players capable of hitting the back of the net. But the Communist Party has produced world class corruption and waste in a failed bid to become a football superpower www.dailymail.com/debate/artic...

IAN WILLIAMS: How China's bid to become a football superpower failed

When President Xi Jinping launched the plan in 2015, China was ranked 81st in the world. It now ranks 91st. During the qualification stages for the current World Cup, it lost 7-0 to arch rival Japan.

dailymail.com

There have long been links between triads & Chinese Communist Party, but as I write in the Mail, there's evidence that CCP is adopting the Russia model - seeing organised crime as key asset to undermine opponents #china #triads #organisedcrime #opioids #scamming www.dailymail.com/news/article...

A pleasure to join Times Radio superpowers podcast, talking the China-US summit, Ukraine, Russia and much more #china #uschinasummit #trump #ukraine #russia youtube.com/watch?v=lq9O...

Putin's weakness on full display as Trump & Xi hold all the cards | Ian Williams

YouTube video by Frontline

youtube.com

US-China summit opens with Taiwan warnings from Xi & bland flattery from Trump, who wants to talk trade. Here's my take for The Spectator on start of a meeting what could be perilous for the US president - and dangerous for Taiwan #china #taiwan #USChinasummit #trump spectator.com/article/no-o...

No one is watching the Trump-Xi summit closer than Taiwan

Xi is calculating that a global rush for energy security will shift China’s vast surplus of heavily subsidised renewable technologies.

spectator.com

Despite all the hype surrounding #China #AI capabilities, progress remains heavily dependent on theft and smuggling of American know-how - and as I report for The Spectator Beijing has become increasingly brazen ahead of this week’s Trump-Xi summit

China’s theft of American AI tech is becoming more brazen

Last year, Trump scaled back tariffs and abandoned other restrictions on Chinese companies after Beijing weaponised rare earths.

spectator.com

Just days away from the Lewes Speakers Festival, where where on the 9 May I will be speaking about my book, Vampire State, examining #china predatory economy and the new global disorder. Tickets still available! www.ticketsource.com/lewesspeaker...

Meagre pickings. The most tangible result of Starmer’s #china visit is visa-free access for Brits, though they won’t have luxury of burner phones & throwaway lap tops issued to PM’s entourage to escape the scrutiny of Xi’s surveillance state spectator.com/article/star...

Starmer has got nothing from his demeaning trip to China

Starmer told Xi it was time for a ‘more sophisticated’ relationship, yet there is very little sign of that in his excruciating performance in China.

spectator.com

Keir Starmer heads to Beijing today, days after gifting #China its new mega-embassy and hoping to be rewarded for a year of abject appeasement. As I write in the Mail, that is dangerously delusional. mol.im/a/15499919

'China's vampire state is about to sink its fangs into Kotow Keir'

Keir Starmer is stepping up 'Operation Kowtow', his reckless bid to cosy up to China- at the worst possible moment for Britain's national security.

mol.im

Glasgow's Aye Write book festival is underway & I'm looking forward to speaking Friday evening (14th) about Vampire State, my latest book on China's predatory economy & the turbulent new geopolitics. Tickets still available! #china #TradeWar birlinn.co.uk/event/aye-wr...

Aye Write: Ian Williams | Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher - buy books online

birlinn.co.uk

Contrary to what Trump says, the rare earth crisis is not over. As I argue in the spectator, it should be seen as an opportunity - a wake up call for sleep-walking western democracies to urgently wean themselves off dangerous dependencies on #China #rareearths www.spectator.co.uk/article/chin...

China is holding the West to ransom over rare earths

China’s naked weaponisation of rare earths brings to mind Mao Zedong’s ‘four pests’ campaign, the old tyrant’s fanatical effort to exterminate all flies, mosquitoes, rats and sparrows, which turned in...

spectator.co.uk

Trump says his meeting with Xi Jinping today was ‘amazing’ and on a scale of one to 10, it merited a 12. As I report for the Spectator, that means that on a scale for scepticism, it probably deserves a 13 #china #tradewar #trump #APEC www.spectator.co.uk/article/trum...

Trump and Xi's South Korean meeting changed little

Chinese officials see Trump as volatile and unpredictable; there is deep scepticism in Washington that China will stick to any agreement.

spectator.co.uk

Here’s my take for this week’s Spectator on the fiasco of the collapsed China spy trial & a govt that appears to have abandoned any notion of national security for single-minded policy of appeasing Beijing #china #spytrial #espionage #chinaspies www.spectator.co.uk/article/did-...

Did Jonathan Powell torpedo the China espionage trial?

The antics of Keir Starmer and his top security adviser over the collapsed China espionage case bring to mind the slapstick British movie Carry On Spying – which is precisely the message it will have ...

spectator.co.uk

How are we to understand the relatiinship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin? Here’s my explainer for Times Radio #china #putin #ukraine #xijinping youtu.be/JLVdK7MX-WA?...

Putin and Xi exposed: China expert reveals the hidden tension between the world’s dictators

YouTube video by Times Radio

youtu.be

The great Xi Jinping makeover is in full swing. Champion of free trade, friend of foreign investors & tech entrepreneurs in the face of Trump mayhem. But as I argue in @thetimes #china shape-shifting is cynical and barely credible www.thetimes.com/article/c05b...

#China has moved fast to take advantage of Trump alienating much of the world. But as I ask in The Spectator, is anybody really fooled by Xi Jinping’s makeover? www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

How China fools the West

The mimic octopus is a remarkable creature. It is the world’s master at shapeshifting. It is able to transform its appearance into that of more than 15 different aquatic animals, depending on the need...

spectator.co.uk

It's generally agreed that the UK needs more #China expertise - from understanding history & culture to speaking Mandarin. But as I ask in the Spectator, what if institutions charged with improving such capabilities are captured by the Chinese communist party? www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...

Can 'China Studies' still be trusted?

It is generally agreed that Britain needs to improve its China capabilities. But what happens when institutions responsible for building those capabilities are compromised by the Chinese Communist Par...

spectator.co.uk

A real pleasure to join @philipingrammbe.bsky.social on Times Radio’s excellent Frontline podcast, talking Russia, China, Ukraine and much more #china #Russia #Ukraine #ukrainewar youtu.be/aegWOaXlSaU?...

Xi doesn’t need Putin: How China’s arms industry overtakes Russia’s | Ian Williams

YouTube video by Times Radio

youtu.be

I'm delighted that the updated paperback edition of Vampire State is published today. Understanding #china troubled but predatory economy is more important than ever #economy #TradeDeal #Tradewars #Beijing

So #china says economy grew 5.2% in the quarter to June & most commentators took that at face value. Wake up! CCP stats are political, not economic, more so that ever, and as I explain in the Spectator, they need to be treated with a huge does of scepticism www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-c...

A big thank you to everybody who came to the the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand Wednesday for my book talk. China is such an important issue right now, and understanding its predatory economy is more important than ever. Good to be back in Thailand and catching up with old friends.

Congratulations to @barbarademick.bsky.social for Daughters of the Bamboo Grove, her powerful new book on #China one-child policy, which inspired my Mail feature on the lasting legacy of one of the cruellest, misguided and costliest policies a govt has ever imposed on its people

How wary should we be of Chinese electric vehicles? We rightly worry about spyware on phones, but EVs are giant pieces of spyware - perfect for espionage, surveillance & sabotage. As I write in the Mail, a good place to start is the classic Michael Caine movie The Italian Job #China #EVs #espionage

Somewhere in the bowels of the Foreign Office, UK govt's much hyped 'audit' of China relations grinds on. AsI argue in The Spectator, it is being rapidly overtaken by events that scream for extreme caution. #china #chinaaudit #tariffs #tradewar www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

How China bought Britain

Somewhere in the bowels of the Foreign Office, civil servants are still working on the government’s ‘China audit’. The report was commissioned by the new Labour government to ‘assess trade-offs in the...

spectator.co.uk

For Trump, tariff is the ‘most beautiful word’, but as I argue in the Spectator #china has a coercive toolbox built over decades of forcing foreign firms/pliant countries to kowtow as price of doing business or to punish for supposed sleights #tariffs #TradeWar www.spectator.co.uk/article/what...

What is Xi Jinping planning?

Shanghai port is the busiest in the world. Activity there is closely monitored by financial analysts distrustful of official statistics and looking for clues as to what is really happening in the worl...

spectator.co.uk

Here’s my take for the Spectator on Trump’s tariffs on #China, which has accused the US of bullying, coercion and rule breaking. Well … Beijing’s familiar with all that, since it’s precisely what’s powered its economic rise #TradeWar #tariffs www.spectator.co.uk/article/chin...

China won't win its 'fight to the end' against Trump

There are signs that these countries are already growing wary of Beijing’s investment and the dumping of Chinese-made goods more broadly.

spectator.co.uk

Many thanks to Australian Strategic Policy Institute for a generous review of my new book, Vampire State - 'a must read for anyone dealing with China’s economy, from public sector trade negotiators to private businesspeople and investors' #china #economy www.aspistrategist.org.au/bookshelf-va...

Bookshelf: ‘Vampire state: The rise and fall of the Chinese economy’ | The Strategist

After three decades of record-breaking growth, at about the same time as Xi Jinping rose to power in 2012, China’s economy started the long decline to its current state of stagnation. The Chinese Comm...

aspistrategist.org.au

Looking forward to the Oxford Literary Festival where on 4 April I'll be joining Michael Sheridan and Sophia Yan to talk about the challenge of facing up to #XiJinping and an aggressive #China. Some tickets still available! #oxfordliteraryfestival oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-e...

Facing up to Xi Jinping and the new China | Oxford Literary Festival

Ian Williams and Michael Sheridan Chaired by Sophia Yan - Facing up to Xi Jinping and the new China

oxfordliteraryfestival.org

The UK govt & environmentalists want to ‘engage’ #China on #climatechange , but as I write in the spectator there is little evidence a transactional Beijing gives a hoot about the planet and sees such diplomacy as means for furthering its broader interests www.spectator.co.uk/article/chin...

China is not the West’s environmental ally

In the fight against climate change, China loves to present itself as the world’s White Knight. Armed with wind turbines and solar panels, EVs and batteries, it will rescue us from oblivion if only we...

spectator.co.uk

A pleasure to join Louis Sykes on Times Radio’s Trump Report, talking #china #tariffs and much more youtu.be/xcu8bFn7SzU?...

How Trump's tariff chaos played straight into China's hands

YouTube video by Times Radio

youtu.be

As DonaldTrump imposes more tariffs, Chinese companies are finding multiple ways to avoid them, often by just re-badging 'made in China' as made in elsewhere. As I write in @thetimes it could turn into giant game of whac-a-mole #China #TradeWar #trump www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

How Chinese firms dodge Trump tariffs by shifting work abroad

From Vietnam to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, Chinese companies are shifting some manufacturing to southeast Asia

thetimes.com