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Open Questions series

Open Questions series
Open Questions is a series of South China Morning Post interviews with global opinion leaders. SCMP Plus subscribers enjoy early access to these articles.
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-China relations

Open Questions | Scott Kennedy on China’s ‘slow tech dragon’ and 2 more Xi-Trump meetings

American adviser on Chinese business and economics highlights different phases of US-China relations over the past 50 years.

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Open Questions | Scott Kennedy on the Xi-Trump summit and US-China instability

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China-EU relations

Open Questions | Pascal Lamy says Europe at ‘moment of truth’ on China trade

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Yuan

Open Questions | Private equity’s Fang Fenglei on investing in China

Veteran investor considers China’s economic strengths, assets that appeal, future yuan appreciation and policymakers’ ability to solve problems.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
China jobs

Open Questions | How China Works author on the data economy, robots and AI

Economist Lan Xiaohuan proposes better social security to fix China’s unbalanced economy and weighs the impact of technology on lives now and in the future.

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China-Middle East relations

Open Questions | Iran expert on China’s balancing act amid conflict with US and Israel

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute says Beijing was wise to stay out of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which he believes could spark up again.

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China’s Communist Party

Open Questions | Wang Gungwu on lessons of Chinese history and Cold War

Historian says the past holds the keys to the future, both for Chinese as they seek further socioeconomic progress and for US as it looks to undermine China.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
US-China relations

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel on US’ decline and China’s nuclear arsenal

Zhou Bo of Tsinghua University weighs US’ commitment to Taiwan, how big a nuclear deterrent China needs and the risks of AI warfare.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Nobel economist on anti-China, anti-science US, AI’s risks

MIT’s Simon Johnson, former IMF chief economist, on Trump’s wrong turns, including tariffs, the AI threat to Chinese jobs and the chances of a global recession.

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Banking & finance

Open Questions | Citic Capital CEO on making China a financial powerhouse

Ex-Wall Streeter Zhang Yichen on attracting capital to China, building up its bond market and helping foreign firms better serve Chinese consumers.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
South China Sea

Open Questions | Wu Shicun on why Beijing will not rule out Scarborough Shoal construction

Leading Chinese expert says more fixed facilities could be built in the South China Sea if ‘external forces leave us no choice’.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
US-China relations

Open Questions | Sun is setting on US dominance of the world, Wu Xinbo says

Fudan University expert says while China’s influence grows, US under Trump has lost credibility and its ability to drive international action has stagnated.

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China consumption

Open Questions | Nomura economist on China’s deflation woes, fraught Japan ties

Richard Koo on the difficulty of raising consumption spending, why fraying Tokyo ties should worry Beijing, Trump’s weakness and fallout from Iran war.

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China’s Communist Party

Open Questions | Ex-Harvard Chinese author on why West doesn’t get China

Nie Huihua, economist trained in the West, explains why viewing China’s development through a Western lens misses the full picture.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Banking & finance

Open Questions | AIIB chief Zou Jiayi on financing Asia’s green transition

President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on how it bridges differences to build a more sustainable, climate-resilient world.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China's economic recovery

Open Questions | Nobel economist on China’s chance to upskill youth for AI age

James Heckman, Nobel laureate, points to the economic benefits for China of making changes to education, especially in rural areas.

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HKEX

Open Questions | Charles Li on making Hong Kong a magnet for global IPOs

As HKEX CEO, Charles Li forged Stock Connect link to mainland markets. He says an ‘IPO connect’ could draw international companies to list in Hong Kong.

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Open Questions | China-US stability may not last, ex-Asia adviser to Obama says

Evan Medeiros warns of growing US opposition to Donald Trump’s detente with Beijing and the risk that the Taiwan issue could cause a crisis in relations.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Taiwan

Open Questions | Trump narrows space for Taiwan independence, mainland scholar says

Wu Yongping says US president’s comments after summit with Xi Jinping show a return to ‘strategic ambiguity’ about Taiwan after a shift away from it under Joe Biden.

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Taiwan

Open Questions | Taiwan’s KMT leader on how to restore stable peace with Beijing

Taiwan must choose peace over war, opposition party chairwoman Cheng Li-wun says, as she reflects on her visit to mainland China to meet Xi Jinping and upcoming trip to US.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | How China can avoid a repeat of Japan’s ‘lost decades’

Bai Chongen, an economist and adviser to China’s government, explains how the country can dodge ‘Japanification’ and why its economic rise is misunderstood.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Banking & finance

Open Questions | Euro, yuan unlikely to match US dollar, Daniel Gros says

German economist doubts EU and Chinese currencies will be widely used for international trade or that stablecoins will take off outside the ‘shadow economy’.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China-EU relations

Open Questions | Europe lacks China strategy, needs new US approach, Biscop says

Sven Biscop, director at the Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels, on what the Iran war and the transatlantic collision reveal about Europe’s place in a fast-changing world.

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China energy security

Open Questions | Iran war to test China’s self-reliance, Goldman Sachs economist says

Andrew Tilton, Goldman’s chief Asia-Pacific economist, on Iran conflict’s impacts, why exports continue to drive China’s growth and an end to its housing slump.

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US-China relations

Open Questions | Euro, Chinese yuan to end US dollar dominance, top economist says

Kenneth Rogoff sees yuan as a reserve currency within five years, Europe asserting financial independence and greater regulation of stablecoins.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Open Questions | US ex-diplomat’s inside view on Trump-Xi summits

Former envoy in Beijing William Klein on US leader’s approach to foreign policy, tariffs, China weaponising rare earths and risks of Taiwan conflict.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
China's military weapons

Open Questions | War on Iran may spark nuclear arms race, Carnegie scholar says

Zhao Tong says return to law of the jungle signalled by current US actions could spur countries without nuclear weapons to start acquiring them.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Open Questions | Iran war’s impact on China limited, scholar Pan Guang says

China’s Middle East position ‘relatively favourable’, professor says, and regional spillover from US-Israeli attacks likely to be limited to Tehran’s Shia militia allies.

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