The Monitor

Editor of The Monitor @nickzeller.bsky.social in the latest issue of China Currents from the China Research Center - an Atlanta-based China Studies collective

My latest on #Vietnam's tightrope walk and how Hanoi has managed to navigate U.S.-China rivalry. I challenge reductionist assumptions that SE Asia looks to China only for economic benefit & the U.S. for security. Grateful to the @cartercenter.bsky.social for the invitation to contribute!

Vietnam Navigates Global Frictions by Doubling Down on Hedging Relations with the United States and China are not so neatly cut on purpose

@hmarston.bsky.social at @seasia.csis.org writes about Vietnam's tightrope walk between the US and China. With a closer eye always on its nearest neighbor, hedging still means more than turning to the US for defense and China for profits.

@csis.org

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Labubu and the Decline of American Cultural Hegemony The Ugly-Cute Monster is a Soft Power Win for China

"Labubu and the Decline of American Cultural Hegemony" by Miranda Wilson uscnpm.substack.com/p/labubu-and... /fin

Taiwan After Trump w/ Amanda Hsiao Tensions are rising, but the risk of an invasion seems low

Saturday, Taiwan will hold the largest recall election in its history. 20% of the legislature, all Kuomintang members, could lose their seats.

Amanda Hsiao at @eurasiagroup.net spoke with @diegoyc.bsky.social about the recall and cross-strait relations.

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Taiwan: President Lai’s Trials and Tribulations Sailing has been far from smooth

Stuck between great powers internationally and competing parties domestically, John F. Copper covers President Lai Ching-te's year so far. It has been difficult.

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The Southern Great Wall on the China-Myanmar Border Funding both sides of a civil war and demonizing refugees? Truly, China is a great power.

@diegoyc.bsky.social writes about the struggle of those living at the China-Myanmar border. Fear of organized crime to the south, demonization of refugees, and strict control over the flow of people, it should be a familiar story to anyone in the West.

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Talking It Out w/ Ryan Hass Obama's NSC China expert makes the case for negotiations

Ryan Hass at @brookings.edu spoke to The Monitor, making the case that negotiations are the only viable option for the U.S. and China.

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A Loud Voice w/ Vivian Wu Former BBC Hong Kong Bureau Chief and CEO of Dasheng Media discusses press freedom and the complexities of the Chinese diaspora

@vivianwu.bsky.social, CEO of @dashengmedia.bsky.social, spoke to us about the limitations of foreign reports in China, the politics of Chinese diasporic media, and the importance of informed, critical, and free journalism.

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Winners Can't Take All in AI Competition to dominate the AI race comes at the cost of needed global advancement

"A winner-take-all approach to AI is, quite plainly, unhumanitarian," writes @meicensun.bsky.social. To win in the current AI competition most likely means losing out on a host of material improvements to human life.

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Winners Can't Take All in AI Competition to dominate the AI race comes at the cost of needed global advancement

My 80th anniversary tribute to Vannevar Bush's July 1945 manifesto: No winner can take all in #AI and we must keep it that way.

🙏 @cartercenter.bsky.social

uscnpm.substack.com/p/winners-ca...

Throttling the Nationalist Spirit w/ Frances Yaping Wang On China's media strategy

Nationalism is a double-edged sword. It can be a source of state support or criticism based on whether state actions are seen as projecting national strength. Frances Yaping Wang talks with us about how the CCP manages this balance.

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@oxfordunipress.bsky.social

Why Third Parties Matter in the U.S.-China Relationship It's everyone else's world too.

Bilateral dialogues between the U.S. and China can collapse over the big questions. But, writes Jesse Marks, bringing in third countries can help set achievable targets remind the great powers that there's more than just their own interests on the line.

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“As my father, Liu Zaifu, eloquently stated, a broader Thirdspace fosters a healthier, more diverse, and freer society.”-Jianmei Liu. In this interview, Miranda Wilson from @uscnpm.bsky.social speaks with Jianmei Liu about her new book CHINESE THIRDSPACE. buff.ly/NL6oSEJ

#AsianStudies #ReadUP

After Engagement w/ Orville Schell The Asia Society's Director of the Center for U.S.-China Relations touches almost every thorn in the rivalry

@asiasociety.org's Orville Shell speaks with Edison Chen about the end of engagement and the inseparability of trade from all other aspects of the U.S.-China relationship. "Engagement is dead," he rightly observes, "Was it wrong?"

Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

China's Resolve to Safeguard Nuclear Non-Proliferation More bombs leads to more bombs

Chinese expert Zhang Tuosheng warns: "proliferation begets proliferation"

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China's Resolve to Safeguard Nuclear Non-Proliferation More bombs leads to more bombs

More bombs lead to more bombs. Grandview Institution's Zhang Tuosheng writes about the logic of China's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation with and eye toward Iran and North Korea.

China's Resolve to Safeguard Nuclear Non-Proliferation open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

Trump's Bad for Business Big & Small w/ Arthur Dong Georgetown professor on U.S.-China investing and how tariffs will hit small American businesses

"The Chinese economy right now is confronting economic challenges on multiple fronts," Arthur Dong tells @edisonchen0222.bsky.social, "One might say it's a recession, but I would say that the present state of the Chinese economy goes beyond that."

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

Three-Finger Salute to Autocracy w/ Jeffrey Wasserstrom What can we learn from a decade of protest in Asia?

@jwassers.bsky.social on his new book covering a decade of protest in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia - The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia’s Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing.

Three-Finger Salute to Autocracy w/ Jeffrey Wasserstrom open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

@columbiagr.bsky.social

Why China Opposes a Nuclear-Armed Iran The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?

Juan Zhang with a quick look at what opinion pieces have surface so far in China on the war between Israel and Iran. Non-proliferation continues to dominate op-eds.

Why China Opposes a Nuclear-Armed Iran open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

I comment here on the USA's ambiguous relationship with Myanmar (and the so-called developing world) more generally, including: "As the US continues to fund and support Israel’s genocide in Gaza today, it seems nothing less than absurd to recommend more US engagement in places around the world."

Happy to share a few thoughts for this piece: “China has little hope of expanding its soft power in the country. Yet at the same time, the NUG and various other ethnic armed groups are pragmatic enough to recognize that China's influence and presence in the country are not going away.” #Myanmar

Dark Side of the Moon China-Myanmar Relations Amidst U.S. Retreat

After the earthquake in Myanmar, China may be filling a role once occupied by USAID, writes Miranda Wilson. However, while humanitarian aid is welcome, China's aid regime may be as much about buying influence as America's.

@hmarston.bsky.social @epf.bsky.social

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The Trump 2.0 Administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Continuities, Changes, and Challenges

Trump in Asia:

"Even steadfast allies like Japan and Australia resent Trump’s pressure to shoulder more defense burdens while facing economic coercion," writes Wei Zongyou. "Other partners, including India, are disillusioned by Washington’s mercenary approach."

open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

Chinese Opinion on the Los Angeles Riots Spectators or Critics?

Chinese commentators are watching events in Los Angeles with some sympathy, but they aren't missing the chance to draw parallels to U.S. commentary on Hong Kong in 2020.

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With Musk Out, the White House Belongs to the Hawks Elon Musk’s departure tilts Trump’s China policy more heavily toward the hardliners

@edisonchen0222.bsky.social : “With Musk Out, the White House Belongs to the Hawks—Elon Musk’s departure tilts Trump’s China policy more heavily toward the hardliners”

Read: uscnpm.substack.com/p/with-musk-...

With Musk Out, the White House Belongs to the Hawks Elon Musk’s departure tilts Trump’s China policy more heavily toward the hardliners

For all the complaints about the cuts Musk made to U.S. government spending domestically and abroad, he was a voice in the White House arguing for moderation with China. With him out, Edison Chen argues, there may only be hawks left in the room.

Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

New Event!
📆17th June
🕖7pm Taiwan Time

@newbloommag.net host "Against Genocide: A Forum on Organizing in Taiwan and the United States" w/ Mark McConaghy, @brianhioe.bsky.social @aurorachang.bsky.social @kerim.one Rebecca Karl & Hazem Almassry

Details:
www.facebook.com/events/10638...

Fudan's U.S. Experts Tariff War Gives Way to Global Strategic Battle

Juan Zhang writes that it is "increasingly clear to Chinese scholars that the tariff-driven confrontation has evolved into a broader, high-stakes strategic contest."

Read: open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

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