Feb 26, 2015

China’s Great Firewall restricts access to the main Internet communication platforms in the U.S. (Facebook, Twitter, Google), thus leading to a general western perception that China lacks Internet openness and access altogether. Stephen Harner argues that Internet protectionism actually allowed China to create rival services (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) that have developed into a thriving Internet industry.

Jan 26, 2015

The “Pivot to Asia” policy has been primarily driven by cold war and military conceptions of containing China’s rise. President Obama’s recent State of the Union speech kept with a distinctly American theme of soft-imperialism with mention of “writing the rules” to free trade agreements in Asia, instead of acknowledging China’s own sovereignty.

Jan 02, 2015

There are important points, applicable also in U.S.-China relations, to be noted in the presumed North Korean hacking attack on Sony Pictures, precipitated by the latter’s film “The Interview,” which treats as a spoof a CIA conspiracy to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Dec 31, 2014

Stephen Harner discusses Mr. Kiyoyuki Seguchi’s recent article, which criticizes the “mistaken pessimism” of China’s economy by foreigners. Harner stresses that there is little thoughtful analysis on China, much reporting relying on sensationalism, and conscious negative bias to appeal readers in the U.S. and Europe.

Nov 19, 2014

A reset is needed in the US-China relationship. By much objective analysis, the bilateral relationship has deteriorated during most of the six years of Obama administration and is now the worst it has been in decades, writes Stephen Harner.

Nov 03, 2014

Is reporting on China in Western media influenced by “schadenfreude”? Stephen Harner answers this question by examining recent commentaries on China and explains why negative news about the country has become commonplace in foreign reporting.

Oct 24, 2014

In his “Getting Real About China” op-ed from the New York Times, General Wesley Clark describes China’s rise as a threat to the international system and U.S. hegemony. In contrast, Stephen Harner examines the assertions and explains why he hopes future administrations will not follow Gen. Clark’s advice.

Sep 19, 2014

Responding to a recent opinion editorial in The Washington Post, Stephen Harner writes that now is the time for U.S. leaders to join with disruptors of history, like Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, to proactively promote change in U.S.-China relations.

Sep 03, 2014

After China’s legislature ruled out open nominations ahead of the landmark Hong Kong Chief Executive election of 2017, Stephen Harner examines the deeply held cultural differences between the United States and China that are contributing to discord on the issue of universal suffrage.

Aug 29, 2014

What does the release of Japan’s 2014 Defense White Paper say about the future of Sino-US-Japanese trilateral relations? Stephen Harner warns that Abe’s vision, as laid out in the White Paper, is not a path towards stability in the Asia-Pacific.