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lee seong-hyon

Washington's old habits in reading CCP tea leaves

Washington pundits' usual readings of China's leaders' speeches are that they are for domestic consumption. Old habits die hard. In that same vein, it might seem easy to brush off Xi Jinping's recent speech at the 100th anniversary ceremony of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, it's time to reconsider the limits of this manner of reading.

2021-07-06 17:10

Why Europe is the key to Biden's anti-China crusade

In addition to the G7, U.S. President Joe Biden's recent visit to Europe consisted of three other summits, with: NATO, the European Union, and Russian President Putin. The itinerary was dense and meticulously planned.

2021-06-22 17:00

Chinese perspectives on Korea-US summit

The first question asked at a Chinese Foreign Ministry press conference on May 24, posted on the ministry's website, was about the South Korea-U.S. summit. A foreign correspondent pointed out that the joint statement from the South Korea-U.S. summit contained the contents of strengthening the bilateral alliance and asked about China's position. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian said that China “has taken notice” (zhuyi) of the contents of the ROK-U.S. joint statement and “expresses concern” (biaoshi guanqie).

2021-06-08 17:05

Art of South Korea-US summit

Some argue that the biggest achievement of the recently concluded Moon-Biden summit was Washington's recognition of the spirit of the Singapore summit. Others point out that the U.S. relaxation of South Korea's missile range limit was the most tangible outcome. Yet another group sees the “restoration” of the South Korea-U.S. alliance as the most meaningful accomplishment.

2021-05-25 17:06

Art of South Korea-China summit

In early April, the government said, "As soon as the coronavirus situation stabilizes, we have decided to push forward Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Korea to an early date." The announcement came after a meeting of the foreign ministers of South Korea and China in the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen.

2021-05-11 17:24

Why is China calling for 'democratization of international relations'?

“Democracy is not Coca-Cola that promises the same taste everywhere in the world,” Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said (Xinhua, April 24). In short, Wang is calling for a “pluralism” of democracies, departing from the universal norm that China sees essentially as constructed by the West. When China says “the West,” it is often an indicator of the United States. This narrative is part of China's recent campaign to undermine the U.S.' hitherto indomitable soft power to define universal values, institutions and normative discourses.

2021-04-27 17:11

Bellwether of China's elite

The Communist Party of China will officially announce whether General Secretary Xi Jinping will serve his third five-year term at the 20th Party Congress in the fall of next year. The United States, which is in “extreme competition” with China (according to Biden), is keenly interested in whether Xi will manage to maintain his long-term grip on power. If Xi continues to hold on to power, then Washington should also have a long-term strategy to deal with “Xi Jinping's China” that goes beyond the Biden administration.

2021-04-13 16:45

China shifts its focus from 'growth' to 'welfare.' Why?

Many outside observers predict that the Chinese economy this year would easily grow by more than 8 percent. But the Chinese government presented a modest goal of just “over 6 percent” in the Two Sessions - the annual two meetings of the National People's Congress (the national legislative body) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (the political advisory body).

2021-03-30 18:00

Blinken and Austin's visit to Seoul

The purpose of the visit to South Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to hold the so-called “2 + 2 meeting” is not North Korea. The purpose of their visit is China. Appreciating the difference matters, because South Koreans tend to have high hopes of a “breakthrough” in the North Korean nuclear crisis whenever high-level U.S. officials land here. We need to moderate our hopes.

2021-03-16 16:44

N. Korea lost in translation

There are only a handful people in the world who have personally sat down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and discussed nuclear weapons for hours. There are even fewer people who can talk about it publicly. Even if they do, they tend to refrain from going into detail.

2021-03-02 17:31

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