The Aporia · Bessent may skip Apec in Hong Kong to focus on Trump’s Shenzhen visit, sources say

Khushboo Razdan

30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Republican China hawks may try to challenge the influence of the US president and his Maga allies after election disaster In the weeks leading up to the midterm elections, US President Donald Trump displayed unwavering confidence in his star power, urging supporters to close their eyes and “pretend I’m on the ballot”.

2026-11-04 · speculative framing · Republicans face prospect of ‘civil war’ as Trump’s air of invincibility starts to fade

🔮 ‘I wasn’t on the ballot’: Trump deflects blame as Democrats on track to control Congress Democrats are projected to seize control of both chambers of Congress as the president says he will accept the election result “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · ‘I wasn’t on the ballot’: Trump deflects blame as Democrats on track to control Congress

🔮 The breakthrough came in New York, where Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the 2025 mayoral race gave the movement its biggest electoral triumph yet.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Frequently labelled as communists, who are the Democratic Socialists of America?

🔮 While strategic rivalry remains, changing tone between the two powers could help Beijing sell its version of China to the world The social media trend celebrates the features of Chinese life, from high-speed trains and indoor slippers to drinking hot water.

2026-10-30 · mixed framing · Is Donald Trump’s ‘Chinamaxxing’ pushing Beijing’s soft power?

🔮 SCMP has previously reported that Quad and Squad meetings were being planned on the sidelines of Asean events US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to the Philippines this week to meet regional allies, the Pentagon announced on Sunday.

2026-10-26 · mixed framing · Pentagon chief Hegseth to visit Philippines to meet US allies at Asean events

🔮 Will Xi, Trump, Putin meet at Apec?

2026-10-20 · mixed framing · Will Xi, Trump, Putin meet at Apec? First, they must agree on an agenda

🔮 So what, exactly, does it mean to “talk” when the two countries are still competing over the technologies that will shape the next decade?

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · A US scholar’s take on how shifts in US-China relations are felt in a Tsinghua classroom

🔮 Tokyo is hoping for a visit by the US president that would signal the strength of the relationship between the two allies The US president spent three days in Japan ahead of last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, and his meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was hailed as a sign of a “new golden age” in the countries’ relationship. But since then Trump’s growing rapport with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has caused concern in Japan, which has seen its own relationship with Beijing deteriorate sharply following controversial comments by Takaichi about Taiwan.

2026-10-16 · mixed framing · Why Japanese PM Takaichi is still keen to roll out the welcome mat for Trump

🔮 ExclusiveBessent may skip Apec in Hong Kong to focus on Trump’s Shenzhen visit, sources say US Treasury secretary expected to meet Chinese vice-premier in Shenzhen ahead of summit in November as trade truce extension takes priority 3-MIN READ3-MIN 2 Listen US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may skip a meeting of Apec finance ministers in Hong Kong later this month to focus on preparing for President Donald Trump’s historic visit to Shenzhen in November, sources told the South China Morning Post.

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Bessent may skip Apec in Hong Kong to focus on Trump’s Shenzhen visit, sources say

🔮 US judge blocks release of alleged Beijing agent accused of filming Taiwan leader’s son Defence had argued the case was based on a ‘single day’ of surveillance and wasn’t proof she would flee, but a federal judge disagreed They argued that the US government’s case centred on a single day of alleged surveillance in Seattle and was not evidence that she posed a flight risk. US Magistrate Judge Steve Kim sided with prosecutors, who told him that Zhang’s parents and siblings lived in China and that her brother had a history of working with the Chinese government. “The alleged surveillance began and ended on a single day, September 1, 2025,” Zhang’s lawyers wrote in a brief opposing her continued detention.

2026-10-08 · assertive framing · US judge blocks release of alleged Beijing agent accused of filming Taiwan leader’s son

Also by Khushboo Razdan

Republicans face prospect of ‘civil war’ as Trump’s air of invincibility starts to fade

2026-11-04 · South China Morning Post

‘I wasn’t on the ballot’: Trump deflects blame as Democrats on track to control Congress

2026-11-04 · South China Morning Post

Frequently labelled as communists, who are the Democratic Socialists of America?

2026-11-04 · South China Morning Post

Is Donald Trump’s ‘Chinamaxxing’ pushing Beijing’s soft power?

2026-10-30 · South China Morning Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 30 articles by Khushboo Razdan →

William Zheng

19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 China poised to restore military presence to top leadership at party congress Analysts say they expect PLA seats on Politburo and Central Committee left vacant by anti-corruption drive to be filled next year 3-MIN READ3-MIN Beijing is expected to gradually restore military representation in its top leadership, analysts say, as the Communist Party seeks to strike a delicate balance in its relations with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) amid an anti-corruption drive that has hit the top ranks. Select Voice Select Speed 1x AI-generated voice

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · China poised to restore military presence to top leadership at party congress

🔮 Choice of Mo Gaoyi as Yunnan chief shows how leadership criteria are evolving, analysts say, given his limited local government experience An analyst said that the move could reflect Beijing’s efforts to broaden the talent selection criteria for some senior roles, allowing specialists to take on important generalist positions.

2026-10-28 · mixed framing · Why has Beijing appointed a propaganda veteran to lead a border province?

🔮 China’s next generation of leaders waiting in the wings for more senior roles A meeting in Beijing this week will lay the groundwork for members of the Communist Party’s seventh generation – or 7G – to take on key roles Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Strategic Studies, said the party was looking for cadres who had “absolute political loyalty, integrity, fighting spirit, technological or ‘hard science’ expertise, grass-roots experience and hardship resilience”.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · China’s next generation of leaders waiting in the wings for more senior roles

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Bessent may skip Apec in Hong Kong to focus on Trump’s Shenzhen visit, sources say

🔮 While it may have been unexpected for some, vacuum flasks usually filled with hot water are an everyday sight in China Extending this everyday practice to the White House banquet was in tune with the host nation’s own eccentricity.

2026-09-25 · mixed framing · Why did Xi and China’s first lady bring their own flasks to White House banquet?

🔮 China’s top envoy to US hails safeguards from head-of-state diplomacy, as Beijing rolls out severe penalties for non-pharma fentanyl crimes Under the strategic guidance of both leaders, the “giant ship” of China-US relations would continue to “break waves and sail ahead” along a trajectory of “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation”, Xie told state news agency Xinhua.

2026-09-23 · mixed framing · Ahead of Xi’s ‘historic milestone’ US visit, a fentanyl goodwill gesture from China

🔮 A look at past Sino-US summits offers insight, with trusted presidential aides and policy expertise expected to take centre stage 2-MIN READ2-MIN When Xi Jinping sits down with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, the Chinese leader’s side of the table will be filled with senior aides bringing extensive policy expertise.

2026-09-22 · assertive framing · Who from China’s side will be in the room at this week’s Xi-Trump summit?

🔮 ExclusiveUS weighs delaying Taiwan arms sales until after Apec and G20 summits Sources say the decision is expected to be a compromise between Donald Trump, Washington’s China hawks and Taipei’s lobbyists One source said Trump was considering various options to postpone the signing of Taiwan arms sales, but the final outcome would be a “compromise between him, the China hawks and Taiwan’s lobbyists”. “President Trump has considered delaying the [Taiwan] arms sales decision till end 2028 or January 2029, that is, towards the end of his current term.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · US weighs delaying Taiwan arms sales until after Apec and G20 summits

🔮 ExclusiveChina, US may unveil measures to boost military ties when Xi visits Washington Two sides have been discussing ways to improve communication channels, according to sources familiar with the talks Another item that is being discussed, and a possible deliverable, is restarting the arms-control talks that were suspended in 2024 over US weapons sales to Taiwan, with the dialogue potentially including military personnel.

2026-09-17 · mixed framing · China, US may unveil measures to boost military ties when Xi visits Washington

Also by William Zheng