The Aporia · US holds ‘unusual’ civil-military meeting in Tokyo ahead of Trump’s China trip

Khushboo Razdan

27 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 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

🔮 Days after Xi-Trump summit, top Taiwan diplomat opens de facto consulate in US No Washington stop planned during the three-day visit to Arizona’s semiconductor corridor, sources said Lin Chia-lung, Taiwan’s foreign minister, arrived in Phoenix late on Saturday for a three-day visit that highlights the deepening economic ties between Washington and Taipei. His visit will not include stops in Washington or meetings with anyone at the State Department, according to two sources familiar with the matter. A trip to Washington just days after Xi’s visit could have risked a blow-up with Beijing, which used the summit to press the US to harden its line on Taiwan.

2026-10-05 · speculative framing · Days after Xi-Trump summit, top Taiwan diplomat opens de facto consulate in US

🔮 Trump may also be accompanied by his wife, Melania, who has not travelled to Asia with her husband since 2020, sources say If the trip happens, Trump’s appearance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting, expected to run from November 16-18 in Manila, will be his second consecutive appearance at the gathering during this term.

2026-10-02 · mixed framing · Donald Trump is planning trip to the Philippines for Asean summit

🔮 “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point,” the ambassador David Perdue said on Fox News after Xi’s state visit to the White House last week.

2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Trump asked Xi if Beijing wanted US weapons: a joke, a gambit or something more?

Also by Khushboo Razdan

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

2026-10-30 · South China Morning Post

Hegseth pitches new US-Asean defence framework, but doubts run deep

2026-10-29 · South China Morning Post

Pentagon chief Hegseth to visit Philippines to meet US allies at Asean events

2026-10-26 · South China Morning Post

Will Xi, Trump, Putin meet at Apec? First, they must agree on an agenda

2026-10-20 · South China Morning Post

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

All 27 articles by Khushboo Razdan →

William Zheng

19 article(s) here · 0 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