Bonjour Priestess. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🌊New Report 🌊 Today the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy @houseofcommons.parliament.uk @houseoflords.parliament.uk publishes its report on Subsea telecommunications cables: resilience and crisis preparedness: publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt5901/jt... Key points: 🧵

In Our Time is a national treasure ❤️ www.economist.com/britain/2025...

UK-China relations is now guided by 4 Cs: Challenge, Compete, Cooperate, and Coldplay. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Compressed modernity brings high highs and low lows. It promises too much, too fast—and when disenchantment hits, it hits hard.' Fascinating essay. izading.substack.com/p/schopenhau...

'If somebody asks me to narrow my identity to a single label, I refuse, because it is mine, not to be explained or justified. And if it shifts tomorrow, that is my business.' Fantastic, moving article from Fergal Keane. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Foreign Secretary statement on China Audit now up online. www.gov.uk/government/s...

China gets three paragraphs on p.39 of National Security Strategy... www.gov.uk/government/p...

UK Government's China Audit due to form part of the National Security Strategy released today. Unlikely we're going to see a separate document.... www.gov.uk/government/n...

Meanwhile, waiting for the UK's China Audit be like

'The question “big but not strong” captures a deeper anxiety in China about whether scale alone can secure global leadership without addressing structural and social weaknesses.' Interesting study of Chinese internet users' views on China's industrial strategy. @merics.bsky.social

'If you look at how modern manufacturing works these days, it's hard to pinpoint exactly where a thing even becomes a thing because most things are manufactured in many different steps scattered across the world.' Great episode. #MadeinChina #中国制造 www.npr.org/2025/05/07/1...

On June 4th, 26 years after the Tiananmen massacre, we will be hosting Jeff Wasserstrom to discuss his new book, The Milk Tea Alliance (Columbia Global Reports). Please share widely! forms.gle/CqYnJpgZRSJd... @jwassers.bsky.social @jmulich.bsky.social

Epic episode. Starts with discussion of the role of China in US domestic political discourse, before looking at abundance, podcasting, and the role of emotion in political commentary. Highly recommended listening 🎧

Just signed a contract for Failed State to be published in Korea. Told my wife and she immediately asked "which one?"

Interesting and valuable new resource 👇

📣 Calling UK-China experts! 📣 The Foreign Affairs Committee @houseofcommons.parliament.uk has launched an inquiry into the UK Government’s ongoing Audit of UK-China relations. Please consider submitting evidence via link below. Topics include 🧵👇 committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evi...

'As birth rates plummet, a parallel trend is emerging: young Chinese are channeling parental instincts and disposable income toward pets, treating them with a devotion once reserved for children.' Great article on why young Chinese are choosing 🐶 over 👶. www.baiguan.news/p/china-demo...

In 2021 the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk Defence Committee reported that the MoD and Armed Forces were failing to protect & support female personnel. Has any progress been made since? Tune into this morning's session, starting 10.30am GMT. committees.parliament.uk/committee/24...

Great episode examining the complex legacy of Sun Yat-sen, father of modern China, who died 100 years ago today. Interestingly, as a young revolutionary, Sun was allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese Legation in London - an early case of transnational repression? www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/rana...

New short paper by myself and colleagues from @houseofcommons.parliament.uk on geopolitical competition in the international system, how it will impact the UK, and the key questions for Parliament to explore. Key points: 🧵 post.parliament.uk/geopolitical...

'China increasingly sees Europe as a politically divided and geopolitically challenged actor that can be leveraged for its market and used to gradually bring about a multipolar international order.' Interesting analysis of PRC foreign policymakers' views on the direction of Europe-China relations.

There isn't any European public consensus on relations with China, and a lot of disagreement on Russia as well (yes limitations of opinion polling, its an average, etc)

Now hiring 👀 Closing date 2 March.... www.economist.com/britain/2025...

'Beijing assumes that Washington’s own policies will dismantle the foundations of U.S. global hegemony, even if it creates a lot of turbulence for other countries in the process. China’s top priority, then, is simply to weather the storm.'

‘Until now, the problem for the UK and all countries outside the US and China, is that the development of domestic AI capabilities has cost too much. DeepSeek has changed this.’ www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

春节快乐！

Just finished listening to this fascinating @chinatalk.bsky.social conversation with outgoing (now outgone...) US Ambassador to Beijing, R. Nicholas Burns. Highly recommended. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

'Around 60 cables connect the UK to the outside world. [...] The impact of simultaneous damage to multiple cables would be significant, particularly during periods of heightened tension or conflict.' Crucial new inquiry launched by JCNSS. committees.parliament.uk/committee/11...

Here's @jwassers.bsky.social discussing his book Vigil with Julia Lovell at Heffers bookshop in Cambridge. Next stop, @blackwelloxford.bsky.social to speak with @fromtga.bsky.social at 6PM. See you there!

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The divide between the Global South and Global North countries polled here is striking.

It’s rare to get such an overlap between China / geopolitics / cat content, but it’s 2025 and here we are. www.eastisread.com/p/i-am-your-...

The @houseofcommons.parliament.uk International Development Committee has today published the Government’s response to its predecessor Committee’s report on the UK Small Island Developing States Strategy. 🧵https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46218/documents/231337/default/

Jude Blanchette and Ryan Hass discuss Washington’s tendency to focus on its rivals’ strength while underappreciating its own—and argue that the United States still has a vital edge over China today.

End of the first week back in Westminster. Shaping up to be an interesting year already....

Hello.