Drawing on field observations from a North Dakota farming family, Wanning Sun examines how the Iran conflict and US-PRC trade tensions are shaping costs, crop choices and soybean trade dynamics for US farmers in @crikey.com.au. bit.ly/4mGUFwx

Vehicle donations to Pacific Island nations "are hardly unique to China," @j-laurenceson.bsky.social tells drive.com.au, noting that while potential security concerns cannot be ruled out, similar considerations may apply to contributions from other countries, incl Australia. bit.ly/4vGwrGT

Interested in the China Matters-UTS:ACRI Fellowship 2026-27? Hear from Fellowship mentors @j-laurenceson.bsky.social and Linda Jakobson, and inaugural Fellow Edward Chan at our online info session on May 4 2026, 4pm AEST.🔗Register to attend bit.ly/3QgEaLC

In an @scmpnews.bsky.social report on global competition in rare earths, Marina Zhang says the main constraint on rebuilding rare‑earth supply chains in the US is the slow rebuilding of engineering capability, process know‑how and industrial memory bit.ly/4cdsB0a

How is the PRC positioned to manage oil supply disruptions, including risks linked to the Strait of Hormuz? Xunpeng Shi and Xiansheng Sun examine its multi-decade energy strategy in @chinadailyasia.bsky.social bit.ly/4mwOCuu

Apply now for the China Matters-UTS:ACRI Fellowship 2026-27! Australian early career researchers: explore policy-relevant issues for Australia and conduct research in the PRC w/ mentorship by @j-laurenceson.bsky.social & Linda Jakobson. Apply by May 15 2026, 5pm AEDT. More info: bit.ly/3O54yHH

Craft beer offers one lens on cultural change in the PRC, the focus of a new ABC News long read. Drawing on his experience engaging with university students in the PRC, @j-laurenceson.bsky.social shares insights into the outlook of this generation. bit.ly/480X6UC

"Despite decades of security guarantees, the US was unable to prevent the closure of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint. Asian allies are now quietly asking whether the US security umbrella extends to energy supply routes," Xunpeng Shi tells @cnn.com. edition.cnn.com/2026/04/10/w...

@j-laurenceson.bsky.social spoke at the UA-CEAIE ECR Fellow Program 2026 orientation session, sharing an overview on the Australian research environment, differences with the PRC, and both the opportunities and challenges of Australia-PRC research collaborations.

Australia’s capacity to act as an autonomous middle power between the US and the PRC is under growing strain, Wanning Sun tells @ualberta.bsky.social’s China Institute, pointing to politicised debate on the PRC, electoral pressures and alliance considerations. bit.ly/4soeOZk

The Australia-EU critical minerals deal, while important, should not be oversold as an instrument of decoupling from the PRC, Marina Zhang writes in @thediplomat.com, examining what the deal can and cannot deliver bit.ly/4bYgzY

Wanning Sun assesses recent reporting on Chinese international students in Australia, drawing on enrolment and visa data alongside UTS:ACRI research to place current debate in context in @crikey.com.au bit.ly/4sEGhXb

In a @bloomberg.com report on China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) and its growing role in global iron ore markets, Marina Zhang describes the state‑backed buyer as more than a market actor, “CMRG is not just an economic instrument. It is a geopolitical blueprint.” www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Examining the policy tensions shaping Australia’s research engagement with PRC, @elenacollinson.bsky.social discusses research security risks, including dual-use concerns, alongside effects on research mobility & broader pressures from both PRC & US in @e-international.bsky.social bit.ly/4c4PbIt

"National security should always be the first priority, that includes fuel,” Marina Zhang tells The Daily Telegraph amidst concerns over Australia's fuel vulnerability. "If you look at China's strategic storage of oil...it’s really not an issue. [For] Japan it’s not an issue" bit.ly/4sJMCBm

Falling Chinese student numbers in Australia reflect economic uncertainty & a fading "golden ticket" view of o/s degrees, UTS:ACRI Research Associate Grace Li tells ABC News. She says expanding transnational education could offer a more affordable alternative pathway bit.ly/4bWv2D0

Privately funded scientific prizes and grants, backed by firms like Tencent and Xiaomi, are giving researchers in the PRC more flexibility to pursue fundamental research beyond the constraints of government funding, Marina Zhang tells @nature.com bit.ly/4sMHcFQ

Reflecting on his four years as the PRC’s head of mission to Australia, Ambassador Xiao Qian says his role includes conveying analysis of developments in Australia to Beijing, which helps inform how the bilateral relationship is approached.

In a recent policy brief for the Toda Peace Institute, UTS:ACRI Adjunct Prof Mark Beeson assesses how middle powers including Australia and Canada respond to uneven enforcement of international rules and explores why closer cooperation may help slow institutional erosion. bit.ly/3Q1nffE

@j-laurenceson.bsky.social joins @australiainstitute.org.au's After America podcast to discuss the impact of the Iran conflict on the PRC, the implications for Australia, and the significance of the postponed Trump-Xi summit. 🎙️With @emmashortis.bsky.social & Angus Blackman bit.ly/47qsiMM

On Taiwan, PRC Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says the PRC’s position remains focused on peaceful reunification, citing three scenarios referenced in its Anti‑Secession Law under which its position could change.

PRC Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian outlines how Beijing differentiates areas of collaboration and areas of difference in Australia-PRC relations, identifying the Taiwan question as a core political issue tied to the foundations of the bilateral relationship.

New(ish) report on Chinese nationals applying for Australian study and research visas (with @acri-uts.bsky.social colleagues Wanning Sun, Marina Zhang, Xunpeng Shi and @j-laurenceson.bsky.social). Based on qualitative interviews, it examines how visa processes shape academic mobility bit.ly/4owoSy3

Last week, @acri-uts.bsky.social welcomed a delegation led by @fesonline.bsky.social, comprising regional experts from German and New Zealand think tanks and academic institutions, for a roundtable discussion in Sydney comparing different perspectives on PRC policy settings.

Video and audio recordings, transcript and image gallery of ‘UTS:ACRI address: H.E. Xiao Qian, PRC Ambassador to Australia’ are now available: bit.ly/47NfLmA

The PRC is moving beyond raw material extraction to build control across critical minerals and metals value chains, Marina Zhang writes in the Lowy Institute's Interpreter. She explores the implications for Australia’s domestic capability and long term industrial outcomes. bit.ly/4c0qWuE

Today, UTS:ACRI hosted H.E. Xiao Qian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Australia, for a keynote address on Australia-PRC relations, followed by a discussion with @j-laurenceson.bsky.social. Thank you to attendees. Recordings will be available soon.

Speaking today at The Australian’s Global Food Forum, @j-laurenceson.bsky.social shared insights on global trade dynamics, noting the PRC’s trade position has continued to strengthen, with US tariffs having limited impact. Watch: bit.ly/3PiZe3u

"[T]he easy tariff dividends [of ChAFTA] have largely been banked. What now defines the Australia-China economic relationship is... a new risk triangle" made up of geopolitical uncertainty, data governance and compliance costs, writes Marina Zhang in @asialink.bsky.social Insights bit.ly/3Nt2XLk

A new report by @acri-uts.bsky.social analysts examines how PRC visa applicants for Australian study and research visas interpret processing timelines and administrative procedures, and how these factors may shape planning and future mobility decisions bit.ly/4snJjiQ

Three years after Nine’s Red Alert series said Taiwan conflict could draw Australia into war with the PRC as early as 2026, Wanning Sun examines in @crikey.com.au how this theme has persisted in Australian debate and its domestic implications for Chinese-Australian communities. bit.ly/4s534vI

As global order grows more contested, Australia and Canada could pursue “creative middle power diplomacy”, potentially rallying like-minded states in a “coalition of the unwilling”, UTS:ACRI Adjunct Prof Mark Beeson tells The Straits Times www.straitstimes.com/asia/austral...

Marina Zhang speaks to @france24.com about the PRC's Two Sessions meetings, which opened on Wednesday in Beijing, and what they signal about the country’s economic priorities bit.ly/4ragtBf

@j-laurenceson.bsky.social speaks with ABC News on the PRC's response to the recent US strike in Iran, outlining Beijing’s approach and what it may indicate for regional security. Watch ⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=any9...

🇨🇳’s growing influence continues to reshape the Indo Pacific — a strategic reality 🇦🇺 cannot ignore, Adjunct Prof Mark Beeson writes in @aspi-org.bsky.social’s The Strategist. With US primacy less certain and climate risks rising, he says pragmatic engagement with Beijing is essential bit.ly/4l2DTqI

Marina Zhang writes in @aunz.theconversation.com on how the PRC’s Lunar New Year display of humanoid robots reflects Beijing’s push toward ‘AI plus’, outlining implications for Australia as advanced robotics and AI reshape productivity models. bit.ly/4u5ZHWJ

The scale of participation by foreign investors from the PRC in Australia's residential property market, the regulatory framework governing foreign investment and the available evidence on housing price impacts is examined by @j-laurenceson.bsky.social bit.ly/4cNQ8oZ

Lunar New Year appearances at Box Hill Chinese-Australian community celebrations by senior Labor and Liberal figures reflect the growing electoral importance of Chinese-Australian voters, writes Wanning Sun in @crikey.com.au bit.ly/4rZIpso

@j-laurenceson.bsky.social discusses the PRC-backed Simandou iron ore mine, assessing whether the PRC's historical reliance on Australian iron ore is diminishing and whether Beijing could leverage this to seek geopolitical concessions. Read (via @eastasiaforum.bsky.social): bit.ly/4rnVWdv | Watch⬇️

In the wake of today’s Liberal leadership spill, which saw Angus Taylor replace Sussan Ley, @elenacollinson.bsky.social assesses what the change signals for the opposition's policy stance on the PRC and broader political positioning in Perspectives bit.ly/4kA0zyx

Marina Zhang delivers the keynote presentation at the Empowering Emerging Leaders in Clean Energy (ELICE) Workshop 2, supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs' National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, at the University of New South Wales in December 2025

"Delivering parcels is just one of the 19 different jobs Hu Anyan cycles through over 20 years, as tracked in his Chinese bestseller I Deliver Parcels in Beijing [(Allen Lane, 2026)]." Wanning Sun reviews Hu's book in @aunz.theconversation.com bit.ly/46hNHae

What kind of power could Beijing realistically project by controlling the South China Sea? UTS:ACRI Adjunct Fellow @yuan-frank.bsky.social discusses in South China Sea NewsWire bit.ly/4rrUNRC

How does the Australian public talk about Australia-PRC relations? Drawing on 403 open-ended responses from the UTS:ACRI/BIDA Poll 2025, @elenacollinson.bsky.social unpacks how respondents reason about security, engagement, economic ties and the US' role in a new UTS:ACRI Analysis bit.ly/4rs2nvL

The green transition is as much a knowledge challenge as a technological one, writes Xunpeng Shi in China Daily. He makes the case for greater cooperation and investment by international donors in 'soft infrastructure' to enable a more just transition bit.ly/4r7SC6h

The US-PRC deal on TikTok is a "defining moment", Marina Zhang tells ABC News. "It creates a template for other countries on how to separate data sovereignty and digital affairs." Still, she said, both sides had made concessions bit.ly/45z1FV4

Focusing on the role of media and academia in the production of knowledge about the PRC, Wanning Sun examines how the discursive category of threat is established, what gives it legitimacy and what impact it has on public opinion in the Journal of Contemporary Asia bit.ly/49JzxRt

"Once in a long while a political speech captures the zeitgeist and says something original, important and worth listening to." A/Prof Van Jackson and UTS:ACRI Adjunct Prof Mark Beeson discuss Canadian PM Mark Carney's recent speech and the middle power moment in @johnmenadue.com bit.ly/4bjPmj3

@elenacollinson.bsky.social contributes the Australia chapter to The Palgrave Geopolitical Atlas (ed. Brian Fong) providing a structural assessment of Australia's position in contemporary great power competition bit.ly/49JpCtS

Australia's allies are reassessing their relationships with China and Russia as the US becomes increasingly unstable. As Wanning Sun asks, should we follow suit?