About Asia

The SCMP political economy team analyse the reality of Trump's Hong Kong Autonomy Act, and what Hong Kong means to China both economically and historically; Europe correspondent Stuart Lau unpacks the coming deadline for the EU's investment treaty with China, in a week where Britain became the newest front in the burgeoning tech war.

Political economy editors Zhou Xin and John Carter join Finbarr Bermingham to analyse how Donald Trump's Hong Kong Autonomy Act will impact business here, and reflect on the past turbulent two years of trade war. Hear an in-depth interview with Clark Jennings, former White House advisor on a potential Biden presidency and what aspects of Trump’s policies toward China would be kept and which would be changed.

SCMP political economy editor Zhou Xin has a copy of John Bolton's book 'The Room Where It Happened' and discusses what its revelations mean for Chinese readers; Washington bureau chief Rob Delaney unpicks the rollercoaster week of statements from Navarro, Ross and Trump, the talk of decoupling the US and China as well as analysing of how Trump will use the trade deal to leverage his popularity with his rural base for the upcoming election. Presented by Finbarr Bermingham.

Jesus Seade, the Mexican candidate to lead the World Trade Organisation, has pitched himself as the “trade expert” who can bring both the US and China back to the negotiating table. This is a deep-dive interview with Finbarr Bermingham, probing his thoughts on the US-China trade war, the phase one trade deal and what Seade learned from leading the talks that saw the North American Free Trade Agreement revamped as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), due to take force on July 1.

Who will buy? It's a week where soybeans, fossil fuels, wolf warrior diplomacy and the 2020 US Presidential campaign collided... SCMP editors John Carter and Teddy Ng discuss the latest events in the rising US-China rivalry, while Peterson Institute for International Economics' trade expert Chad Bown joins Finbarr Bermingham on the line to discuss China's progress towards meeting trade deal purchasing targets.

How will Beijing's controversial national security law for Hong Kong affect US-China trade relations, now that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has declared Hong Kong 'no longer autonomous'? Finbarr Bermingham brings political economy editors Zhou Xin and John Carter together to discuss the possible outcomes, while Su-Lin Tan looks at China's decision to massively increase tariffs on Australian barley and the potential for switching to American suppliers - is this a new front in China's trade…

Finbarr Bermingham joins political economy editors Zhou Xin and John Carter to scrutinise the announcements from China's 'two sessions', and discuss whether Donald Trump could change Hong Kong's special status in response to China's new Hong Kong national security law. Our feature interview is with James McGregor, Greater China chairman of APCO Worldwide’s, who gives a searing analysis of the current state of superpower rivalry and reflects on how China's more aggressive diplomatic stance is…

Finbarr Bermingham, Zhou Xin, and John Carter take apart the threats, barbs and hostility between the White House and Beijing this week, to look at the new reality of the phase one deal, just four months after it was signed. Also, a special feature interview with Kelly Ann Shaw, until recently a top negotiator in the Trump trade team, and one of the architects of the phase one deal. Shaw talks the prospects of implementing phase one as the coronavirus blame game rages in the foreground.

China's latest trade data is surprisingly positive, thanks to PPE exports - but is it a 'false dawn'? Finbarr Bermingham gets political economy editors John Carter and Zhou Xin to parse the numbers and discuss what's to come or China. Hear in-depth discussion about why China cancelling US Treasury bonds is 'the nuclear option' tantamount to a declaration of war, and Cissy Zhou analyses the growing sentiment in political and business circles of a 'new cold war' between China and the US, and the…

Finbarr Bermingham and the political economy team take you inside the 'hidden' crisis happening in China - its burgeoning unemployment. Sidney Leng and John Carter reveal the difficulties in finding out just how many have lost their jobs during this pandemic, what the short to medium term prospects are for the millions of jobless and Beijing's policy response. Wendy Wu discusses the ongoing 'Wild West' market for ventilators, masks and PPE being made in China and how the new export ban is…