The leaders of the People’s Republic of China have a long list recent Australian actions that have upset them. And now they’re pushing back – and using trade as a weapon. What does this tell democracies about the risks of trade with China?

In 2000, America had another closely contested election, and in the decade that followed took its eye off the China challenge. Will that happen again in 2020? Follow Mihir Sharma on Twitter: @mihirssharma Share your feedback on: [email protected]

The Chinese Communist Party’s top leaders met recently, and we decode their shifting priorities. The People’s Republic is now, in their opinion, a comfortable middle-class country and it is time instead to focus on building its military and technological strength. Are they right? And how should we respond? Follow Mihir Sharma on Twitter: @mihirssharma Share your feedback on: [email protected]

The country where the pandemic started is the first out of it, as well. And that means that global capital is investing even more heavily in China, instead of in the rest of the emerging world. What does that mean for geopolitical equations once the pandemic is done? Follow Mihir Sharma on Twitter: @mihirssharma Share your feedback on: [email protected]

The world must start thinking, right now, about designing the delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine to billions of people in developing countries. Getting that done effectively and on a reasonable timeline will be even more difficult than getting to a vaccine. Yet until it gets done, the pandemic will never be truly over. Follow Mihir Sharma on Twitter: @mihirssharma Share your feedback on: [email protected]

The fifth episode of PaperClip asks the question: are democracies struggling when it comes to dealing with COVID-19? And will the fallout change how democratic politics operate -- in other words, is the global populist moment ending thanks to the virus? Follow Mihir Sharma on Twitter: @mihirssharma Share your feedback on: [email protected]

On the fourth instalment of the PaperClip podcast, Mihir Sharma explains why India, Asia and the Indo-Pacific will miss the departing Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe – the man who, in fact, practically invented and defined the concept of “the Indo-Pacific”. No politician of the past few decades in Asia – perhaps in the world -- has so been so influential in changing how strategists, policy makers and militaries imagine our part of the globe. Why was Abe so unusual? What will we miss now th...

On this, the third episode of the PaperClip podcast, Mihir Sharma explains how, although at a military and economic disadvantage, India might still be able to contest China's increasing dominance in Asia. That would need India to openly admit that it needs friends and allies in its attempt to contain and constrain Beijing's ambitions; if India wants to lead, it will have to lead in creating coalitions of like-minded powers. This needs a big change of heart in New Delhi -- are India's leaders ...

On this, the second episode of the PaperClip podcast, Mihir Sharma examines the economic relationship between India and China – one that has been strained for some time, but is particularly troubled following the death of Indian soldiers in Ladakh. Is there any way in which India can deploy economic pressure against China, as some commentators believe? Are the government’s attempts at striking back through trade likely to work? By examining the research findings of scholars and experts, Pap...

Amid increased tension in the Himalayas, India is looking for new ways to deal with an ever more assertive China. What is working, and what will not? What can we learn from the responses of the rest of the world? Follow Mihir Sharma on Twitter: @mihirssharma Share your feedback on: [email protected]