China is ramping up a propaganda blitz ahead of the 100th birthday of the ruling Communist Party, with banners and billboards around the country reminding citizens to live a "civilised" life and obey authorities.The world's second-largest economy has been lauding its achievements in the weeks leading up to 1 July, which marks the centenary of the party's founding in Shanghai.Large boards with a red-emblazoned "100" showing the Communist hammer and sickle emblem h

Human beings approaching 100 normally think about death. But political parties celebrating their centennial, as the Communist Party of China (CPC) will on 1 July, are obsessed with immortality. Such optimism seems odd for parties that rule dictatorships, because their longevity record does not inspire confidence. The fact that no other such party in modern times has survived for a century should give China’s leaders cause for worry, not celebration.

The late George Shultz, United States (US) Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan, was one of the finest public servants in recent American history. When I was the last British governor of Hong Kong, he once offered me wise advice about dealing with the People’s Republic of China.

The year of the ox has begun darkly for the people of Hong Kong.

United States (US) President Joe Biden’s new administration has begun to show its hand regarding its policy toward China.

On 12 December, Jimmy Lai, a successful businessman and brave campaigner for freedom and democracy, was led into court in Hong Kong in handcuffs and chains, accused of breaking the national security law recently imposed by the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Americans don’t agree on much of anything nowadays. Yet they are largely united in their belief that China represents an existential challenge to their country and the international order it has long led.

Elections tend to bring differences to the fore. That is certainly true of the United States’ (US) recent presidential election. Among the most bitterly contested elections in the country’s history, the outcome will have profound implications for many aspects of US policy.

When I was governor of Hong Kong, one of my noisiest critics was Sir Percy Cradock, a former British ambassador to China.

There is no bilateral diplomatic relationship more consequential than the one between the US and China, which affects not only the two countries but all of humanity. And now, the future of this relationship hinges on who will lead each country in the years ahead.