China's manufacturers have become formidable global competitors. They have outflanked Germany's carmakers, stolen a march on South Korean shipbuilders and narrowed the gap with American chip designers. World leaders are scrambling to limit the threat to domestic industries and avoid risky dependencies. EU ministers will meet to consider more forceful countermeasures.

For much of the reform era, the United States occupied a special place in the Chinese imagination. Donald Trump's presidency accelerated a profound reassessment of America and what it represents. Some Chinese welcomed Trump as a pragmatic businessman who appeared less concerned with human rights and therefore easier for Beijing to deal with.

There is a "growing pattern of transnational repression" linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to the report from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). The report outlines a series of policy recommendations intended to strengthen legal protections and improve coordination among democratic governments. The report’s release coincided with renewed bipartisan efforts in Congress to address the issue.

Sung Kuo-cheng explains the difference between the decision-making logic of authoritarian leaders and democratic leaders. He argues that Xi Jinping's willingness to resort to war should not be underestimated. Taiwan should prepare for every possible scenario in which Xi might start a war.

China has issued sweeping new rules that increase control over the overseas transfer of domestic technology and give the government authority to retaliate against governments that restrict Chinese investments. EU commissioners meet to discuss the need for a more robust and coherent response to trade and investment from China. China's trade surplus with the EU widened slightly in May, though exports to the bloc slowed. China Southern Power Grid saw a record electricity load of 259 gigawatts in late May. China is seeing more frequent and severe weather.

Beijing-Moscow relationship runs on hard pragmatism. The two authoritarian regimes converge on the need to advance their model of global governance as an alternative to a Western-dominated order. CEPA report shows that the shared vision of multipolarity has become a top-tier priority for both states.

Xi's visit to Pyongyang confirms that the PRC has given up talking about North Korea denuclearization. The US and Japan are publicly at least not accepting the nuclearization of North Korea. The readout from the just concluded U.S.-Japan Extended Deterrence Dialogue said that both delegations discussed China’s dramatic and opaque nuclear weapons buildup.

Former US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson urges Washington and Beijing to manage their escalating strategic competition to prevent it spiralling into conflict. Paulson was speaking at a lunch in Beijing hosted by the Centre for China and Globalisation on Wednesday. He was treasury secretary from 2006 to 2009.