Trump Signals Weakness to Xi Jinping
He’s all but said he wouldn’t defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. What else would he give up to Beijing?
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Photo-illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Chip Somodevilla / Getty; Janerik Henriksson / Getty; PhotoQuest / Getty. China’s Self-Imposed Isolation
Xi Jinping’s policies are cutting off his country from the world, to no one’s ultimate benefit.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Sources: DEA / W. Buss / Getty; AFP / Getty; Johannes Eisele / Getty; Guang Niu / Getty; Pool / Getty. China May Be the Ukraine War’s Big Winner
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has given Xi Jinping a way to stir trouble for the West and make Moscow dependent on Beijing.
Sputnik / Sergei Guneev / Pool / Reuters China Is Losing the Chip War
Xi Jinping picked a fight over semiconductor technology—one he can’t win.
Illustration by Adam Maida China Has Gotten the Trade War It Deserves
The Biden administration’s steep new tariffs are a rational response to Xi Jinping’s aggressive economic policies.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters / Redux How the Humble Donkey Became a Big Problem for China
A popular remedy is made from hides imported from Africa—but the out-of-control trade is causing geopolitical problems for Beijing.
Samuel Aranda/Panos Pictures/Redux Beijing Is Ruining TikTok
Unfortunately for ByteDance, there’s nothing it can do about the rule of law in China.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Source: Getty. I’m Disabled. Please Help Me.
I’ve come to understand that being nearly blind means my reliance on others is permanent. But I have not completely accepted this.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Source: Getty. Beijing Won’t Allow Taiwan’s Democracy to Survive
The very prospect of a free election is a threat.
An Rong Xu / Bloomberg / Getty Xi Jinping Is Fighting a Culture War at Home
The Chinese leader seeks to restore an earlier era of ideological indoctrination and national unity—whether his society wants it or not.
Nanna Heitmann / Magnum
