What would Karl Marx think of contemporary China? China certainly seems to think highly of Marx, holding celebratory events this month for the 200th anniversary of his birth. The government even sent a large statue as a gift to his hometown of Trier, Germany. China is proudly parading Marx and his thought as an alternative to Western liberalism.　I think Marx, if he could be magically reincarnated, would love today’s China but not for the reasons Beijing might appreciate. He would see China as a

May 13, 2018

It’s been nearly two years since the UK voted to leave the European Union. But the intervening period has done nothing to resolve the question of what that should mean.　Consider the latest Brexit-related fracas, which has seen members of Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet publicly squabbling about Britain’s future trade relationship with Europe. For many Brexit supporters, the debate has become a test of whether the UK is really leaving, or just pretending to.　This isn’t a polite disagreement:

May 13, 2018

Is the US better off trying to shape the world as party to an imperfect international accord, or as an outsider insisting on better terms?　One lesson from the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 ought to be: Rejecting ideas from allies merely opens the door to alternatives over which the US will have zero control. This wisdom is newly relevant, not only because US President Donald Trump is chipping away at the Iran nuclear deal. Today the US frets about increasing Chinese influence in Asia and b

May 13, 2018

Nothing could better illustrate the dangerous incoherence of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy than his announcement Tuesday that he is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing “powerful” sanctions on Tehran.Contrary to his woeful effort at explanation, this move will not make America safer. On the contrary, it means that Iran will restart a frozen nuclear program and reach bomb-making capacity sooner rather than later. Nor will Trump’s move constrain Iran’s regional misbehavi

May 11, 2018

Each month this year, the United States has deported 15,000 migrants to Mexico. They join some 2.5 million others who have returned over the past decade -- some forced to leave by deportation orders, others by economic and political conditions.　 Back in the country of their birth, however, they face discrimination and exclusion anew. Nancy Landa, a young woman living in Tijuana after being deported in 2009, put it plainly when she made her story public: “Sometimes I feel that I have been more ac

May 10, 2018

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump added Iran to his very short list (two names) of major nuclear crises that demand immediate and relentless focus. He defied European allies and made good on long-telegraphed threats to withdraw the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.　 The president didn’t mince words. “It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,” he said. “The Iran deal is defective at its core.” Trump says t

May 10, 2018

Never mind nuclear fears about North Korea and Iran. Set aside concerns about Russian cyberattacks. World leaders today are racing to harness a different source of power to tip the geopolitical balance in their favor.　From Moscow to Pyongyang, from Paris to Jerusalem, presidents, prime ministers and dictators-for-life are seeking to weaponize Donald Trump’s vanity.　Different leaders are using different approaches. South Korean President Moon Jae-in gave President Trump credit for a diplomatic br

May 10, 2018

This is crunch time for the global nuclear order. By Saturday, US President Donald Trump must decide whether to recertify the Iran nuclear deal or reimpose sanctions. Only a few weeks later, he is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a summit that will have implications for that country’s nuclear program.With Trump surrounded by hawkish advisers -- like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton -- the odds are good that efforts to denuclearize will

May 9, 2018

If you’re surprised that last week’s trade negotiations between the US and China achieved little, take a look at the laundry list of demands the White House foisted on Beijing.President Donald Trump wants China to slash the trade deficit, end cybertheft of US technology, eliminate regulations impeding access for American companies, cease subsidizing new high-tech industries and more. Chinese officials probably were taken aback by the sheer breadth of requests.　One could argue that Trump asked fo

May 9, 2018

President Donald Trump finally made good on his promise Tuesday to get out of the Iran nuclear deal. As I have written, I would have kept the agreement in limbo and let the regime’s clerics twist in the wind. But what’s done is done. Much will be written about what the US and its allies should do on the nuclear file. Iran’s leaders have made vague threats, and the West must prepare for the prospect of losing visibility into the country’s declared nuclear infrastructure. That said, the most urgen

May 9, 2018

Asia’s companies should be on high alert.Activists, both homegrown and American, are coming after bloated balance sheets and family-controlled firms, and succeeding more often than hitherto in forcing through higher dividends and board changes.　Whether it’s because the Japanese and South Korean governments want their companies to respect minority investors’ interests, or because the activists themselves have adopted a less abrasive style, Asia is a hunting ground like never before. Last year, 31

May 9, 2018

A joke I heard repeatedly during two weeks in Russia hints at what we should expect from Vladimir Putin’s fourth term as president, which begins Monday.　One Russian academic admitted, “This joke isn’t really funny.” But it does reveal the difficulties America will continue to face in dealing with Putin in the coming six years (compounded by Donald Trump’s strange affection for the Russian strongman).　Angry at new Western sanctions, the joke goes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells a se

May 9, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to dismantle his nuclear test site, and supposedly, he’s even inviting the international press into his usually off-limits kingdom to witness the extravaganza. The gesture is meant to prove he’s serious about eliminating his weapons program -- and he wants all the world to see it.　But be warned: This could be a show of the dog-and-pony variety. Some experts claim the site has already been pulverized by previous tests and is now of little use. If that’s

May 8, 2018

High-level trade talks last week between the US and China grabbed headlines around the world, but in many ways they were beside the point. In the years ahead, tariffs and industrial policy -- the main focus of the talks -- will probably matter less in the growing competition between the two countries, while another, much quieter initiative will matter more.　As China boosts overseas investment through its Belt and Road infrastructure program, it is increasingly dictating not just the terms of fin

May 8, 2018