Ian Williams
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ianwil.bsky.social
Ian Williams
@ianwil.bsky.social
380 followers 15 following 63 posts
Author of 'Vampire State. The rise and fall of the Chinese Economy'. Longtime foreign correspondent in Moscow, the Indo-Pacific and China
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ianwil.bsky.social
Glasgow's Aye Write book festival is underway & I'm looking forward to speaking Friday evening (14th) about Vampire State, my latest book on China's predatory economy & the turbulent new geopolitics. Tickets still available!
#china #TradeWar
birlinn.co.uk/event/aye-wr...
Aye Write: Ian Williams | Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher - buy books online
birlinn.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 1:58 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
Contrary to what Trump says, the rare earth crisis is not over. As I argue in the spectator, it should be seen as an opportunity - a wake up call for sleep-walking western democracies to urgently wean themselves off dangerous dependencies on #China
#rareearths
www.spectator.co.uk/article/chin...
China is holding the West to ransom over rare earths
China’s naked weaponisation of rare earths brings to mind Mao Zedong’s ‘four pests’ campaign, the old tyrant’s fanatical effort to exterminate all flies, mosquitoes, rats and sparrows, which turned in...
www.spectator.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:04 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
Trump says his meeting with Xi Jinping today was ‘amazing’ and on a scale of one to 10, it merited a 12. As I report for the Spectator, that means that on a scale for scepticism, it probably deserves a 13
#china #tradewar #trump #APEC
www.spectator.co.uk/article/trum...
Trump and Xi's South Korean meeting changed little
Chinese officials see Trump as volatile and unpredictable; there is deep scepticism in Washington that China will stick to any agreement.
www.spectator.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 11:12 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
Here’s my take for this week’s Spectator on the fiasco of the collapsed China spy trial & a govt that appears to have abandoned any notion of national security for single-minded policy of appeasing Beijing
#china #spytrial #espionage #chinaspies

www.spectator.co.uk/article/did-...
Did Jonathan Powell torpedo the China espionage trial?
The antics of Keir Starmer and his top security adviser over the collapsed China espionage case bring to mind the slapstick British movie Carry On Spying – which is precisely the message it will have ...
www.spectator.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 7:57 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
How are we to understand the relatiinship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin? Here’s my explainer for Times Radio
#china #putin #ukraine #xijinping youtu.be/JLVdK7MX-WA?...
Putin and Xi exposed: China expert reveals the hidden tension between the world’s dictators
YouTube video by Times Radio
youtu.be
August 30, 2025 at 9:50 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
The great Xi Jinping makeover is in full swing. Champion of free trade, friend of foreign investors & tech entrepreneurs in the face of Trump mayhem. But as I argue in @thetimes #china shape-shifting is cynical and barely credible

www.thetimes.com/article/c05b...
How seriously should Xi Jinping’s makeover of China be taken?
Its tech sector is resurgent and the president says it is heading for ‘high-quality growth’ but his obsession with control may strangle innovation
www.thetimes.com
August 30, 2025 at 9:36 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
#China has moved fast to take advantage of Trump alienating much of the world. But as I ask in The Spectator, is anybody really fooled by Xi Jinping’s makeover?

www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...
How China fools the West
The mimic octopus is a remarkable creature. It is the world’s master at shapeshifting. It is able to transform its appearance into that of more than 15 different aquatic animals, depending on the need...
www.spectator.co.uk
August 24, 2025 at 12:31 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
It's generally agreed that the UK needs more #China expertise - from understanding history & culture to speaking Mandarin. But as I ask in the Spectator, what if institutions charged with improving such capabilities are captured by the Chinese communist party?
www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...
Can 'China Studies' still be trusted?
It is generally agreed that Britain needs to improve its China capabilities. But what happens when institutions responsible for building those capabilities are compromised by the Chinese Communist Par...
www.spectator.co.uk
August 9, 2025 at 9:59 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
A real pleasure to join @philipingrammbe.bsky.social
on Times Radio’s excellent Frontline podcast, talking Russia, China, Ukraine and much more
#china #Russia #Ukraine #ukrainewar

youtu.be/aegWOaXlSaU?...
Xi doesn’t need Putin: How China’s arms industry overtakes Russia’s | Ian Williams
YouTube video by Times Radio
youtu.be
August 6, 2025 at 7:22 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
I'm delighted that the updated paperback edition of Vampire State is published today. Understanding #china troubled but predatory economy is more important than ever
#economy #TradeDeal #Tradewars #Beijing
August 4, 2025 at 5:19 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
So #china says economy grew 5.2% in the quarter to June & most commentators took that at face value. Wake up! CCP stats are political, not economic, more so that ever, and as I explain in the Spectator, they need to be treated with a huge does of scepticism
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-c...
www.spectator.co.uk
July 19, 2025 at 1:25 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
A big thank you to everybody who came to the the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand Wednesday for my book talk. China is such an important issue right now, and understanding its predatory economy is more important than ever. Good to be back in Thailand and catching up with old friends.
July 10, 2025 at 3:55 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
Congratulations to @barbarademick.bsky.social for Daughters of the Bamboo Grove, her powerful new book on #China one-child policy, which inspired my Mail feature on the lasting legacy of one of the cruellest, misguided and costliest policies a govt has ever imposed on its people
July 4, 2025 at 8:42 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
How wary should we be of Chinese electric vehicles? We rightly worry about spyware on phones, but EVs are giant pieces of spyware - perfect for espionage, surveillance & sabotage. As I write in the Mail, a good place to start is the classic Michael Caine movie The Italian Job
#China #EVs #espionage
May 8, 2025 at 1:07 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
Somewhere in the bowels of the Foreign Office, UK govt's much hyped 'audit' of China relations grinds on. AsI argue in The Spectator, it is being rapidly overtaken by events that scream for extreme caution.
#china #chinaaudit #tariffs #tradewar
www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...
How China bought Britain
Somewhere in the bowels of the Foreign Office, civil servants are still working on the government’s ‘China audit’. The report was commissioned by the new Labour government to ‘assess trade-offs in the...
www.spectator.co.uk
May 1, 2025 at 9:42 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
For Trump, tariff is the ‘most beautiful word’, but as I argue in the Spectator #china has a coercive toolbox built over decades of forcing foreign firms/pliant countries to kowtow as price of doing business or to punish for supposed sleights #tariffs #TradeWar
www.spectator.co.uk/article/what...
What is Xi Jinping planning?
Shanghai port is the busiest in the world. Activity there is closely monitored by financial analysts distrustful of official statistics and looking for clues as to what is really happening in the worl...
www.spectator.co.uk
April 12, 2025 at 2:47 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
Here’s my take for the Spectator on Trump’s tariffs on #China, which has accused the US of bullying, coercion and rule breaking. Well … Beijing’s familiar with all that, since it’s precisely what’s powered its economic rise
#TradeWar #tariffs

www.spectator.co.uk/article/chin...
China won't win its 'fight to the end' against Trump
There are signs that these countries are already growing wary of Beijing’s investment and the dumping of Chinese-made goods more broadly.
www.spectator.co.uk
April 8, 2025 at 8:45 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
Many thanks to Australian Strategic Policy Institute for
a generous review of my new book, Vampire State - 'a must read for anyone dealing with China’s economy, from public sector trade negotiators to private businesspeople and investors'
#china #economy
www.aspistrategist.org.au/bookshelf-va...
Bookshelf: ‘Vampire state: The rise and fall of the Chinese economy’ | The Strategist
After three decades of record-breaking growth, at about the same time as Xi Jinping rose to power in 2012, China’s economy started the long decline to its current state of stagnation. The Chinese Comm...
www.aspistrategist.org.au
April 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
Looking forward to the Oxford Literary Festival where on 4 April I'll be joining Michael Sheridan and Sophia Yan to talk about the challenge of facing up to #XiJinping and an aggressive #China. Some tickets still available! #oxfordliteraryfestival
oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-e...
Facing up to Xi Jinping and the new China | Oxford Literary Festival
Ian Williams and Michael Sheridan Chaired by Sophia Yan - Facing up to Xi Jinping and the new China
oxfordliteraryfestival.org
March 21, 2025 at 11:28 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
The UK govt & environmentalists want to ‘engage’ #China on #climatechange , but as I write in the spectator there is little evidence a transactional Beijing gives a hoot about the planet and sees such diplomacy as means for furthering its broader interests

www.spectator.co.uk/article/chin...
China is not the West’s environmental ally
In the fight against climate change, China loves to present itself as the world’s White Knight. Armed with wind turbines and solar panels, EVs and batteries, it will rescue us from oblivion if only we...
www.spectator.co.uk
February 20, 2025 at 7:38 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
A pleasure to join Louis Sykes on Times Radio’s Trump Report, talking #china #tariffs and much more youtu.be/xcu8bFn7SzU?...
How Trump's tariff chaos played straight into China's hands
YouTube video by Times Radio
youtu.be
February 5, 2025 at 8:32 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
As DonaldTrump imposes more tariffs, Chinese companies are finding multiple ways to avoid them, often by just re-badging 'made in China' as made in elsewhere. As I write in
@thetimes it could turn into giant game of whac-a-mole #China #TradeWar #trump
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
How Chinese firms dodge Trump tariffs by shifting work abroad
From Vietnam to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, Chinese companies are shifting some manufacturing to southeast Asia
www.thetimes.com
February 2, 2025 at 12:11 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
Operation kowtow continues. As I write in the Mail on Sunday,
Keir Starmer's govt is ignoring local residents & security concerns in what appears to be a murky deal to allow #China to build a monstrous new embassy in East London
February 2, 2025 at 12:02 PM
ianwil.bsky.social
The villain of my 2nd novel Zero Days is an unhinged power-hungry tech tycoon who wants to own the ultimate cyber weapon of the title. At the time, I didn't specifically model him on Elon Musk but he's growing into the role #ElonMusk #CYBER #Hacking

www.amazon.co.uk/Zero-Days-Th...
www.amazon.co.uk
January 15, 2025 at 10:25 AM
ianwil.bsky.social
Keir Starmer and his ministers appear to be competing to see who can kowtow lowest to China. As I write in the spectator not only is it desperate & morally repugnant, but can only increase dependencies and undermine security #China #reeves
www.spectator.co.uk/article/labo...
Labour's kowtowing to China will cost Britain
Keir Starmer and his ministers, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, appear to be competing to see who can kowtow the lowest before China's Xi
www.spectator.co.uk
January 13, 2025 at 12:36 PM