China’s leaders could be forgiven for gloating a little next week, the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing. Their nation was arguably the biggest winner from Sino-American rapprochement. But it’s in danger of forgetting what made that victory possible. In February 1972, the country on which Nixon bet the equivalent of a geopolitical house was ...

Hong Kong officials have typically reacted with nonchalance to questions about the city’s record population exodus. Financial flows show the territory retains its hub status, business confidence is unshaken, those departing are denying themselves a role in a prosperous future. Or so some of the familiar arguments run. The Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) staffing struggles offer a different perspective. ...

  The Ukraine crisis may yet produce the biggest war in Europe since 1945. Or it may produce some strange new hybrid of cyberattacks, “little green men” and maskirovka (military deception) that won’t quite match our preconceived notion of war. Or — though this now seems the lowest-probability scenario — President Vladimir Putin may turn out to be Russia’s answer ...