Author of 'Vampire State. The rise and fall of the Chinese Economy'. Longtime foreign correspondent in Moscow, the Indo-Pacific and China @NBCNews @Channel4News
London, England
Joined April 2010
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China's troubled but predatory economy remains addictive to some, but also coercive, corrupt and at times surreal. My new book, published by @BirlinnBooks on 5 Sept, shows how CCP ruthlessly bends business to its will - but is fast running out of options birlinn.co.uk/product/vampir…
Ian Williams retweeted
The signs that China's overweight, hard-drinking dictator could be seriously ill - and why the West should be worried: IAN WILLIAMS trib.al/445IlvE
There was barely a word of criticism, differences were muted, threadbare achievements hyped, praise lavished. As I write in @spectator the US-China summit was all pomp and platitudes with little substance #china #trump #AI #summit
spectator.com/article/what-s…
Ian Williams retweeted
Moments before President Xi Jinping climbed down the steps of his aircraft to be greeted by Donald Trump, US marines were filmed on their hands and knees smoothing out the red carpet, Chinese officials looking down from the top of the steps. It was an uncomfortable image, ridiculed on social media for the symbolism of kowtowing to the emperor. But it set the tone for a summit which so far has been heavy on pomp and ceremony, rich in platitudes, but with very little in the way of substance.
✍️ @ianwill
Article | spectator.com/article/whats-…
Even allowing for Trump’s soft spot for autocrats and political theatre, his fawning treatment of Xi has been cringemaking. As I report in @spectator the returns seem so minimal that it rather begs the question: what was the point?
#trump #xi #summit #AI
spectator.com/article/whats-…
A pleasure to join @PhilipIngMBE on the excellent Frontline podcast on Times Radio, talking the X-Trump summit, AI, trade wars, Ukraine, Russia - and much more #china #russia #trump #summit #uschinasummit youtu.be/HQZxS-1VyRg?si=y4vf…
Beyond the Chinese tech hype is a troubled, stagnant & predatory economy of heavy subsidies and overproduction. As I argue in @spectator bulldozing foreign markets has become essential for survival spectator.com/article/china-…
Ian Williams retweeted
“If, as @drdwhitehouse writes, China does beat the US to get its hands on Martian rocks, it will be a Sputnik moment. It will also be the first step in a series of crewed Chinese missions to Mars,” writes @ianwill
Article | spectator.com/article/china-…
What does a 20-year-old Chinese researcher dressed in a red crayfish costume tell us about China's space ambitions? Here's my @spectator piece on Beijing's race for Mars and troubling agenda behind it #mars #china #space
spectator.com/article/china-…
Delighted to see Scottish @Daily_Express pick up on my interview with @BBCScotland on Scottish govt’s extraordinarily naive bid to overturn ban on #China investment in wind turbine factory, which risks handing Beijing control of critical infrastructure
scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/n…
A pleasure to join @JSHeappey on @TimesRadio excellent superpowers podcast, talking the Iran conflict, Russia, China and much more
#china #russia #ukrainewar @iranwar #trump #putin
youtu.be/XCS4tiJc60k?si=Fuys…
There's no #China at #WorldCup. A country of 1.4 billion has been unable to find 11 players capable of hitting the back of the net. But the Communist Party has produced world class corruption and waste in a failed bid to become a football superpower
dailymail.com/debate/article…
Ian Williams retweeted
This is utterly and totally outrageous
@Chloe_chc_25 is a truly remarkable, courageous young activist with a bounty on her head. She is someone 🇬🇧 should be proud to grant citizenship to.
@ShabanaMahmood @MikeTappTweets @YvetteCooperMP @Keir_Starmer - what on earth is the @ukhomeoffice thinking? Please fix this urgently.
Home Office ‘sided with Beijing against Hong Kong dissident’ telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…
Ian Williams retweeted
🚨🚨🚨Why are Chinese diplomats in the UK close to To Ming Lam, who owns @RoyalChinaGroup & who Hong Kong’s former chief of criminal intelligence said was known as a 14K triad member?
What's it got to do with a spy trial that just finished in London?
Share this thread.
There have long been links between triads and the Chinese Communist Party, but as I write in the @dailymailUK there is growing evidence that the CCP - like Russia - sees organised crime as a key asset to undermine its opponents
dailymail.com/news/article-1…
Here's my piece for the @DailyMailUK on the growing nexus between organised crime and the Chinese Communist Party #china #triads #crime
Revealed, how Beijing unleashed Triad gangs to wage war on Britain: Crime groups linked to Chinese Communist Party are flooding our streets with killer synthetic opioids, supplying engines for migrant boats, and even masterminding romance frauds trib.al/EN1PyIQ
Government telling shops what to sell and what to charge? I think we've been there before ...
Treasury pushes supermarkets to cap food prices ft.trib.al/7YLrrZp
#china espionage and influence operations against the US are increasingly brazen - out of control, according to security officials. As I ask in @spectator, is America losing the spying game and does Trump really care? #espionage #cyber #taiwan #trump spectator.com/article/americ…
A pleasure to join @JSHeappey on @TimesRadio superpowers podcast, talking the China-US summit, Ukraine, Russia and much more
youtu.be/lq9OmmV_bF0?si=FPcX…