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Original perspectives and fresh thinking on issues of concern to Asia from around the region, plus editorials and letters to the editor. Please contact us if you would like to submit a letter to be considered for publication.

Workers at their desks at the Pinduoduo headquarters in Shanghai, China. Multiple employees told Nikkei Asia the company fosters a toxic working culture, with long hours and strict on-time rules.

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: Inside PDD, China's controversial new e-commerce titan

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, with Henry Kissinger in Beijing in 2018: A lingering Kissingerian mindset still crimps U.S. policy toward an increasingly muscular China. (Pool via Reuters)

Brahma Chellaney

Kissinger's corrosive legacy still weighs on U.S. policy in Asia

Strategy of aiding China's rise has come back to bite Washington and its allies

Brahma Chellaney

Chinese AI company SenseTime has had to accommodate state agencies as shareholders in recent years.

Diana Wu David

OpenAI's dilemmas reflect tensions common among Asian company boards

International standards can help clarify investor and stakeholder priorities

Diana Wu David

Workers unload coal from a supply truck on the outskirts of Ahmedabad: Coal accounts for around three-quarters of India's power generation.

China and India got their way in COP28 agreement in Dubai

By standing firm, pair secured pragmatic, balanced wording on fossil fuels

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi on Dec.12: Hanoi still likely sees Beijing as its most important partner. (Pool via AP)

Derek Grossman

Vietnam's show of welcome for Xi reflects growing self-confidence

Success of 'bamboo diplomacy' clears way for giving face to Chinese leader

Derek Grossman

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s move to launch the country's first sovereign wealth fund is creating needless risk.  (Pool via Reuters)

To maintain the Philippines' momentum, Marcos needs new ideas

Maharlika fund has distracted president from more pressing economic priorities

Ukrainian soldiers are seen on a tank during a training exercise on Dec. 6. The war with Russia is now in a stalemate.

EU should unite in support of Ukraine

European bloc must show resolve to protect democracy and rule of law

An independent inquiry found Australia's visa system to be broken, with applications backed up for years.

Chris Wallace

Australia is getting a better grip on immigration

Government puts new focus on quality, timeliness and economic competitiveness

Chris Wallace

Wealthy Indians channel their money out of the country along various paths, often using Singapore or Dubai as the first stop as many have family offices in those cities.

Henny Sender

India's wealthy have never had it so good. That's got them worried

Fear of tax inspectors drives elite to send more money overseas

Henny Sender

An intercontinental ballistic missile launches in North Korea in this image released in July: Nuclear weapons should be governed by international law. (KCNA via Reuters)

Nobumasa Akiyama

Political leaders must confront rising risks around nuclear weapons

AI and emerging technologies pose new challenges amid deteriorating environment

Nobumasa Akiyama

Preparations for July's World AI Conference in Shanghai: As far as AI risks go, China clearly perceives greater dangers from people.

Nina Xiang

China's AI sector has no time for end-of-the-world worries

Country takes pragmatic view as it seeks to close technological gap

Nina Xiang

Fumio Kishida, left, now Japan's prime minister, promotes the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals with performer Pikotaro in 2017.

Stephen Givens

Japan Inc. can't substitute social missions for corporate strategy

Companies should identify competitive strengths rather than echo platitudes

Stephen Givens

A Japanese oil tanker attacked by pirates in the Strait of Malacca in 2014: Thailand's 'Landbridge' would provide an alternative route between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Srettha Thavisin

Thailand's 'Landbridge' will bring East and West closer together

New link between Indian and Pacific oceans to provide economic boost

Srettha Thavisin

COP28 President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber after the release of delegates' draft agreement on Dec. 13 in Dubai: The final text was weaker than many nations sought.

Melanie Pill and Georgia Hammersley

COP28 agreement marks a milestone but does not go far enough

Developing countries need more finance for fossil fuel phase-out

Melanie Pill and Georgia Hammersley

Taiwan has defined five fields as critical technologies that require urgent protection.

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: The great nanometer chip race

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Soka Gakkai became politically active under the leadership of Daisaku Ikeda, the religious group's third and most influential president.

Yoshihide Sakurai

Political alliance of Japan's LDP and Komeito could begin to crack

Future of religious-based party in question after death of founder Daisaku Ikeda

Yoshihide Sakurai

Jimmy Lai at Stanley Prison in Hong Kong in July: He has spent most of the last three years in solitary confinement.

Mark L. Clifford

Hong Kong authorities should not underestimate Jimmy Lai

Former media mogul has shown he is prepared to die in prison for his beliefs

Mark L. Clifford

For Japanese young professionals, employers can play a key role in supporting goal setting and attainment and by extension, self-actualization. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka)

Osamu Karita and Gayatri Chandrasekaran

Japan Inc. is finding ways to support staff self-actualization

Employers can play key role in supporting goal setting and attainment

Osamu Karita and Gayatri Chandrasekaran

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at an IPEF event in California in November: Forging an expanded coalition will require the U.S. to change its leadership style.

Masafumi Ishii and Brad Glosserman

U.S. and allies must expand their circle of friends

Challenge of supporting global order has to be shared more widely

Masafumi Ishii and Brad Glosserman

The headquarters of China Evergrande Group in Shenzhen. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)

Beijing must act now on Evergrande crisis

China's real estate woes continue to weigh on economic recovery

Indonesia's Sumatra island in 2010: Only 15% of influential food and agriculture companies have committed to halt conversion of wild landscapes into farmland.

Jenni Black and Pallavi Kalita

Asian companies must reckon with their impact on the natural world

Business leaders need to mitigate against risk of ecosystem collapse

Jenni Black and Pallavi Kalita

A nuclear missile carrier in China's 2019 National Day parade in Beijing: The PLA is opaque about how it tests and evaluates AI applications.

Sam Bresnick

U.S. and China must seize opening to discuss military AI risks

Even nonbinding agreement could help to build trust and limit harms

Sam Bresnick

JERA will test ammonia co-firing at the Hekinan thermal power station in Aichi prefecture: Japanese companies are working to introduce the technology in Southeast Asia.

Raoul Manuel

Japan's 'green' aid for ASEAN is more about money than climate

Planned support for energy transition will prolong use of fossil fuels

Raoul Manuel

A rare earths mine in Jiangxi province: As China limits the export of critical minerals, the Quad is putting increasing focus on securing supplies.

Abhishek Sharma

Quad should lead region forward in securing mineral supply chains

U.S. and partners can pool efforts to de-risk and diversify sourcing of key inputs

Abhishek Sharma

At their summit in Tokyo on Nov. 27, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, and Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong said they would increase defense-related exchanges. (Pool via Reuters)

Ha Hoang Hop

Vietnam could use more friends like Japan

Upgraded strategic partnership to lead to more defense deals and exchanges

Ha Hoang Hop