Larry Ong
Larry Ong is a senior analyst with SinoInsider, a New York-based risk consultancy that focuses on Chinese elite politics.
Xi Begins Laying Groundwork to Take Fourth Term as CCP Head
News analysis China’s official economic data for August and the first eight months of 2025 show entrenched deflationary pressures, a worsening of the real estate crisis, and weakening consumption. Barring transformative reforms, the Chinese economy...
Why China’s Attempt to Force ‘Social Insurance’ Pension Payments Could Backfire
China’s economy has come under severe strain in recent years due to the impact of global trade tensions, a seemingly endless property sector slump, three years of “zero-COVID” lockdowns, and other factors. A deteriorating economy...
Power and Propaganda: Observable Indications About Whether Xi Has Lost Control
Rumors and speculation about Xi Jinping “losing power” have been circulating on the internet for more than a year since they emerged after the conclusion of a major Chinese Communist Party conclave in July 2024....
Xi’s Lost Control. Or Has He?
Shortly after the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party’s Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee in July 2024, some overseas Chinese observers began spotting “signs” that Party leader Xi Jinping has “lost power.” The...
US ‘Tech War’ Heaps Pressure on Xi and the CCP
During a group study session of the Politburo on Jan. 31, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping called for “accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern.” This, he clarified, was necessary to...
Xi’s Credibility Nosedives as CCP Loses Control Over Pandemic in China
In his New Year’s address, Chinese leader and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Xi Jinping made an appeal for unity, saying that while “it is only natural for different people to have...
Xi Cautiously Moves China Away From ‘Zero-COVID’
At the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) this October, general secretary Xi Jinping urged officials to be “unwavering” in implementing his “zero-COVID” policy. His statements led many observers to conclude that the...
Reading the Results of China’s 20th Party Congress
Many observers believe that General Secretary Xi Jinping scored an overwhelming victory at the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress. They note that the new Politburo and its Standing Committee are stacked with Xi’s allies,...
Xi Is Not the Next ‘Chairman Mao’
With Chinese leader Xi Jinping set to take a norm-breaking third term and appoint trusted officials to key positions at the communist regime’s 20th Party Congress this month, many observers suggest that the 69-year-old general...
China’s ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Russia Is a Growing Liability for Xi
News analysis The leaders of China and Russia had a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Sept. 15. Xi Jinping greeted Vladimir Putin as “my old...
Xi’s Political Status Intact After Beidaihe, But Crises Deepen Ahead of Party Congress
Political analysis On Aug. 16, Chinese leader Xi Jinping went on an inspection tour of Jinzhou city in Liaoning Province. During his visit, Xi visited a memorial commemorating the Liaoshen Campaign in 1948, a major...
Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Sharpens Tensions at a Bad Time for Beijing
News analysis The People’s Republic of China (PRC) reacted angrily to the recent high-profile visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, issuing warnings and launching a series of military exercises around the island...