Richard McGregor

Senior Fellow for East Asia
Richard McGregor
Biography
Publications
News and media

Richard McGregor is Senior Fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, Australia’s premier foreign policy think tank, in Sydney.

Richard is a former Beijing and Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times and the author of numerous books on East Asia.

His most recent book, Xi Jinping: The Backlash, was published by Penguin Australia as a Lowy Institute Paper in August 2019. His book on Sino-Japanese relations, Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century (Penguin Books, 2017), was called “shrewd and knowing” by the Wall Street Journal and the “best book of the year” by the Literary Review in the United Kingdom. In late 2018, it won the Prime Minister of Australia’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. His book, The Party (Penguin Books, 2010), on the inner-workings of the Chinese Communist Party, was translated into seven languages and chosen by the Asia Society and Mainichi Shimbun in Japan as their book of the year.

Richard is a Senior Associate (Non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the United States. He was also a visiting scholar at the Wilson Center and George Washington University in Washington DC from 2014-2016.

Xi Jinping steps up China’s political divorce from the West
Commentary
Xi Jinping steps up China’s political divorce from the West
China’s leader has dug in over his COVID-zero policy and his loyalty to Vladimir Putin – and his reasoning does not bode well for the West. Originally published in the Australian…
Conversations: Being Chinese in Australia - Public Opinion of Chinese Communities
Podcasts
Conversations: Being Chinese in Australia - Public Opinion of Chinese Communities
In this episode of Conversations, Jennifer Hsu talks with Natasha Kassam and Richard McGregor about the results of the second Lowy Institute’s Being Chinese in Australia survey…
China is squirming under pressure to condemn Russia. It can’t hold out forever
Commentary
China is squirming under pressure to condemn Russia. It can’t hold out forever
Beijing is struggling to settle on a clear message over Ukraine because it is trying to reconcile the irreconcilable. Originally published in The Guardian.
For Xi, Putin’s invasion is a test run for Taiwan
Commentary
For Xi, Putin’s invasion is a test run for Taiwan
Having learned from the collapse of Soviet Union, China may yet have to send its officials back to school to learn how not to put an empire back together again. Originally…
There is an economic front line too
Commentary
There is an economic front line too
National security in Australia usually has a khaki tinge to it. But the fragility of global supply chains and potential for coercion means the economy must be recruited as well…
Australia can learn from Tokyo's smarter approach to China
Commentary
Australia can learn from Tokyo's smarter approach to China
Japan has played its Beijing cards more intelligently than Canberra. Originally published in Nikkei Asia.
Lines blurred: Chinese community organisations in Australia
Analyses
Lines blurred: Chinese community organisations in Australia
Examining the impact of Australia’s foreign interference debate and Beijing’s reach in Chinese-Australian community organisations.
Lowy Institute Conversations: Richard McGregor speaks with Desmond Shum, the author of Red Roulette
Podcasts
Lowy Institute Conversations: Richard McGregor speaks with Desmond Shum, the author of Red Roulette
In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Senior Fellow Richard McGregor speaks with Desmond Shum, the author of Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power,…
Beyond Fortress Australia
Interactives
Beyond Fortress Australia
The reality of living in a pandemic has dawned on Australia. Covid cases at the time of writing are high and still climbing. The virus is here to stay. Equally clear is that ring…
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