Richard McGregor

Senior Fellow for East Asia
Areas of expertise

China’s political system and the workings and structure of the communist party; China’s foreign relations, with an emphasis on ties with Japan, the two Koreas, and Southeast Asia; Australia’s relations with 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.

COVIDcast: Looking at China from the grassroots, with Dexter Roberts
Podcasts
COVIDcast: Looking at China from the grassroots, with Dexter Roberts
In this episode of COVIDcast, Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor sat down with Dexter Roberts to discuss his new book, The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: The Worker, The…
Beijing hard-liners kick against Xi Jinping's wolf warrior diplomacy
Commentary
Beijing hard-liners kick against Xi Jinping's wolf warrior diplomacy
Foreign policy hawks concede that current strategy is winning China no new friends. Originally published in the Nikkei Asian Review. 
China's Deep State: The Communist Party and the Coronavirus
Research Notes
China's Deep State: The Communist Party and the Coronavirus
China's political system was instrumental both in plunging the country into the COVID-19 crisis and aiding its recovery, but its pandemic management has not…
Don’t panic — Xi doesn’t hold all the aces in the great game of trade
Commentary
Don’t panic — Xi doesn’t hold all the aces in the great game of trade
Originally published in The Sunday Times.
Emerging From COVID: Policy Responses To The Pandemic
Interactives
Emerging From COVID: Policy Responses To The Pandemic
In this new feature, Lowy Institute experts provide policy recommendations for Australia to address issues that are critical to our nation’s — and the world’s —…
Emerging from COVID: Policy Responses to the Pandemic
Policy Briefs
Emerging from COVID: Policy Responses to the Pandemic
Lowy Institute experts provide policy recommendations for Australia to address issues that are critical to our nation's — and the world's — successful emergence from the pandemic.
COVIDcast: Xi Jinping and Covid-19
COVIDcast: Xi Jinping and Covid-19
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
COVIDcast: Xi Jinping and COVID-19
Podcasts
COVIDcast: Xi Jinping and COVID-19
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute…
With an ailing domestic economy, can China still pursue its global plans?
Commentary
With an ailing domestic economy, can China still pursue its global plans?
Soaring unemployment and a struggling economy must be tackled before its leaders can return to threats and bluster. Originally published in The Guardian.
Top