Fokke Obbema

Fokke Obbema is the author of China and the West: Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia (IB Tauris, September 2015). He is a journalist for the influential Dutch daily de Volkskrant, and former chief editor of its economic section. An expert on China and Chinese relations with the west, Obbema currently works on the foreign desk of de Volkskrant, covering both Europe and Asia.

Behind China’s witch-hunt for ‘market manipulators’

China may pay lip service to free markets. But in the mind-set of its officials, free markets can only be free as long as they serve the interests of the Chinese Communist Party.

By Fokke Obbema

/ 10 Sep 2015

No, China is not becoming an almighty superpower

The fear of China becoming a global hegemon has permeated public discourse in the west. Journalists have been guilty of small self-indulgences with the truth to fit the narrative. The result is a distorted view of China in the western media.

By Fokke Obbema

/ 3 Apr 2013