Month: February 2023
Related Posts
WEEK IN REVIEW: Insurgent Group in Myanmar Reportedly Seized Another Key Border Crossing With China
An insurgent group in Myanmar has reportedly seized another key border crossing with China, further eroding the ruling junta’s control of the northeastern Shan State. Beijing remains concerned about factional fighting in Myanmar spilling over the border and has even deployed PLA troops on the Chinese side. (DIPLOMAT) ...
Related Posts
Latin America’s Diplomacy: Balancing EU and China With Mercosur
By Alvaro Mendez and Chris Alden The negotiations for the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have spanned over two decades and are now facing renewed delays. This prolonged process is a crucial moment in Latin America's trade policy, especially as Brazilian ...
The Africa-China 2023 Year in Review
2023 was a transformative year for China’s ties with Africa. Chinese investment, trade, and diplomatic engagement were either flat or declined sharply over the past year, highlighting how this once-vibrant relationship is now entering a new, more austere period.
China Cuts Off Vital Lifeline to Argentina, Recalls Ambassador
The younger generation loves to say — with saltier wording — “You mess around and find out.” Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei — who while campaigning used fierce anti-China rhetoric — has apparently messed around and found out.
Australia Refuses to Send Ships to Red Sea
The Australian government has reportedly indicated that it won’t send ships to join the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea. The operation is aimed at containing attacks from Yemeni Houthi militias on commercial shipping and to keep sea lanes open. Defence ...
Graph via Foreign Affairs, based on Arab Barometer data
Worry about the Trump administration’s decision-making is leading the public around the world to see China as an increasingly attractive counter-option. This is the main takeaway from three large public opinion polls released recently. The annual Gallup poll of 130 countries is the largest of ...
China Sticks to Its Position That Its Not to Blame for Delays in Zambia’s Debt Restructuring Process
Any hope China would soften its hardline position on debt restructuring following last weekend's talks among G20 finance ministers was dashed on Monday when Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning restated Beijing's longstanding demand that multilateral creditors also take losses on their loans to developing countries. ...
IMF Head Flatly Rejects China’s Call for Multilateral Development Banks to Take Losses on Loans: “Not Possible”
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva flatly rejected China's demand for multilateral development banks (MDBs) to accept losses or "haircuts" for loans to the world's poorest countries. "Not possible" she bluntly declared in an interview with Bloomberg following this weekend's ...
Germany’s Ambassador to Ghana Explains Why He Thinks China is Hesitating to Set Up a Creditor Committee
The German government is advocating on behalf of Ghana for China to stop stalling in the creation of a new Creditor Committee that will restructure Accra's debts. Last week, Ghana officially became the second African country in the post-pandemic era to default ...
With an Eye on China and Russia, Macron (Again) Tries to Reboot France’s Strategy in Africa
France needs to approach Africa with ‘profound humility’ to make up for its colonial past. This is the message from French President Emmanuel Macron, who is embarking on an African tour in part aimed at rejuvenating Paris’s engagement with a continent where its image remains shaped by its colonial ...
Top Chinese Communist Party Official Visits Ruling Party Leaders in Kenya, Tanzania
In-person party-to-party exchanges between Communist Party of China (CPC) officials and African counterparts are ramping up again. Li Mingxiang, the Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, recently visited Kenya and Tanzania. The visit was ostensibly aimed at ...
Kenya’s Ambassador to China Leaves Unexpectedly
Kenya's outgoing ambassador to China, Mary Muthoni, is leaving her post after only ten months on the job, far less than her predecessor, who spent three years in Beijing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nairobi did not explain what prompted ...
In Crafting Special Economic Zones, Ethiopia and Vietnam Learned from China and Taiwan
By Keyi Tang The Taliban administration recently announced plans to convert former US military bases into special economic zones (SEZs) with the aim of promoting economic self-sufficiency through increased trade and investment. The Taliban are not ...
It’s Time to Stop Pretending the System Still Works
In hindsight, it was foolish to think that China, the U.S., India and the Europeans were somehow going to put aside their differences to make desperately-needed compromises to help the world's poorest countries restructure their debts. We should have known this ...
Lots of Talk, Little Consensus and No Action Following G20 Debt Roundtable Discussion Among G20 Finance Ministers
The world's most powerful finance ministers, central bank heads and development finance leaders met on Saturday in Bengaluru, India for a highly-anticipated roundtable that many hoped would unblock the current impasse on debt relief for poor countries. While debt ...
U.S. Discussed Debt Issues With China While Also Hinting Beijing Uses Loans for “Coercive Leverage” in South Asia
There was a hint of optimism going into Saturday's debt roundtable organized by India, the World Bank and the IMF that the U.S. and China might be able to find some common ground. Deputy-level officials from both countries met on Friday,
Xinhua: The U.S. Deliberately Distorts Chinas’s Role in the African Debt Crisis
The burgeoning debt crisis in a growing number of African countries is increasingly seen by the Chinese government as another front in Beijing's competition with Western powers like the U.S. A recent article published earlier this month by the official Xinhua ...
When it Comes to the Global South Debt Crisis, the Chinese Message is Clear: Don’t Talk About China, Just Focus on the West
Chinese scholars and U.S. and European officials seem to follow the same playbook on debt. Both sides are highly selective in their assessment of the worsening debt crisis in developing countries by focusing disproportionate attention on opponents' role while conveniently overlooking their own contribution to the problem. ...