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Blinken Tries to Bolster Ties With Vietnam Amid Rising U.S. Tensions With China

Vietnam was again at the center of great power politics this weekend during a brief visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, his first trip to the country as Washington's top diplomat. Blinken's one overriding priority on this trip was ...

Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Blasts Blinken For “Sowing Discord” in Southeast Asia

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment over the weekend about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Vietnam but will likely do so on Monday at the regular press briefing in Beijing.  The ministry's response will probably sound ...

China’s Online Supporters Incorrectly Thought They Saw the Vietnamese Dissing the Blinken by Not Displaying a U.S. Flag

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China’s Central Bank Chief Signals Beijing Will Cooperate With Other International Creditors on Debt Relief

The head of China's central bank, Yi Gang, provided the clearest indication to date Beijing is willing to retreat from its demand that multilateral development banks (MDBs) also take write-downs on their loans to the world's poorest countries. Yi told participants at ...

New Billion-dollar Korean-Chinese EV Battery Plant Deal Likely to Anger the U.S.

South Korea's LG Chem signed a deal with Chinese mining and metal refining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to build a massive $920 million electric vehicle battery factory in southwest Korea. While the proposed factory makes a lot of sense for companies ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...