Day: August 3, 2023
Related Posts
Southward Bound
In moments of despair, when one spirals about, say, a genocide happening in front of our eyes, it’s sometimes good to read something silly and amusing. For me, this has recently been the spectacle of European and American commentators struggling with the term “Global South.”
Related Posts
Indonesia’s EV Ambition May Be Underestimating Some Challenges. Relying On China Won’t Be Enough
Indonesia is on a quest to build an end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) industry. The country is rich with nickel, an important raw material for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM)-based EV batteries. It’s a “confident middle-income” country, according to the World Bank, and it’s got a thriving automotive ...
Glimmers of Debt Deal for Sri Lanka Raises China Pressure
Sri Lanka’s major creditors, including India, Japan, and France, are nearing a debt deal by mid-October, according to the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shinbun. However, there are serious questions as to whether China (one of Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditors) will be part of the deal. ...
Ongoing Tensions at Shoal Amid U.S.-Philippines Naval Exercises
The Philippine press is reporting that the Chinese coastguard is using rubber boats to control access to the contested Scarborough Shoal to Philippine fishing boats. Henrelito Empoc, a spokesperson for a fishing group, said, “The Chinese coast guard is on standby outside, but ...
Getting China Out of Mineral Supply Chains Will Take Closer Cooperation With Africa: Report
The United States is increasingly focused on lessening its dependence on China for critical minerals. While some key rare earth minerals are mined in China, its involvement is much broader in mineral refining and battery manufacturing. Many of the refined minerals ...
There's been a lot of excitement this week in anticipation of tomorrow's start of duty-free access into the Chinese market for 53 African countries. By any measure, this is a big deal, particularly in this new protectionist era when more trade walls are going up then coming down. ...
Bangladesh to Apply for Membership to China-Centric Trade Group
Bangladesh will reportedly submit a formal request by September to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a China-led free trade community that represents about 30% of global GDP. The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting on Tuesday. It now requires Cabinet approval, and ...
BRICS Enlargement Will Bring “Tectonic Change”: SA Ambassador
Bolivia has become the newest country interested in joining the BRICS group. 22 countries have submitted formal requests to join, with another 20 informal expressions of interest in the pipeline. Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to the group (currently made up of ...
China Tries To Rebut Reports That It Killed G20 Renewable Energy Commitment
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back this week against reports that China helped to block a G20 measure to triple renewable energy capacity. The Ministry called the reports “completely inconsistent with the facts.” While the statement then goes on to list many ...
Inside Details of China’s Oil Buys from Iran
Iran’s oil output has jumped by 80% to about 1 million barrels per day since President Ebrahim Raisi took power in 2021. China is one of the Islamic Republic’s largest oil buyers, despite formidable sanctions from the U.S. and other countries. ...






