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China Bolsters Ties With Uruguay in a Bid to Diversify Its Economic Relations in South America

China is moving to bolster its diplomatic ties in South America in a bid to pressure one of the region's lone holdouts that still recognizes Taiwan and diversify its trade beyond the continent's major powers. Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou ...

China Sends Tough Love Message to Argentina’s President-Elect

The Chinese government is putting on a brave face in response to the election of Argentina's far-right president-elect Javier Milei who regularly denounced Beijing in the campaign and even compared China to a “murderer.” President Xi Jinping sent the usual congratulatory ...

Australia-Philippines Joint Military Patrols Begin in South China Sea Week After Similar U.S.-Philippine Patrols

Australia and the Philippines have begun joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea amid growing tensions with China. Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba on Saturday began "Maritime Cooperative Activity" in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines, under a ...

China-Myanmar Ties Further Strained After Truck Convoy Torched After Crossing Border Into Myanmar

Myanmar’s beleaguered military government is accusing insurgents of torching dozens of trucks carrying goods from China, as Myanmar’s factional fighting further destabilizes the two countries’ border and strains relations. The fire on Friday in the town of Muse — recorded in ...

The Implosion of Zambia’s Debt Deal Signals Wider Worries

Delays in restructuring Zambian debt are weighing on the country’s economy and raise wider questions about the future of debt relief mechanisms around the world. Zambia appears stuck since the announcement last Monday that its committee of official creditors rejected a deal between ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

Nigeria Eyes BRICS Membership

Nigeria hopes to become a member of the BRICS group of emerging economies in the next two years, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar. It also wants to join the G20. Tuggar told Bloomberg that “Nigeria has come of age ...

New Belt and Road “Blueprint” Released

China’s National Development and Reform Commission released a document listing aims for the next decade of the Belt and Road Initiative. It includes a more formalized version of the priorities set during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote address at the Belt and Road Forum in October. ...

South Africa is Excited, Confused by China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Research

South Africa was one of the earliest African countries to sign on to the Belt and Road Initiative. However, elites in the country still sometimes find the initiative confusing. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Institute for Global Dialogue, a leading think tank in ...