Day: December 20, 2023
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5 Most Important China Stories of 2023 in Southeast Asia’s Climate Landscape
With the overwhelming war in Gaza and the return of rising COVID-19 cases around the world, as we end the year, it’s easy to lose track of other defining events in the past twelve months. From China’s river diplomacy in Mekong ...
Related Posts
China Doesn’t Join U.S.-Led Red Sea Force
The United States announced it will coordinate joint patrols with allies to guard commercial ships in the Red Sea as the region comes under repeated attacks from Yemeni Houthi militias. China did not join the coalition, named Operation Prosperity Guardian. It includes the EU, NATO, Japan, and ...
Marcos Says ‘We Have to Do Something We Have Not Done Before’ to Deal With China
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sparked a flurry of speculation over seemingly unprecedented comments he made regarding confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea. In a recent interview with Japanese media, Marcos said traditional diplomacy with China had failed ...
Prominent Scholar Warns That Philippine South China Sea ‘Provocations’ Are Undermining China-ASEAN Ties
A respected Chinese scholar has given insight into official thinking on the impact Beijing’s maritime conflicts with the Philippines are having on China-ASEAN relations. Philippine “provocations” in the South China Sea are undermining cooperation between China and ASEAN and could have ...
Kenya Launches Construction on New Chinese Rail Project
Kenyan President William Ruto officially inaugurated construction on a new meter-gauge light rail line on Friday. The 12.5-kilometer project will connect with existing lines to link the Nairobi neighborhoods of Riruta and Ngong. It is being built by China Road and Bridge ...
Biden’s Economic Plan to Counter China’s Surging Economic Influence in Asia is Now at Death’s Door
U.S. President Joe Biden did his very best last week to put a brave face on during the family photo with other members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Washington's latest effort to challenge China's growing economic dominance in the region. ...
Why There’s Good Reason to be Skeptical About Mexican, Chinese Promises to Curtail Fentanyl Flows Into U.S.
U.S. President Joe Biden called on the Presidents of Mexico and China to help stem the importation of the synthetic drug fentanyl that has killed tens of thousands in the U.S. over the past several years. The issue was also raised ...
Xi, Marcos Try to Salvage Ties Between Their Two Countries in Brief Face-to-Face Meeting
The leaders of China and the Philippines squeezed in a seemingly impromptu 20-minute bilateral meeting at the very end of the APEC Summit in San Francisco on Friday in an effort to defuse steadily escalating tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Huawei Expands Digital Power Products With New Distribution Deal in East Africa
The Chinese technology giant Huawei, once known only for phones and switches, is now pivoting quickly in East Africa to expand beyond telecommunications to new energy storage services in a new, rapidly expanding market. Huawei signed a distribution deal last ...
Meet the Chinese VP Who is Fast Becoming a Major Player in Beijing’s Diplomacy
The role of a Chinese vice president, like their U.S. counterpart, has largely been ceremonial, particularly in the diplomatic sphere where the Director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and the Foreign Minister (now a combined role) have traditionally been the most prominent envoys. ...
Africa’s Strong Presence at China’s Belt & Road Forum
Five of the 24 heads of state who attended this week's Belt and Road Forum in Beijing were from African countries, highlighting the prominent role the continent played at the event. Many of the themes ...
Can’t Be Ambiguous and Mediate: The Limits of China’s Involvement in Israel-Palestine
By Felix Brender 王哲謙 and Lukas Fiala Invigorated by having kicked the Saudi-Iranian deal over the finish line earlier this year, China had initially tried to appear neutral and present itself as a potential mediator in the most recent escalation in violence between Israelis ...
China’s Belt & Road Checks May Get Smaller, But Indonesia Can Still Get Plenty
After complaints surrounding debt and environmental woes, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is finally changing. At the Belt and Road Forum this week, China announced that the BRI will now be “Small but Smart”, aiming to fund smaller-sized projects that are greener. ...
Syrian President Assad Heads to Beijing as China Ramps Up Mideast Diplomacy
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will arrive in China on Thursday ahead of a landmark summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Assad's visit kicks off a new round of Chinese diplomacy focused on the Mideast in the weeks ahead that will also ...
Kuwait’s Crown Prince Heads to China
Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah left for China on Wednesday for an official visit that will likely include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (the Foreign Ministry has to confirm whether it will happen). The focus of the ...
BRI Isn’t Intended to Undermine the West, Says China’s EU Ambassador
Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, challenged the widely-held perception in Brussels and other Western capitals that the Belt and Road Initiative aims to undermine U.S. and European influence around the world. If that was the ...
Republican Lawmakers in the U.S. Propose Yet Another Strategy to Challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Three Republican legislators in the United States feel enough isn't being done to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative and want the State Department to come up with yet another plan to blunt Beijing's "debt-trap diplomacy disguised as infrastructure development" in developing countries.
Prominent Chinese Professor Explains Why the U.S., Not China is Actually to Blame for Global South Debt Distress
One of China's foremost scholars on international debt says accusations that Beijing engages in predatory lending, or "debt trap diplomacy" do not align with the facts -- and that it's actually the U.S., or more precisely the U.S. dollar, that's really to blame.
China’s Two-Pronged Auto Export Strategy: EVs to the North, Gas-Powered to the South
Analysts are forecasting Chinese automakers will ship 5 million vehicles this year, solidifying the country's position as the world's largest auto exporter. But there's a stark discrepancy in terms of what kind of cars go where, according to Michael Dunne, one ...
Chinese Flag Mysteriously Appears at Protest in Niger
Russian flags have become a regular sight among supporters of military juntas that have thrown governments across West Africa this year -- but never a Chinese flag, until now. A bright red five-star Chinese flag mysteriously appeared at a protest in ...
Communist Party of China Plans Arab Outreach
The Communist Party of China wants to sharply increase its coordination with Arab countries. This was a key takeaway from the mid-July's fourth China-Arab States Political Parties Dialogue, which brought CPC officials together with delegates from 67 political parties from across the Arab world. ...
Chart of the Day: Why Are China’s Exports to Central Asia Growing So Rapidly?
China's trade with its Central Asian neighbors is booming. While countries like Kazakhstan export a lot of oil to China, Chinese exports to the region have jumped significantly. China's exports to Central Asia stand at $16.6 billion this year, up 62% from ...
New Philippine Military Head Signals China Focus
The Philippine government announced that its new military chief will be Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the former head of its army. Brawner’s appointment seems to strengthen the Marcos administration’s hardening towards China in relation to territorial disputes in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea. ...
Why the G7’s Energy Offer to the Global South Could Backfire
2023 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded human history. The summer’s record heat waves, fires, and floods come as attempts by U.S. and Chinese lawmakers to restart talks about climate cooperation seem to be foundering on geopolitics. The ...
Are the BRICS a Bloc? A Group? A Threat? It All Depends on Where You Sit.
If you haven't watched Netflix’s popular TV show, the Diplomat, do not worry. In 2023, international diplomacy in the real world seems more thrilling and dramatic. With the approaching of this year’s BRICS (i.e., Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Russia) Summit to be held in Johannesburg, ...
Q&A: China’s Transsion’s Little-Known Phone Repair Business Thrives in Global South, Offers Clues To Sustainable Hardware Services
Carlcare, a post-sales repair service provider, is a little-known unit of Transsion Holdings, a Chinese maker of mobile phones beloved across Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Like its parent company, Carlcare’s business is thriving in developing countries thanks to its adept localizing; in this case, tapping into ...
China Raises the (Already Sky-High) Stakes at This Week’s Summit for A New Global Financing Pact
The Global South faces dual existential crises: speeding up development to match growing population rates while trying not to become climate roadkill. Both are worsened by a broken international development financing system increasingly hijacked by geopolitics. This week’s Summit for a New ...
Map of the Day: Why China’s Economic Clout in the Indian Ocean Will Be Hard to Beat
The Indian Ocean region is home to some of the world’s most important trade routes. It is also rife with choke points and conflict zones that put the region at the center of global geopolitical competition between China, the U.S. and other powers like India.
Unpacking the CMOC Deal: What Do We Know So Far?
The newly-announced deal between the Chinese mining giant CMOC and the DRC’s state mining company Gécamines is raising many questions. We asked our Francophone editor Christian-Géraud Neema, who is also an expert on DRC mining, to clue us in: WHAT DO ...
Zambia’s Creditors to Reconvene in May, Amid Growing Global Debt Concern
Bloomberg reports that Zambia’s official creditor committee, which is co-led by China, has reportedly made progress in meetings this week, which will lead to them reconvening for a follow-up session next month. The next meeting could see them signing a memorandum ...
China’s Newest Talking Point on Debt: The U.S. Dollar is to Blame
As China faces increasing criticism around perceptions that it is holding up debt relief processes, its state media seems to be trying out new talking points in its messaging on the issue to Global South audiences, as seen in a recent article in the state-owned tabloid Global Times: ...
China-Gabon Relations Upgraded
China and Gabon's relationship has been upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, the main takeaway from President Ali Bongo Ondimba's state visit to Beijing. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The elevation of the relationship to a strategic level might worry the United States ...
Namibia Partners With Chinese Company to Build 50MW Wind Power Plant
Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) has signed power purchase and transmission connection agreements for the development of a 50MW wind power project in Lüderitz, southwestern Namibia. CERIM Lüderitz Energy, a joint venture between Riminii Investments and Energy China, will undertake the ...
Chinese Company Targets Zimbabwe’s Solar Power Generation Amidst Crippling Blackouts
The China Energy Engineering Corp. has propositioned the Zimbabwean government for the construction of a 1,000-megawatt (MW) floating solar plant on the Kariba dam along the Zambezi River. At nearly $1 billion, the project will be on the world’s largest man-made ...
China Urges All of Its People in Central African Republic to Remain in Place Following Attack That Killed 9
Unknown gunmen launched a pre-dawn raid early Sunday morning on a newly-opened Chinese-operated mine near the Central African Republic (CAR) capital of Bangui, killing 9 Chinese nationals and injuring two others. It's not clear at this time who is responsible and ...
IMF Head Kristalina Georgieva Will Go to Beijing in Bid to Break Debt Relief Impasse With China
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kirstalina Georgieva will travel to China at the end of this week for a visit that will be closely watched by finance ministries throughout the Global South. The primary purpose of Georgieva's trip is to deliver keynote ...
Taiwan’s Next Challenge in the Americas: Paraguay
U.S. President Joe Biden dispatched his special envoy for the Americas, former senator Chris Dodd, to Honduras this weekend to convey the White House's displeasure with the government's decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. Dodd will also visit Panama ...
Taiwan’s Next Challenge in the Americas: Paraguay
A delegation of lawmakers from Paraguay arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for what will be a critical test for Taipei to hold on to one of its last remaining diplomatic allies. Last September, President Mario Abdo Benítez said it would cost Taipei ...
Three U.S. Regional Military Commanders Lay Out Their View of the China Challenge in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
Three of the U.S. military's regional theater commanders for Asia, Africa and the Middle East spoke publicly last week in testimony and speeches that highlighted how the Pentagon now sees China as its top global challenge. The top commander of U.S. ...
China’s 3 Priorities in Africa According to the Top U.S. Military Commander for the Region
United States Marine Corps General Michael Langley made his first appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee as the top commander for U.S. forces in Africa or AFRICOM. Langley replaced Army General Stephen J. Townsend last year, who played a critical ...
IMF Considers Circumventing China for Sri Lanka’s Emergency Debt Relief
The International Monetary Fund may have found a way to unblock the impasse with China that's blocked Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion emergency financial package. The IMF, according to Bloomberg, is actively considering invoking a rarely used policy that allows the fund to issue ...
Chinese Embassy in DR Congo Dismisses State Auditor Report That Demands $17 Billion in Additional Infrastructure
The Chinese embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo blasted a report published late last week by the state auditor in Kinshasa that called for an additional $17 billion of infrastructure as part of a 2008 infrastructure-for-minerals deal. In its report, the General ...
China Resumes High-Level Diplomatic Visits to Africa
Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan met late last week with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a brief visit to Cape Town. Sun's visit comes one month after Foreign Minister Qin Gang did a five-nation tour and marks a return to ...
South Africa Begins Controversial Naval Exercises With Russia and China
The South African navy kicked off ten days of drills in the Indian Ocean on Friday with visiting warships from Russia and China. The naval exercises, known as Operation Mosi II, have sparked considerable outrage among civil society groups and opposition ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on an 11-Day, Three-Nation Tour of Africa
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will leave Tuesday on an 11-day, three-nation tour of Africa that Biden administration officials say is intended to rejuvenate ties on the continent and counter Chinese influence. Yellen will visit South Africa, Senegal, and Zambia, where debt issues are expected to feature prominently on ...
A Taliban security personnel operating an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between the two countries. Photo by AIMAL ZAHIR / AFP
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared "open war" against Afghanistan on Friday amid a surge of fighting between the two South Asian neighbors. Pakistan said it's retaliating against Afghanistan for a series of attacks, including a suicide bombing in early February that killed at least 36 people ...
5 Most Important China Stories of 2023 in Southeast Asia’s Climate Landscape
With the overwhelming war in Gaza and the return of rising COVID-19 cases around the world, as we end the year, it’s easy to lose track of other defining events in the past twelve months. From China’s river diplomacy in Mekong ...
China Doesn’t Join U.S.-Led Red Sea Force
The United States announced it will coordinate joint patrols with allies to guard commercial ships in the Red Sea as the region comes under repeated attacks from Yemeni Houthi militias. China did not join the coalition, named Operation Prosperity Guardian. It includes the EU, NATO, Japan, and ...
Marcos Says ‘We Have to Do Something We Have Not Done Before’ to Deal With China
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sparked a flurry of speculation over seemingly unprecedented comments he made regarding confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea. In a recent interview with Japanese media, Marcos said traditional diplomacy with China had failed ...
Prominent Scholar Warns That Philippine South China Sea ‘Provocations’ Are Undermining China-ASEAN Ties
A respected Chinese scholar has given insight into official thinking on the impact Beijing’s maritime conflicts with the Philippines are having on China-ASEAN relations. Philippine “provocations” in the South China Sea are undermining cooperation between China and ASEAN and could have ...
Kenya Launches Construction on New Chinese Rail Project
Kenyan President William Ruto officially inaugurated construction on a new meter-gauge light rail line on Friday. The 12.5-kilometer project will connect with existing lines to link the Nairobi neighborhoods of Riruta and Ngong. It is being built by China Road and Bridge ...