Day: July 24, 2024
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Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand Secure BRICS Partner Status with China’s Full Support
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand are confirmed to become BRICS partner countries starting January 1, 2025, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov. “One of the important results of the summit was the establishment of the category of BRICS partner countries and ...
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View From Israel: China’s Once Tidy Mideast Policy Now Upended
A few months ago, China looked like it had all its Mideast diplomacy figured out. Israel and the U.S. were taking heavy hits in the court of global public opinion over the devastation caused by the war in Gaza.
Philippines Says To Acquire U.S. Typhon Missile System
The Philippines said Monday it planned to acquire the U.S. Typhon missile system as part of a push to secure its maritime interests, sparking warnings from China of a regional "arms race." The U.S. Army deployed the mid-range missile system in ...
Developing Nations Slam ‘Paltry’ $300 Billion Climate Deal
By Nick Perry, Laurent Thomet and Shaun Tandon The world approved a bitterly negotiated climate deal Sunday, but poorer nations most at the mercy of worsening disasters dismissed a $300 billion a year pledge from wealthy historic polluters as insultingly low. ...
With an Eye on China, U.S. Moves to Ramp up Military Engagements With Fiji
The United States and Fiji have started work on a key agreement that could see American troops ramp up their presence in the Pacific nation, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Saturday. Austin is the first sitting U.S. defense secretary to set ...
Stymied in the West, Chinese EV Brands Look to Expand in Africa
Just over a million new vehicles were sold in Africa last year, a relatively small number given the continent's enormous population, estimated at 1.5 billion. Chinese auto brands are looking at that discrepancy and think it provides a unique opportunity for ...
BRICS Summit Hails Multipolarity, Calls for Global Reforms
The BRICS+ group committed itself to global financial reform and opposing trade barriers at its leaders’ summit in Kazan, Russia. The summit, the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, gathered more than twenty leaders in what is increasingly ...
Indonesia Says Chinese Coast Guard Ship Driven From Disputed Waters
Indonesia said Thursday it drove out a Chinese coast guard vessel from contested waters in the South China Sea twice in recent days, the latest move by a Southeast Asian nation against Beijing's actions in the strategic waterway. Chinese vessels have ...
Xi Tells BRICS Summit World Facing ‘Serious Challenges’
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday told leaders of BRICS emerging economies the world was facing "serious challenges" and urged the group to be a "stabilizing force." Xi was speaking on the final day of the BRICS summit in the Russian ...
East DR Congo Grapples With Chinese Gold Mining Firms
By Camille LAFFONT Italian priest Davide Marcheselli has been fighting for years against Chinese companies illegally mining gold in the town of Kitutu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He says mining has spoilt the ...
Xi, Modi Pledge Cooperation at Historic Meeting
India and China agreed on Wednesday to work towards improving bilateral ties, signaling a potential thaw between the neighbors since clashes between their troops in 2020 over a contested border. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met ...
Key Sources of Contention Between China and India
By Mary Yang, with Bhuvan Bagga in New Delhi China and India are talking again after a years-long freeze, with leaders Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi meeting at a BRICS summit this week and the two sides striking a deal on ...
Putin Touts ‘Multipolar World Order’ at Flagship BRICS Summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday touted the creation of a new "multipolar world order" at the BRICS summit, a gathering of world leaders he hopes will show that Western attempts to isolate Moscow over its Ukraine offensive have failed. The ...
West African Social Media Fizzes With Pro-BRICS Content
By Emilie Beraud et Célia Lebur West African social media is abuzz with posts promoting a "brighter future" in partnership with non-Western powers, especially those belonging to the BRICS emerging economies meeting this week in Russia.
China Insists on ‘No Escalation of Fighting’ in Ukraine, Xi Tells BRICS
China's President Xi Jinping said Wednesday there must be "no escalation of fighting" in Ukraine as he addressed leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies, including his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Around 20 world leaders are gathering in the central ...
Modi and Xi Hold First Bilateral Talks in Five Years
India and China agreed on Wednesday to work towards improving bilateral ties, signaling a potential thaw between the neighbors since clashes between their troops in 2020 over a contested border. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met ...
Xi Pledges to Boost Iran Ties in Talks With Pezeshkian
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to increase ties with Iran during talks with his counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in Russia, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday. The meeting between the two on the sidelines of a BRICS summit was their first ...
Pakistan to Present CPEC Project Wish List to China
Pakistan has compiled a wish list of more than seventy projects for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) development zone. The list will be handed over to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, during a meeting next month, according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development, and ...
China Pledges More BRI Cooperation as Sri Lanka Swears in New Leader
Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president on Monday, after winning a rare second-round election over the weekend. The Marxist-leaning leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People’s Liberation Front) party won on a ticket of economic reconstruction ...
China FM Slams ‘Indiscriminate Attacks’ on Civilians in Talks With Lebanese Counterpart
China's top diplomat Wang Yi expressed support for Lebanon and condemned what he termed "indiscriminate attacks against civilians," Beijing's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Meeting his Lebanese counterpart in New York, Wang said: "We pay close attention to developments in the ...
Pulling China In: The Political Goals and Project Needs Behind Latin America’s Loans From China
By Zara C. Albright Since Latin American countries began borrowing from China’s development finance institutions (DFIs) nearly two decades ago, loans from the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM) have played a significant role in ...
Chinese Cars Make Inroads in Latin America
By Paulina Abramovich with AFP offices in Latin America Chilean truck driver Claudio Perez was dubious about his first purchase of a Chinese-made family car two years ago. But the price and quick delivery time convinced him, and now he is ...
Philippines Says China Shot Flares at Its South China Sea Plane
The Philippine government accused China on Saturday of firing flares at one of its aircraft as it flew patrols over the South China Sea this month. Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway and has been involved in tense maritime confrontations ...
Q&A: Beijing Deal for Post-War Gaza Leaves Analysts Skeptical
By Chloe Rouveyrolles-Bazire and Louis Baudoin-Laarman Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement has agreed with Hamas to form a "national unity government" in post-war Gaza, but analysts are skeptical about the significance of the Beijing-brokered deal. ...
China Brokers Unity Deal Among Palestinian Factions
Rival Palestinian groupings Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement for “national unity” in Beijing. The deal, which includes 12 other Palestinian groups, is aimed at securing Palestinian control over Gaza at the end of the current war with Israel. The announcement on ...
UN chief welcomes China-brokered accord seeking Palestinian unity
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Tuesday an accord brokered by China seeking reconciliation between Hamas and other Palestinian factions to form a national unity government in Gaza. "I think all steps towards unity are to be welcomed and encouraged," his spokesman ...
The Philippines’ Muddled Response to Latest South China Sea Confrontation
Filipino policymakers can't seem to agree on how to describe last week's violent confrontation between the China Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy. Over the weekend, we got word that the Philippine National Maritime Council determined that last Monday's incident was ...
Vietnam Concerned About Surging Tensions in South China Sea, Reaches Out to Manila for Talks
The Vietnamese government called for restraint from China and the Philippines following last week's violent confrontation in the South China Sea. "Vietnam is closely monitoring and deeply concerned about the incident on June 17," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phạm Thu Hằng said on Friday.
Chinese Media Response to Philippines Crisis Blends a Mix of Righteousness, Bravado, and Conspiracy
Last week's violent confrontation between Chinese and Filipino maritime authorities in the South China Sea triggered a furious response in Chinese domestic media, both from official outlets and from ...
Solomons PM to Visit China to ‘Reaffirm’ Ties
The new leader of the Solomon Islands has announced he will visit China to "reaffirm" his commitment to working with Beijing, a relationship viewed with unease in Western capitals. Solomons Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele is heading to China following a week-long ...
Marcos Says Philippines Won’t Be Intimidated Amid China Row
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said Sunday the Philippines "will not be intimidated" by anyone after a violent clash between the Filipino navy and the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea. The confrontation took place Monday off Second Thomas Shoal ...
Myanmar Junta Revives Plans for China-Backed Mega-Dam
Myanmar's junta has revived plans for a $3.6 billion Chinese-backed dam in the north of the country, which was suspended more than ten years ago following huge public opposition. The project to build the 6,000-megawatt Myitsone dam in northern Kachin state ...
Philippines Opens Coast Guard Post After China Build-Up
The Philippines said Friday it had opened a Coast Guard post in the country's far north to boost security following China's "military build-up" near Taiwan over the past two years. The outpost "shall gather essential maritime data and intelligence, enabling the ...
China Warns of Taiwan ‘War’ as Military Drills Encircle Island
By James Edgar with Peter Catterall in Pingtan China said on Friday that Taiwan's leadership was pushing the self-ruled island into war and warned of further "countermeasures", as Beijing conducted military drills around the territory. ...
Biden Woos Kenya’s Ruto With Major Ally Status on State Visit
By Danny Kemp A diplomatic upgrade and a surprise appearance by Barack Obama: U.S. President Joe Biden pulled out the stops as he hosted Kenyan counterpart William Ruto for a lavish state visit aimed at competing with Russia and China for ...
Illegal Chinese Timber Trade Fuels Insurgency in Mozambique
Officially, Mozambique bans the export of raw timber in an effort to protect what's left of the country's rapidly shrinking forests. But whatever laws are in place are largely disregarded as more than 500,000 tons of timber leave the country each ...
China’s Naval Diplomacy Comeback
By Lukas Fiala Earlier this week, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, Chief of the South African Navy, met with China’s Defense Minister, Admiral Dong Jun 董军 in Beijing. For PLA analysts, the visit may come as no surprise, given the PLA’s ...
Philippines Takes Delivery of Medium-Range Indian Supersonic Missiles as Both Countries Seek to Send a Message to China
The Philippine Marines are now installing four new missile batteries that arrived from India over the past few days to alter the equation in Manila's increasingly contentious duel with Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The delivery of BrahMos ...
Malaysia Sells a Lot More Oil (Mostly to China) Than It Produces
Iran sold just $1.2 billion worth of goods to China in the first quarter of the year, according to new China Customs data released this week. That figure, though, is wholly misleading since it does not align with the news that
Anger Erupts in Nigeria Over Chinese Supermarket’s Alleged Discrimination Against Local Customers
Nigerian consumer protection authorities shuttered a Chinese supermarket in the capital Abuja in response to a video that went viral over the weekend. The video seemingly shows the store refusing entry to Black customers. The Royal Choice supermarket is located inside the ...
Chinese Press Dismisses Blinken’s Africa Tour
The reaction in China to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Nigeria, and Angola has been relatively muted. The trip is likely seen as sensitive, which means that commentary is mostly appearing in the foreign policy-facing press.
Frantic Attempts to Rescue Seven Workers Trapped in Chinese Mine in Zambia
Zambian authorities are rushing to pump water and mud from a Chinese-owned mine in time to rescue five Zambian and two Chinese workers trapped underground. The workers were caught by an inrush of water on Monday at the Macrolink mine, about ...
China in Damage-Control Mode in Pakistan
Sun Weidong, China’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, had a high-profile meeting in Pakistan, days after tit-for-tat airstrikes between the South Asian country and Iran killed at least twelve people. The ostensible reason for Sun’s visit was to improve cooperation around the ...
German President in Vietnam to Lessen Dependence on China
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is in Vietnam with a delegation of business executives. While Germany is already heavily invested in the Southeast Asian country, the visit feeds into Berlin’s larger mission to “de-risk” its relationship with China. Steinmeier will discuss investment deals ...
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 ...
Q&A: Beijing Deal for Post-War Gaza Leaves Analysts Skeptical
By Chloe Rouveyrolles-Bazire and Louis Baudoin-Laarman Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement has agreed with Hamas to form a "national unity government" in post-war Gaza, but analysts are skeptical about the significance of the Beijing-brokered deal. ...
China Brokers Unity Deal Among Palestinian Factions
Rival Palestinian groupings Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement for “national unity” in Beijing. The deal, which includes 12 other Palestinian groups, is aimed at securing Palestinian control over Gaza at the end of the current war with Israel. The announcement on ...
UN chief welcomes China-brokered accord seeking Palestinian unity
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Tuesday an accord brokered by China seeking reconciliation between Hamas and other Palestinian factions to form a national unity government in Gaza. "I think all steps towards unity are to be welcomed and encouraged," his spokesman ...