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Photo Essay: Mounting Health Crisis in Indonesia’s Nickel Mining and Smelting Hub

It begins with a sharp sneeze, followed by a piercing wheeze, a relentless cough, or the struggle to catch a full breath—paired with the sting of irritated eyes. In Lelilef Sawai, a small village nestled beside Weda Bay Industrial Park, a massive hub of nickel downstream processing ...

Sri Lankan President to Meet With Xi During First Visit to China

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will kick off a four-day visit to China on Tuesday, his first there since coming to power last November. Dissanayake is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and will likely hold talks with officials from the China Exim Bank, ...

Vietnam Challenges Thailand as Durian Export Leader Amid China’s Booming Demand

Vietnam’s durian industry is booming, fueled by China’s increasing love for the “King of Fruits.” In 2024, Vietnam’s durian exports hit an impressive $3.3 billion, a staggering almost 8-fold increase from 2022. This rapid growth highlights the country’s strategic ...

Indian PM Opens Strategic Tunnel to China Border Zones

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a strategic Himalayan road tunnel on Monday, pushing all-weather access northwards towards contested high-altitude border zones with rivals China and Pakistan. The Z-Morh or Sonmarg tunnel, stretching 6.4 kilometers beneath a treacherous mountain pass cut ...

China Saw Booming Exports in 2024 as Trump Tariffs Loom

By Peter Catterall China's exports surged to a record high in 2024, providing a much-needed boost for the economy as the prospect of biting tariffs imposed by US president-elect Donald Trump looms. Overseas shipments represented ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

How to Lure Chinese Financing Back to the Global South: Report

Global South countries face increasing financing pressure, endangering their ability to keep developing while also implementing measures to deal with a growing climate crisis. The disruption of global trade is coupled with a larger megatrend: flows of international capital to the developing world have turned negative. This means that countries are now routinely paying more to service loans than they receive in disbursements.

The vast majority of Global South borrowers ...

Indonesia and China Strengthen Defense Ties, Plan Joint Exercises and High-Level Talks

Indonesia and China are deepening their bilateral relationship, with plans for joint military exercises between the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along with a so-called "2 plus 2 Meeting" in Beijing that includes the defense and foreign ministers from both ...

Inside Indonesia’s 2025 Foreign Policy: What’s Shifting Between the Lines and Why It Matters for the World

The world, according to Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono, is facing a critical juncture. In his annual policy statement last Friday, Sugiono described global solidarity as weakening, multilateral institutions as increasingly ineffective, and international law as under threat. ...