Month: February 2025
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India Plans Mega-Dam to Counter China Water Fears
By Arunabh Saikia On a football field ringed by misty mountains, the air rang with fiery speeches as tribesmen protested a planned mega-dam -- India's latest move in its contest with China over Himalayan water. ...
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China’s Play for Global Governance Leadership
In the weeks since Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the new Global Governance Initiative (GGI) during a speech at the SCO summit in Tianjin, Beijing's propaganda apparatus has been working overtime to build support for the new plan, particularly in Africa, ...
Congo Uses Cobalt Export Limits to Force Processing Deals With Chinese Miners
The Democratic Republic of Congo appears determined to leverage its negotiating power with Chinese and other mining companies to secure major concessions on local cobalt processing. That was the signal sent by Congolese Mines Minister Louis Watum, who said — according ...
Critical Minerals Weekly Digest: Strategic Shifts and the New Critical Minerals Landscape
This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Introduction This week’s developments signal a turning point in global ...
Iranian Experts Debate the Future of the Iran-China Relationship After the Twelve-Day War
By Theo Nencini and Veronica Turrini The Israel–Iran conflict of June 13–24, 2025 – christened the “Twelve-Day War” by U.S. President Donald Trump following his precariously brokered truce – represented the culmination of a protracted, multidimensional, and steadily escalating confrontation between Tel Aviv ...
By Lukas Fiala U.S. President Donald Trump’s page turner of a speech at the UN General Assembly this week was many things, but certainly no homage to the United Nations. Exhibiting the president’s well-known skepticism of multilateralism and rejection of globalism, Washington once more demonstrated ...
TikTok to Invest $8.8 Billion in Thailand Over Five Years
TikTok plans to invest $8.8 billion in Thailand over the next five years, focusing on digital infrastructure, workforce development and online safety initiatives, a senior executive said Friday after talks with the government. The social media platform owned by China's ByteDance ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: DR Congo Halts Cobalt Exports to Boost Prices
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Politburo and State Council officials to remain calm in the face of international and domestic pressure. China “must enhance its political capabilities and calmly respond to challenges brought about by changes in the domestic and international situation,” he was quoted by Xinhua. The ...
Tracking China’s Dominance of the Transition Minerals Trade
U.S. and European leaders often talk about the importance of building China-free supply chains for transition minerals and other critical resources. While, for a lot of people, that may resonate among their constituents at home, the reality is that it's not ...
China Unapologetic After Live Firing Drills off Australian Coast
Beijing's ambassador to Canberra said Friday he would not apologize for surprise Chinese naval drills near Australia that forced dozens of commercial flights to change course. Some 49 flights were forced to divert last week when three Chinese warships announced live firing ...
China’s Role in Southeast Asia’s Latest Scam Center Crackdown
China, Thailand, and Myanmar last week ramped up efforts to curb cyber scams on the Thai-Myanmar border, working to free the foreign workers inside. AFP examines why the crackdown is occurring now and its broader implications for relations between the three ...
China Appears to Confirm Uyghur Deportations From Thailand
By Matthew Walsh China appeared to confirm on Thursday that dozens of Uyghurs had been deported from Thailand, despite warnings from human rights groups that they face persecution on their return. Beijing is accused of ...
Thailand Deports Dozens of Uyghurs to China
By Thanaporn Promyamyai with Matthew Walsh in Beijing Thailand deported dozens of Uyghurs to China on Thursday despite warnings from human rights groups that they would face persecution on their return, drawing swift condemnation from the United Nations. ...
South Africa Faces Diplomatic Dilemma Under U.S. Pressure and China Loyalties
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is under growing pressure from Washington to sever ties with Iran, Russia, and China, potentially threatening Pretoria’s role in groups like the BRICS and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Despite tensions, Ramaphosa downplayed the ...
Indonesia’s Nickel Sector in Turmoil: Acquisition Proposal Amid Chinese Investor Bankruptcy Saga
Trouble seems to be brewing in Indonesia’s nickel sector. One of the nation’s primary nickel smelters, PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), is in an unprecedented crisis. Its troubles are deepened by its ties to a faltering Chinese parent company.
Is Europe Facing a “Lost Decade” Across the Global South?
By Lukas Fiala With Europe scrambling to adjust to a world in rapid transition, two key events will shape the continent’s ability to sustain competition with China across the Global South. The first was exemplified by Germany’s election last Sunday, which ...
Q&A: China Is Not Replacing the U.S. in the Middle East, Says Beijing’s Envoy to Israel
In the fall of 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to travel to Beijing for what was expected to be an upbeat meeting with President Xi Jinping on October 20th. Of course, Netanyahu never made that trip due to the attack by Hamas terrorists ...
AIIB to Finance Construction of Longest Bridge in Central Asia
A Chinese company will help construct a road bridge in Tajikistan set to become Central Asia's longest, an official said Wednesday, as Beijing expands its influence in the ex-Soviet region. The bridge across the Surkhob river in central Tajikistan will be ...