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China-Central Asia Weekly News: Managing Friction, Sanctions, and Local Benefits

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in 2026. Chinese engagement in Central Asia is facing several friction points that highlight the social and geopolitical complexities behind its ...

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Alleged Abuses at Chinese-Invested Nickel Plant Expose Indonesia’s Weak Labor Oversight

Last month, LBH Makassar, a legal-aid organization in eastern Indonesia that represents workers and low-income communities, delivered an open letter to the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta. The letter describes serious labor violations at PT Huadi Nickel Alloy Indonesia, a Chinese-invested nickel smelter operating in Bantaeng, a ...

Navigating the Second China Shock

Like climate change or runaway AI risks, China’s swelling manufacturing capacity is a global challenge faced by middle and high-income economies alike. Trade tensions already dominate EU-China relations, and concerns over China’s manufacturing capacity are rising across the Global South. In ...
Alleged Abuses at Chinese-Invested Nickel Plant Expose Indonesia’s Weak Labor Oversight
Indonesian workers of PT. Huadi Nickel Alloy in Bantaeng Industrial Park (KIBA), South Sulawesi protesting about labor conditions at the smelter on July 16, 2025. Image via @PCFSGlobal.
Last month, LBH Makassar, a legal-aid organization in eastern Indonesia that represents workers and low-income communities, delivered an open letter to the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta. The letter describes serious labor violations at PT Huadi Nickel Alloy Indonesia, a Chinese-invested nickel smelter operating in Bantaeng, a coastal district in South ...

Saudi Minister Leads High-Level Investment Delegation to China

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih, is in Beijing with a high-powered delegation to discuss new trade and investment cooperation. China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, and Chinese foreign direct investment by stock increased 28.8% last year, while investment inflows jumped by 164%. ...

China-Central Asia Weekly Digest: China Brings E-Commerce, EVs & Health Closer to Consumers

This is a free preview of the upcoming China-Central Asia Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in late 2025. This week's developments demonstrate China's expansion into consumer-facing sectors across Central Asia, moving beyond infrastructure projects into direct ...

China Rejects U.S. Commander’s Comments on South American Influence

On Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry rejected comments by the head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, that China is exporting authoritarianism to the region. Navy Admiral Alvin Holsley visited Argentina last week for the South American Defense Conference, ...

Indonesia Mulls Joint Patrol with Vietnam in South China Sea

Indonesia said it is weighing the possibility of carrying out coordinated coast-guard patrols with Vietnam in parts of the South China Sea also claimed by China, signaling closer maritime cooperation between the two Southeast Asian neighbors while risking friction with Beijing. ...

Xi Says China, Russia Ties ‘Most Stable’ in Turbulent World

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China's ties with Russia are the "most stable, mature and strategically significant" among major world powers, state media reported. During a meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's Duma, or lower house of parliament, ...

China Says ‘Shocked’ by Israel Strike on Gaza Hospital

China said on Tuesday it was "shocked" by an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital in which five journalists were among at least 20 people killed. "We are shocked and condemn the fact that medical personnel and journalists have once again ...

Stop Calling the Lobito Corridor a U.S. Gambit Against China

There’s a lazy but geopolitically irresistible allure in branding Angola’s Lobito Corridor as a U.S. bid to blunt China’s influence in Africa and the region’s mineral supply chains. I get why the framing sticks: it’s neat, dramatic, and easy to sell. ...

U.S. Bids to Trump China in DR Congo Mining Rush

The United States wants to secure its supply of strategic minerals in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping to challenge China's near-monopoly on the lucrative sector. While the strategy has been in the works for years, Washington has doubled down on ...

China’s Belt and Road Recalibration: Why Kazakhstan is the New Metals Frontier

Despite widespread expectations that China’s engagement with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries would slow, recent data tells a different story. According to a new report from the Griffith Asia Institute, Chinese involvement in the 150 BRI countries surged in the first half of 2025, reaching ...

Bolivia Candidate Vows to Scrap China, Russia Lithium Deals

By José Arturo Cárdenas and Gonzalo Torrico Bolivian right-wing presidential hopeful Jorge Quiroga on Monday vowed to scrap billion-dollar lithium extraction deals struck by the outgoing government with Russia and China if elected leader. "We ...

China’s Delivery Titans Export Their Ugliest Rivalry to Brazil

Two of China’s biggest delivery giants are exporting not just their business models but also their worst habits. In Brazil, Didi’s 99Food and Meituan’s Keeta have turned a promising overseas expansion into a spectacle of lawsuits, exclusivity deals, and copycat branding so absurd that instead of toppling ...