In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Day: September 25, 2025
Related Posts
WEEK IN REVIEW: China Secures Soybeans from Argentina, Snubs U.S. Exports
Chinese traders are rapidly increasing their orders of Argentinian soybeans, following the country’s temporary suspension of export taxes. Since the tax holiday was announced on Monday, at least twenty ship cargoes (about 1.3 million tons) have been booked. The orders include both crops to be shipped in November ...
Chinese EV Giant Reenters South African Market
The Chinese car company Geely has announced it will return to South Africa, about a decade after it withdrew from the market. It has reportedly secured 35 dealerships around the country, aiming for 40 before its official launch. South Africa’s ...
Spike in Chinese Oil Imports from Indonesia Sparks Iran Rumors
A surge in oil imports from Indonesia to China over the last two months has sparked allegations that China may be importing sanctioned Iranian oil via the Southeast Asian country. Since July, China has imported 2.7 million tons of crude oil ...
China Announces New Climate Goals
China’s President Xi Jinping announced a new set of climate goals at Wednesday’s UN General Assembly meeting. The announcement comes a day after his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, dismissed climate change, calling it the "greatest con job ever perpetrated on ...
China Tests Zimbabwe’s Lithium Ambitions With $400 Million Huayou Cobalt Plant
Chinese mining and battery giant Huayou Cobalt is close to completing a $400 million lithium sulphate processing plant in Zimbabwe, the first of its kind on the continent, underscoring its commitment to supporting the country’s efforts to climb the global battery supply chain.
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Famed ‘Sponge Cities’ Chinese Architect Dead in Brazil Plane Crash
Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian, known for his so-called nature-mimicking "sponge cities," has died in a small plane crash in Brazil with two filmmakers documenting his work, police said Wednesday. The 62-year-old was considered a leading figure in sustainable urban planning; ...
China Leads Influence in Southeast Asia, but Neighbors Come First
China leads the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Influence Index by a point, 65 to 64 over the United States on the latest reading, but the study finds neighbors are more important than any external power, including China. However, Lowy records ...