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At African Studies Gathering, Critiques of China Grow Louder… And More African

By Felix Brender 王哲謙 Some of North America’s (and perhaps the world’s) leading Africanists gathered last week in Atlanta for the African Studies Association’s Annual Meeting. As ever, China loomed large on the agenda. What was new, however, was not ...

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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 ...

China Presses Malaysia and Cambodia Over US Trade Deals

China has asked Malaysia and Cambodia to explain the trade agreements they signed with the United States in October, issuing rare public complaints that the deals require the two Southeast Asian governments to adopt American security-related trade measures. China’s Ministry ...

China’s Nickel-Free EV Batteries Hit Indonesia’s Nickel Plan: New Report

China’s shift toward nickel-free EV batteries is complicating Indonesia’s effort to turn its huge nickel reserves into the backbone of a domestic EV industry, according to a new report that says the shift is reshaping one of the world’s most important mineral sectors. ...

Japan Denies Report That Trump Told PM Not to Provoke China on Taiwan

Japan denied on Thursday a Wall Street Journal report that said U.S. President Donald Trump had advised Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not to provoke China over Taiwan's sovereignty. The row between Asia's two biggest economies began after Takaichi suggested this month ...

Three Chinese Citizens Killed in Tajik-Afghan Border Clash

Three Chinese workers in Tajikistan were killed in an attack launched from Afghanistan near the border, Tajik authorities said Thursday. Tajikistan has strained relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan and several border clashes have broken out in recent months.