Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
New Data Reveals China’s Complex Role in Africa’s Debt Portfolio
China was once Africa's largest bilateral creditor, but now, as many of those loans come due, it's become the continent's largest bilateral collector, according to a new report by the UK-based NGO ONE Data. The so-called "Great Reversal" that ONE Data identified highlights how ...
analysis
Scandal Tests Peru’s China Ties as U.S. Scrutiny Intensifies
By Marco Aquino A scandal surrounding undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman by Peru's acting president has shone an unflattering spotlight on the key copper exporter's ties to China at a moment of heightened U.S. scrutiny of Beijing's footprint in the region. ...
Fearing China Clash, Japan Asks Fishermen to Avoid Flashpoint Islands
By Mariko Katsumura, Tim Kelly, Nobuhiro Kubo and John Geddie Hitoshi Nakama, 76, sees himself as a frontline defender of Japan's claims to disputed islands in the East China Sea, where he regularly evades Chinese coast guard ships to harvest the bountiful waters. ...
The Fraying Story of the “West” and What’s Next
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech in Davos marked a new era in how the West talks about itself. One could say he was the first Global North leader to frame the rules-based international order (RIP) in Global South terms: ...
In 2026 China–India Ties Will Primarily Be Shaped at Home, Not by the U.S.
By Saniya Kulkarni and Lukas Fiala The tentative normalisation of Sino-Indian relations over the last year has sometimes been attributed to President Trump’s heavy-handed approach to trade policy, especially his "liberation day" tariff announcements. Going into 2026, however, it remains the ...
Peruvian President Jose Jeri holds a press conference after facing a congressional oversight committee, amid a scandal over undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman, a case that has intensified scrutiny over his government's transparency and accountability, at the Government Palace, in Lima, Peru, January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Gerardo Marin
By Marco Aquino A scandal surrounding undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman by Peru's acting president has shone an unflattering spotlight on the key copper exporter's ties to China at a moment of heightened U.S. scrutiny of Beijing's footprint in the region. Jose Jeri, who took ...
China and ASEAN Enter a Pivotal Year, With Trade, AI and the South China Sea in Play
As 2026 begins, the China-ASEAN relationship is evolving across several fronts, including trade, Artificial Intelligence, infrastructure development, and South China Sea. With the ASEAN's chairmanship held by the Philippines, the year opens with distinct political and institutional dynamics for the region. ...
China’s Evolving Lending Footprint in Africa: Selective Engagement and Strategic Retooling
By Mengdi Yue and Yiyuan Qi Chinese loans to Africa are down once again, but not out. Boston University Global Development Policy Center’s newly updated Chinese Loans to Africa (CLA) Database shows that, despite a slight rise in 2023, Chinese ...
Photo Essay: How TikTok Turned Jakarta’s Traders and Buskers Into a New Working Class
“Darling, the mahogany denim is on display number six, my love. Please check it out, darling,” Nova shouts energetically. She is a TikTok Live host in central Jakarta's Tanah Abang Block A, standing confidently in front of two smartphones. Dressed in ...
Myth and Misperception: Does China Always Bully Its Neighbors Over Territorial Disputes?
In this edition of M&M, I want to discuss how China handled its territorial disputes with Vietnam. This is an important topic considering China and Vietnam currently have disputes over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, and that they once fought a war over the disputed land border ...
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: EV Manufacturing Funding Grows as Competition Heats up in African Countries
This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service. Chinese partnerships and investments continue to buoy African countries’ automaking profiles and expand the continent’s mobility solutions. ...
Pakistan’s Defense Boom Puts Chinese-Designed Jets on the Global Market
By Saad Sayeed and Ariba Shahid Pakistan's defense manufacturing industry is running red hot since its jets, drones and missiles earned the coveted 'combat tested' tag in a conflict with India last year, attracting a slew of interested buyers.
Kenya Secures Duty-Free Access to China. Its Farmers May Still Struggle to Cash In
There's been a lot of discussion in Kenya over the weekend about how the country can best take advantage of a preliminary trade agreement signed late last week that grants 98.2% of Kenyan exports duty-free access to the Chinese market.
How Is China Viewing U.S. Actions in Venezuela – an Affront, an Opportunity, or a Blueprint?
By Kerry E. Ratigan China’s public response to the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro played out in a fairly predictable way, with condemnation of a “brazen” act of force against a sovereign nation and accusation of Washington acting like a “world ...
Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Targets China, U.S. Oil Firms Could Pay the Price: Bousso
By Ron Bousso President Donald Trump plans to import previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil into the U.S., tearing up the global energy playbook and underscoring the seriousness of the administration’s ambition to dominate the Western Hemisphere.
As Iran Faces Its Gravest Crisis in Decades, China Stays on the Sidelines
China’s relationship with the Middle East is a perennial topic in discussions about China’s role in the Global South, especially at moments of crisis. Now, despite its publicly touted close relationship, as the Islamic Republic faces perhaps the most serious crisis in its 45 year history, including ...
Why Greenland is the New Front in the U.S.–China Resource Rivalry
By Lukas Fiala After a showcase of U.S. military might in Venezuela, the longstanding back-and-forth about a potential U.S. intervention in Greenland continues apace. With President Trump announcing earlier this week that the U.S. would acquire Greenland “one way or ...
Russia, China Unlikely to Back Iran Against U.S. Military Threats
By Fabien Zamora with Ludovic Ehret in Beijing While Russia and China are ready to back protest-rocked Iran under threat by U.S. President Donald Trump, that support would diminish in the face of U.S. military action, experts told AFP.