Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Running Into BRICS Walls: Enlargement Won’t Help BRICS Establish a New World Order
By Felix Brender 王哲謙 The BRICS bloc’s announcement to open its doors to new members has triggered considerable coverage and commentary suggesting the BRICS are setting themselves up to establish a new global order as an alternative to Western dominance, economic woes across ...
Philippine Fishing Fleets Urged to Maintain Presence at Disputed Shoal as Tensions Build
The Philippine coastguard called on its country’s fishing fleets to keep operating around the Scarborough Shoal (known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Dao in China) despite the large Chinese presence in the disputed South China Sea area. Coastguard ...
Kenyan Farmers Watch as Chinese Garlic Slowly Claims Market
Significant imports from China are meant to meet the shortfall since Kenyan farmers produce only 2,000 metric tonnes which only meets 50 to 60% of local needs. The rest is supplemented by imports from Rwanda and Tanzania.
China’s Wuling Electrifies Indonesia’s EV Market, but Can the Spark Last?
Chinese electric vehicle maker Wuling is reaping what it sowed almost eight years ago in Indonesia — the largest and most lucrative auto market in Southeast Asia. After injecting a billion U.S. dollar investment over that period, Wuling has now sold over 10,000 Air EVs and ...
Philippines Leverages Media in Its Asymmetric Territorial Confrontation With China
When Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) ships pulled up on Tuesday to the 300-meter barrier that China laid near a fiercely contested shoal in the South China Sea, four Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels hovered nearby but didn't intervene. "They were ...
Philippine Coastguard Removes Chinese South China Sea Barrier
The Philippine coastguard successfully removed a 300-meter floating barrier placed by the Chinese coastguard to bar access to the South China Sea’s Scarborough Shoal. This follows an outcry in Manila during the weekend when images emerged of the barrier and Chinese coastguard patrols ...
Mangrove Conservation Can Protect Thailand From Sino-Thai BRI’s Ecological Impacts
Sino-Thai economic cooperation has been expanding in the last decade, propelled by the nation’s ambition to boost economic growth and by China’s Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) projects. However, the model has been known for continuous building without paying much attention to the coastal ecosystems, including mangroves. The condition ...
Xi Jinping Wraps Another Weekend of Rapid-Fire Diplomacy With Leaders From Asia and the Middle East
President Xi Jinping concluded a three-day sprint of back-to-back summits this weekend with leaders from Asia and the Middle East in what's become the new norm for Chinese presidential diplomacy. Before the pandemic, Xi was China's most well-traveled leader in the ...
Unpacking Han Zheng’s Messaging to the Global South at the UN General Assembly
China’s Vice President Han Zheng addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Along with retreads of established Chinese positions on Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, his comments also provided interesting clues about China’s messaging to the Global South. First, he called on the ...
Tart Response in Beijing to India-Canada Dispute
China’s state-owned Global Times newspaper said the brewing conflict between India and Canada about the possible involvement of Indian actors in the assassination of a Sikh leader in British Columbia reveals “the vulnerability of the so-called value-based alliance system led by the US.”
West’s Delays in Financing Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Provides New Opening for China
Indonesia decided last month to delay launching an investment plan for the $20 billion Western-sponsored climate funding, known as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This delay shows us several things. First, the problematic nature of how our leaders are handling the issue of energy transition, and ...
Syrian President Assad Heads to Beijing as China Ramps Up Mideast Diplomacy
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will arrive in China on Thursday ahead of a landmark summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Assad's visit kicks off a new round of Chinese diplomacy focused on the Mideast in the weeks ahead that will also ...