Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
China Welcomes Arab and Muslim Foreign Ministers for Talks on Ending the War in Gaza
China’s top diplomat met with foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Monday, saying Beijing would work with “our brothers and sisters” in the Arab and Islamic world to try to end the war in Gaza as soon as possible. The ...
Xi, Marcos Try to Salvage Ties Between Their Two Countries in Brief Face-to-Face Meeting
The leaders of China and the Philippines squeezed in a seemingly impromptu 20-minute bilateral meeting at the very end of the APEC Summit in San Francisco on Friday in an effort to defuse steadily escalating tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
China’s Promises of a Green Future Raises More Questions Than Answers
For the climate-minded, this week’s report from the Boston Global Development Policy Center about trends in Chinese energy finance made for sobering reading. Of the $251 billion China Development Bank and China Exim Bank provided for energy projects between 2000 and 2022, ...
Major Implications of Biden-Xi Talks For Global South Countries
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up four hours of bilateral talks on Tuesday on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Francisco. While expectations were extremely low in terms of what these two leaders would accomplish ...
U.S. Lawmakers Weigh Sanctions, Criminal Charges Against Chinese Companies Over Child Cobalt Mining in DR Congo
U.S. legislators are proposing much stricter measures to counter China's dominance of the cobalt supply chain, including sanctions that would restrict the import of any cobalt mined by Chinese companies in the DR Congo. The proposed law by New Jersey ...
Where’s the Green? New Research Raises Doubts About China Investments in Sustainable Energy
At the Belt and Road Forum in October, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech was peppered with the word “green.” He committed China to numerous green initiatives, including “green infrastructure, green energy and green transportation.” The problem is that China’s global energy ...
From Promise to Practice? Analyzing China’s Overseas Energy Finance and Opportunities for a Greener Horizon
By Cecilia Springer As the world grapples with the climate crisis, China's role in financing global energy projects has come under intense scrutiny. And while China has financed significant amounts of fossil fuel energy ...
China Deploys Water Cannon in Latest Spat With Philippines in South China Sea
China-Philippines tensions in the South China Sea have risen yet again, with the China Coast Guard deploying a water cannon against a Filipino vessel en route to supply an outpost in the disputed waters. The escalation further positions the region as ...
Israeli Media Reaction to China’s Stance on the Israel-Hamas War
By Amanda Chen As the Israel Defense Forces’ Operation Iron Swords continues in the Gaza Strip, a month after Hamas’ surprise terror attack on southern Israel on October 7, this edition of the ChinaMed Observer delves into the Israeli media’s response ...
Of Choke Points, Copper Mines and China
By Chris Alden and Alvaro Mendez The Panama Canal has run nearly dry. Or to be more exact, the artificial lake that serves as a staging site for ships coming into the canal from the Pacific Ocean is so depleted after ...
South China Sea Crisis and ASEAN’s Quiet Diplomacy
At the maritime symposium this week in Hainan, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi warned against a “bloc confrontation” approach to solving disputes, alluding to the Philippines, the United States, and Japan’s growing complaints about the brewing tension in the South China Sea. On October 22, two Chinese ...
U.S. Commits Half a Billion Dollars to Sri Lankan Port To Take On China
The United States will lend $553 million for a new deep-water shipping container facility in Sri Lanka’s Port of Colombo. The project will be the largest undertaken by the U.S. foreign development agency, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), as it challenges China’s ...