Related Posts

U.S. Designation of Baloch Militants Deals Blow to India, Secures Chinese Projects in Pakistan, Chinese Commentator Says

On August 11, the U.S. State Department announced it was designating the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its armed wing, the Majeed Brigade, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) effective immediately, while also listing the Majeed Brigade as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group (SDGT). ...

How Pandemic Controls Still Shape Trade and Migration in a China–Myanmar Border City

A deeply reported story published on a WeChat public account specializing in literary reporting examines how pandemic-era border control policies in Ruili, once China’s busiest land port with Myanmar, have outlasted COVID-19 and devastated the city’s once-thriving jade trade while restricting the movement of cross-border migrant ...

Marcos Says Philippines Would Be Dragged ‘Kicking and Screaming’ Into Taiwan War

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos warned Monday that his country would be dragged "kicking and screaming" into any war over Taiwan, but must prepare for it. China considers self-ruled Taiwan, Manila's closest neighbor to the north, to be part of its territory ...

Murder of Chinese Farm Owner in Zambia Shocks Nation, Sparks Unprecedented Outcry in China

In what has become one of the most widely followed cases of a Chinese citizen murdered in Africa to date, the killing of 57-year-old Chinese farm owner Ms. Shi in Zambia has sparked nationwide outrage and soul-searching across China. Unlike previous cases that circulated mainly within ...

Tariffed by the U.S., Shunned by China: India–Philippines Naval Drill Sparks Nationalist Glee on Chinese Social Media

As India and the Philippines held their first-ever joint naval exercise in the South China Sea on August 3–4, Chinese social media lit up not with surprise, but with sarcasm. The timing was key: both countries had just been hit with punishing U.S. tariffs. ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

A Rosy Road Ahead? Chinese Documentary on EVs in Thailand Arrives as Doubts Mount

Framed like a hopeful road trip into Thailand’s EV future, Auto Roam is a glossy branded documentary by Chinese automotive media Autohome, following a diverse cast of local EV adopters to portray how Chinese electric vehicles are reshaping everyday life in Thailand. Slick, upbeat, and unmistakably ...

Why Milk Sank the Deal: A Chinese Scholar Explains the Cultural Clash Behind the U.S.–India Trade Breakdown

A Chinese scholar argues that the sacred status of milk in India was a key reason the U.S.–India tariff negotiations fell apart. In India, milk is not just food but a symbol of purity and divinity, deeply tied to Hindu rituals and identity. According to Wang ...

Chinese Commentators Cheer Over Iran Ditches GPS for Beidou

In a move hailed by Chinese media as a geopolitical turning point, Iran has announced plans to gradually replace the U.S.-controlled GPS system with China’s Beidou satellite navigation network. The decision, revealed in mid-July by Iran’s Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology, is being framed in ...

“1001 Days of Pouring Concrete in Africa”: A Chinese Engineer’s Memoir Sparks Debate Online

A recently published memoir titled 《在非洲打灰的1001天:一个现代化的故事》 (“1001 Days of Pouring Concrete in Africa: A Modernization Story”) has ignited widespread discussion on Chinese social media.  The author, Cao Fengze, holds a PhD in civil engineering from Tsinghua University and previously served ...

“Civil War of Chinese Weapons?” Thai-Cambodian Clash Exposes a Regional Divide in Military Modernization

A military-focused WeChat public account recently published a detailed post analyzing the border skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia, which has since reportedly ended with a ceasefire agreement. But the post drew attention as it struck a nerve by asking: “Has the Thailand-Cambodia conflict turned into a ...

From Dali to Kathmandu: Why Burned-Out Chinese Millennials Are Fleeing to Nepal for a Better Chill

As burnout reaches critical levels among China’s young professionals, a new wave of job-quitters is quietly shifting their escape route. Once drawn to the artsy idyll of Dali in Yunnan, many have now set their sights on Nepal, where the pace is slower, the costs are lower, ...

Popular Chinese Commentator Deflects Dam Criticism by Turning the Lens on India and the West

As China forges ahead with construction on what may become the world’s largest hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Chinese state-linked voices are mounting a vigorous defense against Indian and Western skepticism. In a recent commentary, former Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin pushes back against ...
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