In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: China- ASEASN
China Pushes ASEAN to Sign FTA Upgrade as U.S. Tariffs Bite
China is pushing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, to sign its China ASEAN FTA upgrade before the end of the year, Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong said on Monday, as Beijing seeks to diversify its exports amid U.S. tariffs.
Indonesia Elevates Security Concerns in ASEAN–China Talks
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono’s recent remarks at the ASEAN–China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur mark a welcome and necessary development in regional diplomacy. Amid long-standing discussions dominated by trade and economic cooperation, his decision to highlight transnational crime and maritime security brings long-overdue attention to issues ...
Southeast Asia’s Trade at Risk: How Trump’s Tariffs and Chinese Imports Threaten Regional Economies
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to introduce sweeping tariffs poses significant economic challenges for economies in Southeast Asia. The region could become a battleground for redirected Chinese exports, flooding local markets and disrupting industries. At the same time, trade imbalances, protectionist measures, and deficits add to the ...
Indonesia 2024 Presidential Election: Forecasting Future Proximity With China
Indonesia will hold a presidential election next year that will potentially see three candidates battling for office: Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo, and Prabowo Subianto. Since declaring their presidential bids, the three candidates have talked about various issues, ranging from improving education, boosting employment, healthcare, ...
China Looms Large At This Week’s ASEAN Summit
Senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are gathering in the remote Indonesian town of Labuan Bajo for the 42nd ASEAN summit taking place this week. The summit comes as ASEAN is trying to recover from the economic disruption ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Laser Incident at Sea
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos summoned China's ambassador to express his "serious concern" over Monday's alleged use of a military grade laser by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel against nearby Philippines ships in the South China Sea. In Washington, U.S. State Department ...
Chinese PM Li Heads Home From Cambodia After Another Round of Diplomatic Speed Dating
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang wrapped up a six-day visit to Cambodia on Sunday at the conclusion of a pair of regional summits where he also held a number of sideline bilaterals with both Asian and Pacific leaders: ...
China’s Global Trade Started Strong in 2022 But the Outlook Looks Grim
Powered by a new Asian regional free trade deal and new rail links with its Southeast Asian neighbors, China clocked an impressive 10.7% increase in first-quarter global trade compared to the same time last year, according to new Chinese customs data. Southeast ...
It Was ASEAN’s Turn For China’s Fast-paced “Speed Dating” Diplomacy
Right after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi returned from his annual trip to Africa in early January he decamped from Beijing to set up shop temporarily in the small eastern city of Tunxi, 400km outside of Shanghai. By ...
Chinese Media Claims More Than a Million Passengers Have Used the New Chinese-Built Railway in Laos
According to Chinese state media, the new Chinese-built and funded railway between China and Laos, which was launched two months ago, is a huge success already. Rail authorities in China's southwestern Yunnan province report that in the short time that it's been in operation, the railway's transported ...
China’s Has Huge Ambitions for International Railway Development, Just Not So Much in Africa Anymore
It used to be that, when a Chinese Foreign Minister made the annual first overseas trip of the year to Africa, as Wang Yi is about to this week, financing railway development would be a top talking point at every stop. ...
BRI Scholar Reflects on U.S.-China Competition For Influence in ASEAN and the Critical Role of Railways
The new $6 billion, 1,000-kilometer China-Laos railway that opened a couple of weeks ago is widely seen as the most visible evidence of Beijing's push to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. The railway's debut came just before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region ...