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China’s Contradictory Position At COP28

Keeping track of China’s role at the COP28 climate gathering has been an exercise in sitting with contradiction. On the one hand, China’s the worst! A study released this week showed that Chinese and Indian emissions pushed dangerous heat-trapping emissions 1.1% higher ...

China, India Push Emissions Higher as COP28 Struggles with Fossil Fuels

Planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions grew by 1.1% this year, largely driven by an economic resurgence in China, India, and the aviation industry, according to projections by the Global Carbon Budget. The news comes as disputes around how to deal with carbon emissions ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI

Italy has announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative after joining the China-centered infrastructure and investment project in 2019.
The timing of the announcement that Rome won’t renew its BRI commitment is notable. It came only a day before the EU-China summit, which kicks off on Thursday. The summit will likely be more contentious than usual, with European leaders expected to push China on the treatment of EU firms amid discussions ...

China Under Pressure at Historic Climate Conference

China and the United States have pledged to work together to advance global climate goals in the runup to the UN’s COP28 climate summit starting on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates. The stakes can hardly be higher: 2023 is the ...

South China Sea Conference Wraps Up in Vietnam With High-Level Speakers From China and Other Countries

The two-day 15th Annual South China Sea International Conference concluded Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, hosting speakers from dozens of countries, including China. The event took place on the heels of multiple confrontations in the South China Sea between Chinese ...

China’s Special Mideast Envoy Largely Unseen at Cairo Peace Conference

Despite all of the talk over the past year of China's ambitions to be a major player in brokering Mideast peace, Beijing's Special Envoy to the region, Zhai Jun, was largely absent from the emergency discussions on the Israel-Gaza war that took place in Cairo on Saturday. ...

Wang Yi to Challenges Western BRI-Rivals: Bring it On

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a press conference following the closing ceremony of this week’s Belt and Road Forum that summed up the sprawling event as an example of a confident China’s openness to working with the world (and especially the Global South) to boost mutual development.

Afghanistan Pursues Chinese Investment

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is using his presence at the China-led Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in Tibet to meet bilaterally with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In the newest indication of growing ties between Kabul and Beijing, they 

China Hosts Himalayan Foreign Ministers Forum in Tibet, India Noticeably Absent

Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed his counterparts from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Mongolia for a two-day conference in China focused on Himalayan diplomacy. The 3rd Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation opened on Wednesday in the Tibetan city of Nyingchi, just 160 kilometers ...

Kenya Hosts Climate Summit With Hopes of Debt Restructuring, Green Financing and China’s “Small or Beautiful” Impact on Energy Access

A Chinese delegation led by their Minister of Environment, Huang Runqiu, is in Kenya for the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) kicking off today and which will be used as a platform to discuss green financing and debt, among other highlights.

How to Talk About China in the Global South: Key Lessons From the Digital Asia Hub 2023 Conference

Academics from dozens of top universities around the globe gathered last week in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for the 20th Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC). Hailing from Peking University, Nanyang Technological University, Warwick University, and more, the researchers presented their latest research on the Chinese Internet’s flows and ...