The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...
Category: Caribbean
Small State, Big Gains: Why Dominica Matters in China’s Global Strategy
In contemporary international relations, the diplomacy of small states is of utmost importance. Though grand geopolitical narratives often overshadow this fact, one major power has not forgotten: China. Putting aside its broader strategic objectives, Beijing has excelled in small-state diplomacy. The numbers don’t lie; China has the ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
A Chinese Scholar Uncovers Cuba’s Chinese Migrant Past
When the U.S. Prohibition Act (1920–1933) banned alcohol, it unexpectedly turned Cuba into a vice paradise—and reshaped the destiny of Chinese migrants fleeing America’s anti-Chinese racism. As thirsty Americans flooded Havana’s bars and casinos, the island’s economy boomed. Meanwhile, the Chinese ...
U.S. Seeks to Bolster Ties in the Caribbean to Fend Off Chinese Advance
Top diplomats from China and the U.S. were in the Caribbean at the same time in what's widely seen as the newest front in the escalating geopolitical competition between the two major powers. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in
WSJ: China Negotiating With Cuba to Set up Joint Military Training Base
China is reportedly in talks with Cuba to set up a joint military base that could potentially lead to the deployment of PLA soldiers within a couple of hundred kilometers of the United States, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. ...
China’s Low Profile Diplomacy in the Caribbean
China is steadily, albeit quietly, deepening its ties in the Caribbean region using many of the same techniques that it did in the early 2000s when it ramped up its engagement in Africa. The Chinese are buying more agriculture, building infrastructure, ...