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: Diplomacy
China-Central Asia Weekly News: Building Skills and Local Capacity
This is a free preview of the upcoming China-Central Asia Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in 2026. China's engagement with Central Asia is entering a new phase that extends far beyond the traditional Belt and ...
Tianjin Summit in Review: The Winner Takes It All (But Not Much)
By Felix Brender 王哲謙 “We should continue to unequivocally oppose hegemonism and power politics, practice true multilateralism,” Xi declared in Tianjin last week. Yet for many of the leaders in the room, multilateralism appears to chiefly mean “more of me” ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China Condemns U.S.–UK Taiwan Strait Transit, Tracks Warships
China’s military on Friday condemned the sailing of U.S. and British warships through the Taiwan Strait, saying it ordered naval and air forces to monitor and warn the two ships. The U.S. destroyer Higgins and the UK frigate HMS ...
Rubio Backs Philippines Against ‘Coercive’ Sea Nature Reserve
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday backed the Philippines in protesting Beijing's plan for a "nature reserve" on disputed Scarborough Shoal, saying it was part of a "coercive" strategy in the South China Sea.
Sheinbaum Denies Tariff Rise Is Chinese ‘Coercion’
Mexico's president denied Friday that a proposed new tariff of up to 50 percent on imports from certain countries was a coercive measure targeting China. Beijing said Thursday it "firmly opposes any coercion" after President Claudia Sheinbaum announced higher duties on ...
Pacific Leaders Agree New Summit Rules After China, Taiwan Bans
By Ben Strang Pacific Island leaders agreed on Friday to a new framework that would allow nations to join a key regional forum as strategic partners, after accusations that China was influencing regional decision-making. The ...
Philippines to Protest Over China’s ‘Nature Reserve’ Plan
The Philippines said Thursday it will file a diplomatic protest and slammed as “illegitimate and unlawful” China’s plan to declare a “Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve” at Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea. China rejected what it called “unreasonable” accusations and dismissed Manila’s “so-called” ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Trump and Xi Could Meet After Fresh U.S.–China Diplomatic Push
Top U.S. and Chinese officials had a series of meetings, leading to predictions of a possible summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun that the U.S. doesn’t want conflict between the superpowers. ...
China Declares Disputed Scarborough Shoal a Nature Reserve
The Chinese authorities announced on Wednesday that they had approved the establishment of a marine reserve around the Scarborough Shoal, an area in the South China Sea also claimed by the Philippines. The move will likely raise tensions in a region ...
China Says ‘Firmly Opposes Coercion’ as Mexico Mulls Car Tariffs
China on Thursday said it "firmly opposes any coercion" after Mexico proposed a 50-percent duty on car imports from the Asian giant. The initiative, contained in a bill submitted by Mexico's government to Congress, seeks to assuage U.S. President Donald Trump ...
Rubio Seeks ‘Constructive’ Engagement in China Call
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday he wanted constructive dialogue with China in a call with his counterpart, after Washington teased new pressure over oil purchases from Russia. In a telephone call with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Rubio "emphasized ...
Under U.S. Pressure, Mexico Mulling 50% Tariff on Chinese Cars
Mexico, under pressure not to serve as a back door for Chinese goods entering the United States, has proposed a 50-percent duty on car imports from the Asian giant -- up from 15-20 percent. The initiative, contained in a bill submitted ...
Vanuatu Pushes Back on China-Excluding Deal with Australia
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had to cancel the signing of a landmark treaty with Vanuatu because it would limit the Pacific island state’s infrastructure cooperation with China. The Nakamal Agreement would see Australia allocate AU$500 million (about US$330.3 million) for ...
India-China Reset? Modi and Xi Test a Fragile Rapprochement
The reset between India and China appears to be holding. Nearly two weeks after President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin, five years of frigid ties between the two Asian ...