Why the West Gets Vietnam Wrong: The Myth of Pro-U.S. and Pro-China Camps

Welcome to Myth and Misperception! It has never been more urgent to understand China’s relations with the Global South and how they impact the United States. Unfortunately, many observers in the West do not have a firm understanding of these relationships due to an absence of native ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The Pain of Un-Polarity

“THE G2 WILL BE CONVENING SHORTLY!”
This post by U.S. President Donald Trump in the run-up to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week may end up leaving a more lasting mark than the actual summit he attended.

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Chinese Premier Visits Zambia Amid Geopolitical Competition

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in Zambia, the first high-level Chinese leader to visit the country since 2007. His trip comes as the country emerges from a years-long financial crisis Li’s visit comes as China, Zambia, and Tanzania embark on ...

Poll: China Makes “Startling” Gains as the World’s Preferred “Leading Power”

Favorable views of the United States have fallen sharply over the past year while perceptions of China have improved significantly, according to the findings of a new poll that surveyed 32,000 people in 32 countries. The survey was conducted for The ...

Nigeria and the U.S.-China-Geopolitics of a ‘Guns-a-Blazing’ Threat

The first few days of November delivered a powerful, if chilling, lesson in contemporary geopolitics for Abuja. When the U.S. President, Donald Trump, fresh from re-designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom violations, threatened to intervene militarily in the nation “guns-a-blazing” over allegations ...

U.S.-China Tensions Weigh on Lisbon’s Web Summit

By Daxia Rojas and Tom Barfield Global tech leaders packed Lisbon's annual Web Summit Tuesday to talk artificial intelligence, robots and startups -- all under the shadow of global tensions over cutting-edge hardware and software and the resources needed to build ...

Ukraine, China’s Critical Mineral Dominance, on Agenda as G7 Meets

By Marion Thibaut G7 foreign ministers gather in Canada Tuesday for meetings expected to focus on Ukraine and find consensus on a path forward to end the four-year-old conflict. Options to fund Ukraine's war needs ...

COP30 Marks China’s Growing Role in Scrambled Global Climate Landscape

Monday, 10 November, is the official start of the 30th UN Council of the Parties (COP) climate gathering. Taking place in Belém, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, the meeting is highly symbolic of how the global climate landscape has changed since COP1, and how much ...

Chinese Scholars See Russia’s Venezuela Strategy as a Model of Hybrid Power Projection in the U.S.’ Backyard

As U.S.–Venezuela ties unravel, a new analysis by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), arguably the country's most influential think tank, claims Moscow is turning Caracas into a key foothold in the Americas: blending military power, energy diplomacy and "anti-hegemonic strategy" to challenge the U.S.

US Offers ASEAN Surveillance Help, Then Praises China Ties

The United States on Saturday told Southeast Asian defence ministers it is ready to share technology and information to help them watch Chinese activity in the disputed South China Sea and respond together to what it called Beijing’s “destabilising actions.” Hours later, US Defense Secretary Pete ...

Philippines, Canada Sign Visiting Troops Deal

The Philippines signed a visiting forces agreement with Canada on Sunday, the latest in a series of pacts aimed at countering Beijing's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines and China have engaged in frequent clashes in the crucial ...

Swapping Sides: How a U.S. Bailout Could Shift Argentina’s Geostrategic Compass

Since day one of the Trump administration, the United States has sought to reassert its presence and tighten its influence in Latin America. In doing so, Washington is working to push back against what it perceives as China’s growing preeminence in the region — a rise made ...

U.S.-China Summit Demonstrates Who Matters in International Politics and Why That’s a Problem

By Lukas Fiala Who needs Michael Myers this Halloween when a look at this year’s major headlines should send shivers down the spine of even a seasoned observer of international relations? Amidst all the mayhem, the apparent deal between the U.S. ...

Trade Truce in Balance as Trump Meets ‘Tough Negotiator’ Xi

By Aurelia End with Isabel Kua in Beijing U.S. President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping opened on Thursday their first face-to-face meeting in six years, seeking a truce to end a trade war that has roiled the world economy. ...
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