Category: Politics
China is Happy About Lula’s Win in Brazil, Despite Criticism
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s return to power could rejuvenate the relationship between Brazil and China and help to speed up the reform of the global order. So says Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher at the Latin America Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social ...
Three African Countries Sign Canadian-led Joint Statement on Human Rights in Xinjiang
The bitter debate over human rights in Xinjiang flared anew this week at the United Nations when Canada's UN ambassador Bob Rae read a joint statement on behalf of 50 countries at a meeting of the General Assembly’s human rights committee. The joint ...
Vietnam’s Communist Party Leader Arrives in Beijing, Kicking Off a Busy Week of Chinese Diplomacy
Vietnam's Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong arrived in Beijing on Sunday, kicking off what will be a very busy week of international diplomacy in the Chinese capital. Trong's three-day visit is generating a lot more attention given that he will be the first international ...
Reports: Xi Expected to Travel to Saudi Arabia for December Summits
Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly travel to Saudi Arabia in December to attend a trio of Sino-Arab summits taking place in the Kingdom. The latest rumors about President Xi's purported trip surfaced late last week following the fourth round of talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his ...
China’s Foreign Ministry Refutes Kenya Loan Rumors
Wu Peng, the top diplomat for Africa in China’s Foreign Ministry, denied that Kenya missed a payment on its Standard Gauge Railway loan. Wu Peng is the Director-General of African Affairs in the Foreign Ministry. His comment was a rare intervention from the Ministry in a loan controversy.
Taiwanese Troops to Serve in Somaliland
For the first time, the disputed African region of Somaliland will be included in 14 countries and territories that will host Taiwanese soldiers as part of an alternative directive that allows them to do their national military service overseas. Somaliland has been lobbying for independence from Somalia, ...
Vietnamese Communist Party Leader Will be Xi Jinping’s First International Visitor during His Third Term
The General Secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, will embark on a four-day visit to Beijing this week, culminating on Sunday with a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. There's considerable symbolism to this visit, given that Nguyen ...
Does China Want Africa to “Choose Sides”? Maybe a Little Bit
China often assures African countries that they won’t be made to ‘choose sides’ in a new cold war. However, a recent op-ed by a prominent Africa-focused think tanker makes clear that Beijing increasingly sees the continent as a stage for geopolitical competition. Yao ...
Africa’s Cynical Democrats Face the Development Dilemma
The Biden administration frames its fight with China for influence in the Global South as a struggle between democracy and autocracy. Both sides argue that their systems boost development. The result is that Africa's development space is increasingly clogged with geopolitics. The prominent ...
What Developing Countries Should Expect From Xi’s New Foreign Policy Team
China's new foreign policy leadership is taking shape following Sunday's announcement that two senior officials had been promoted to key roles on the last day of the 20th Party Congress in Beijing. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join ...
Annoyed With the U.S., Saudi Arabia Pivots to Asia
The steadily deteriorating ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia are coinciding with what appears to be a concerted shift by the Kingdom to foster closer ties with Asia's largest powers, namely China, India, and South Korea. On Friday, Saudi ...
How the U.S. Should Respond to China’s Growing Military Presence in the Middle East and North Africa
The latest U.S. National Security Strategy released this month singled out China as “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge," and nowhere is that contest more on display than in the Middle East. After decades of fighting wars in the region and cozying up ...