When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Category: Foreign Policy
Questions Around Saint Vincent and Grenadines’ Ties with Taiwan
Wednesday’s press briefing at the Chinese Foreign Ministry seemed to plant a discussion about Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ future diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The tiny island state has an election today, with the Taiwan issue at play. A reporter from ...
Tonga Gets Full Diplomatic Treatment Amid Pacific Tensions
Tonga’s King Tupou VI wrapped up a 6-day visit to China that saw him meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and Zhao Leji, the head of the National People’s Congress’s Standing Committee. The visit saw the signing ...
Li Focuses on Major Power Diplomacy, Not Global South, in G20 Bilateral Sessions
It's customary during gatherings like the G20 summit that took place in Johannesburg this weekend that Chinese leaders pack the limited time they have for bilateral meetings in a speed-dating style format. Premier Li Qiang, though, broke with that custom during ...
China’s Wang Yi Urges Resumption of Iran Nuclear Talks in Call With Tehran’s Foreign Minister
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone on Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi and called for the resumption of nuclear talks. “The current political process for resolving the Iran nuclear issue is at a standstill, and this is not ...
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.
Colombian President Fires Beijing Embassy Staff for “Sabotaging” China Outreach
Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered staff at his country’s embassy in Beijing to be removed, accusing them of undermining outreach efforts to China. “There is a foreign ministry that feels ashamed of engaging with China and sabotages relations. All those ...
Top-Level Leadership Change In CPC’s International Outreach Body
Liu Jianchao, long the Communist Party of China’s head of international outreach, has been replaced by Liu Haixing, previously a high-ranking security official, as the head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (IDCPC.) The body ...
Prominent Chinese Academic Unpacks China’s Role in Global South
Huang Yiping, the dean of Peking University’s Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, a key academic center theorizing the China-Global South relationship, recently gave an address outlining his view of what China can offer the developing world. The key takeaway was ...
Pentagon to Propose Radical Strategic Shift Away From China to Focus on Domestic, Hemispheric Threats: Politico
The Pentagon's top policy planners are proposing a dramatic strategic shift that would redirect the U.S. military's primary focus from countering China and Russia globally to focusing instead on the U.S. homeland and projecting power throughout the Western Hemisphere, according to Politico.
China’s Military Parade Cements Superpower Optics
China displayed a vast array of advanced weapons during a large military parade to mark the 80th commemoration of World War II. The parade snaked down Chang'an Avenue in central Beijing. President Xi Jinping delivered a speech on Tiananmen Square and inspected the soldiers from a parade ...
Top Xi Deputy Takes Unexpectedly High Profile Role at SCO
One of Chinese President Xi Jinping's closest aides, Cai Qi, was uncharacteristically prominent in high-level discussions with visiting leaders this weekend on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin. Cai, Director of the Chinese Communist Party's General Office ...
U.S. Senator Seeks Review of Kenya’s ‘Major Non-NATO Ally’ Status, Citing China Ties
One of Washington's most powerful lawmakers is calling for the State Department to review Kenya's status as a Major Non-NATO Ally in response to Nairobi's close ties with China. U.S. Republican Senator James Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,