Remember “no blood for oil”? Decades ago, the slogan emblematized opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Its logic subsequently shifted as the United States experienced a gas and oil revolution thanks to fracking.
It has cycled back into relevance following the Trump administration’s invasion of Venezuela and the seizure of its oil, which, despite its carnivalesque tone, left at least 80 people dead. The Iran war has now ...
Category: Q&A
Q&A: Can the U.S. Displace China From South America?
In a global scenario marked by strategic competition between the world's two largest powers, Latin America's role has ceased to be peripheral and has become a critical terrain of influence. As Washington watches with growing concern Beijing's advance on vital infrastructure—from ...
Q&A: The “Guanxi”: An Anthropological Look at the Chinese Businessman in Peru
The recent scandal dubbed “ Chifagate ” and the revelations about the so-called “ Dragon Club ” have once again put the relationship between Peruvian political power and Asian investments under scrutiny. However, beyond the anecdote of a dinner at a chifa or ...
Q&A: Maduro’s Fall Tests China’s Influence in Washington’s Backyard
The United States government's rationale for last Friday's military incursion into Venezuela to detain President Nicolás Maduro has evolved over the months from combating narco-terrorism to asserting control over the country's vast oil reserves. But amid the varying justifications for the intervention was a concern about China's ...
Q&A: Reading China’s Military Parade and Southeast Asia’s Optics Right
In Asia’s high-context politics, the stage often speaks as loudly as the words. Welcoming ceremonies, traditional dances, marathon speeches, China's military parade, and photo ops are never just pomp. They are signals to multiple audiences. At home, they convey respect and access.
Q&A: China’s EV in Southeast Asia: Growth or Dependency Trap?
A few weeks ago at the Indonesian auto show, I stood near a cluster of visitors crowding around new electric cars EVs. I noticed three questions that came up repeatedly as people leaned in to quiz the sales reps: How far can it go? Will it last? ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Q&A: Beijing Deal for Post-War Gaza Leaves Analysts Skeptical
By Chloe Rouveyrolles-Bazire and Louis Baudoin-Laarman Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement has agreed with Hamas to form a "national unity government" in post-war Gaza, but analysts are skeptical about the significance of the Beijing-brokered deal. ...
China Still Not Seen as a Serious Political Actor in the Middle East, Explains Top Sino-Mideast Scholar
With yet another Chinese envoy touring the Mideast, many people are scratching their heads, wondering what Beijing is trying to accomplish with its diplomacy in the region. Many Arab and Gulf governments see the Chinese as "the new kid on the ...
Q&A: Indonesia’s EV Success Now Hinges on U.S. & EU. Will Indonesia Be Forced to Pull Away From China?
In November last year, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with United States President Joe Biden to talk trade and investment. At the very top of Jokowi’s agenda was to find a way to expand markets for Indonesian nickel-based EV batteries. Jokowi had hoped to secure ...
Q&A: How Will Tshisekedi’s Re-Election Impact Chinese Mining Interests in the DR Congo?
The incumbent Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi won a landslide re-election at the end of last year that was validated this week by the country's Constitutional Court despite accusations of voting irregularities by both opposition parties and foreign election observers. Also this ...
A Billion Dollar Copper/Cobalt Mine is Up For Grabs in the DR Congo, Providing Rare Opening For the U.S. to Get in the Market
For the first time in seven years, the United States can re-enter the all-important critical resources mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where China is the dominant actor. The persistently low price of cobalt, a metal used to ...
Q&A: Chinese, and Nigerian Researchers Collaborate on Super Sub-Saharan Africa Electricity System
China's strategic investments through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) showcase its aspiration to play a role in the global energy infrastructure.
Lots of Smiles and Lots of Handshakes, But What Else Did Syria’s President Get During His Recent Visit to China?
President Bashar al-Assad's visit to China in late September is widely seen as an important step in Syria's re-integration into the international community after years of Western-led international isolation. Assad received a much warmer welcome in China than he would pretty ...