2024 Was the Year China Was Everywhere, All the Time

Every year, the team at the China-Global South Project makes a list of what we saw as the significant China-related stories of the last twelve months. This year, the task has been especially tricky. That's not because there is a lack ...

China, India Détente Complicates U.S. Strategy in Asia, Say Analysts

The U.S. State Department has been noticeably quiet in the week since India and China agreed to a partial troop pullback from their contested border in the Himalayas, saying only that they are "closely following these developments." Most likely, the ...

Antony Blinken’s Busy Weekend Pushing Back Against China’s Growing Influence in Asia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent the past few days crisscrossing Asia, from Laos to Vietnam to Japan, in a concerted effort to challenge Chinese territorial claims in the region and bolster Washington's formidable alliance network. The Secretary arrived ...

U.S., Japan Take a Swipe at China and Deepen Defense Ties

By Simon Sturdee The United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia on Sunday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defense collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

Blinken in Japan for 2+2 Security Talks, Quad

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Japan on Sunday as part of an Asia-Pacific tour aimed at shoring up alliances in the face of an increasingly assertive China. The visit comes three months after President Joe Biden and Prime ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

What Does Non-Alignment Movement Mean to Contemporary Indonesia, and Will It Satisfy China and U.S.?

“Honored to be invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet him in person in Beijing,” Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto tweeted on his official account on Tuesday, 2 April, 2024. Wearing the Indonesian traditional cap “peci”, Prabowo posed and shook hands with the Chinese leader. 

U.S.-Led Talks With Asian Countries Aims to Reduce Dependence on Chinese Supply Chains

The 14-member states of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) met in Detroit on Friday, where they said a deal to diversify supply chains beyond China is "substantially completed." U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo led the talks and said this ...

China Shouldn’t be Surprised More Countries in Asia Are Turning to the U.S., Says Envoy to Japan

Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, blamed China for increasing tensions in East Asia. Speaking with CNN, he framed regional military buildups and the strengthening of U.S.-centric blocs like the Quad (a defense-focused alliance between the U.S., Australia, Japan and India) as responses to Chinese aggression. Beijing tends to ...