China’s Vice President Han Zheng addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Along with retreads of established Chinese positions on Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, his comments also provided interesting clues about China’s messaging to the Global South.
First, he called on the international community to “follow the direction of a multipolar world” with the UN at its center. I wonder how opinion within Beijing’s inner circles breaks down around the bipolarity/multipolarity issue, considering ...
Country: European Union
Vietnamese EV-Brand VinFast Hopes Possible EU Sanctions Against Chinese Electric Cars Will Give It an Opening
Vietnamese electric vehicle company Vinfast plans to ship its first batch of 3,000 VF8 crossovers to Europe later this year and the upstart EV brand may even get an assist from European Union trade authorities. Earlier this month, the European Commission ...
BRI Isn’t Intended to Undermine the West, Says China’s EU Ambassador
Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, challenged the widely-held perception in Brussels and other Western capitals that the Belt and Road Initiative aims to undermine U.S. and European influence around the world. If that was the ...
Coups in the Sahel: Where China, U.S., and EU Should Work Together
Niger's coup leaders have been unfazed by military threats and economic blockade of food and medicine by neighboring countries and have not returned to their barracks. The unfolding coup is the latest event in ongoing chaos across the Sahel. Sudan fights a civil war, jihadism menaces the ...
Remember Those Exploitative African “Blessing Videos” on Chinese Social Media? They’re Back. This Time in the West.
It was once very easy for Chinese social media users to spend between $15 and $40 to get a bare-chested man, a scantily clad woman or even a child to do demeaning performances in short videos that were often highly exploitative.
U.S., EU Unveil Next Steps in the Expansion of Angola’s Lobito Corridor Railway
The United States and the European Union are moving forward with a plan to upgrade the 1,300-kilometer Lobito rail corridor that links the copper and cobalt belts in Zambia and the DR Congo with the port of Lobito in Angola. In separate ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Unpacking Han Zheng’s Messaging to the Global South at the UN General Assembly
China’s Invisibility at the Africa Climate Summit and the Disappointing “Western Agenda” Nairobi Declaration
Economic issues back home and the recent BRICS summit in South Africa possibly contributed to China’s largely subdued presence at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Nairobi this week. Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston ...
Europe Needs a Reality Check to Remain Relevant in a Multipolar World
By Lukas Fiala The recent military coup in Niger was widely interpreted as the latest blow in a series of setbacks for Europe in Africa. After French disengagement yielded space to Russian mercenaries across the Sahel, it’s hard not to see the ...
EU’s Ursula von der Leyen Takes Aim at China During Philippines Visit, Pledges Maritime Security Assistance
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sharply criticized China's increasingly assertive behavior in the South China Sea and vowed closer security cooperation with the Philippines. "We are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific," she said during a visit to ...
Re-Election of China’s Man at the Food & Agriculture Organization Could Reverberate in the Global South
By Felix Brender Earlier this month, China’s Qu Dongyu was re-elected as head of the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO). Media coverage was rather muted inside and outside China, where official media foregrounded Qu’s being the first Chinese in such a role and ...
Why China Wins and the West Loses When the Price of Cobalt Drops
U.S. and European automakers are rejoicing over the 30% plunge in cobalt prices this year, providing relief for one of the costliest elements needed to power electric vehicles. But what's good for Tesla, Ford and VW is not aligned with the ...