Today is a public holiday in South Africa – Human Rights Day. There’s a certain irony in spending the day focusing on China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vladimir Putin, knee-deep in a human rights disaster.
What one makes of the Ukraine crisis increasingly maps on where one lives. This is made clear by a remarkable new set of polling data recently published by the European Council on Foreign Relations ...
Country: Japan
Japan, Indian PMs Present Unified Front to Challenge China’s Expanding Influence in Asia
While most of the world's attention was focused on Chinese President Xi Jinping's talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, another critically important summit between the leaders of Japan and India also took place on Monday in New Delhi.
Publicly, China Says It’s Not Worried About Closer Japan-India Ties
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not formally respond to this week's Japan-India summit, but as is so often the case, Beijing leveraged the sharp-tongued CPC-run Global Times newspaper to speak on its behalf. And if Monday's editorial is anything to go ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Japan Will Upgrade Ties With ASEAN Later This Year To “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
Japan will upgrade its ties with the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN later this year to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" -- joining both the United States and China at this level. Tokyo is moving quickly to strengthen its ties in the region in response to heightened tensions with China and ...
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 ...
China’s Debt Relief Offer For Sri Lanka May Not Be Enough to Satisfy IMF, Say Insiders
Sri Lanka's desperately-needed financial lifeline from the International Monetary Fund may be in jeopardy due to an insufficient debt restructuring offer from China, Colombo's largest bilateral creditor. The IMF is requiring that Sri Lanka first receive assurances from ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Xi Bets on Global South in Moscow
Countries in Asia and the Americas Account For Half of China’s Total Auto Exports
China is on the verge of displacing Germany to become the world's second-largest auto exporting nation (Japan is #1). This is a remarkable accomplishment given the speed that China's automakers have gained international market share, tripling sales to 2.5 million units since 2020.
China’s Highly Selective Retribution Against Countries That Impose COVID Tests
The Chinese government on Tuesday stopped issuing short-term visas to travelers from South Korea and Japan in retaliation against COVID tests both countries imposed on Chinese visitors. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the testing requirement for Chinese nationals "unacceptable" and "unscientific."
Chinese PM Li Heads Home From Cambodia After Another Round of Diplomatic Speed Dating
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang wrapped up a six-day visit to Cambodia on Sunday at the conclusion of a pair of regional summits where he also held a number of sideline bilaterals with both Asian and Pacific leaders: ...
Global South Aids China’s Rise to Number 2 Global Car Exporter
China surpassed Germany to become the world’s second-largest car exporter, after Japan. New numbers from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China moved up from the number three position it reached last year by displacing South Korea.
Zambia is Going to Look Easy Compared to the Financial Mess in Sri Lanka
A broad cross-section of the international financial community is warning that Sri Lanka's major creditors must move quickly to restructure the country's debts or else full-scale economic collapse is inevitable. The latest warning signal came from the Hong Kong office of ...