Live Feed

The News Feed is curated by CGSP’s editors in Asia and Africa.

China, Iran, and Russia to Hold Nuclear Talks

A 2024 file image of Chinese Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu, who will chair Friday's talks. Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP
China announced on Wednesday that it would host talks with Iran and Russia on Friday to discuss Iran’s nuclear program as the United States pushes for a new deal with Tehran. China’s Foreign ...

China’s Sunwoda Invests $1 Billion in Thailand’s EV Battery Industry Amid Rising Chinese EV Presence

A rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. China’s Sunwoda Electronic in March 2025 is expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia’s electric vehicle EV industry with a $1 billion investment in Thailand. (Photo: Ronny Hartmann / AFP)
China’s Sunwoda Electronic is expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia’s electric vehicle EV industry with a $1 billion investment in Thailand. The country is accelerating efforts to establish itself as a regional ...

China Says to Host Russia, Iran for Nuclear Talks This Week

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at the regular press briefing in Beijing where she updated reporters on the upcoming trilateral talks among Iran, Russia, and China. Image via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China will host Russia and Iran for trilateral talks on Tehran’s nuclear program on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said. “The three parties will exchange views on the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues of mutual ...

China Reacts to ICC Arrest of Former Philippine President

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during her regular press briefing on Tuesday. Image via the Chinese Foreign Ministry
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed a subtle dig at the International Criminal Court following Interpol’s arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte will face charges of crimes against humanity in the ...

China’s Port Presence in Africa

Map via Africa Center for Strategic Studies
China has built extensive ports and logistics facilities around the African coast. These serve Africa’s ambitions to boost exports and the Belt and Road Initiative’s focus on multimodal connectivity through infrastructure provision.

Modi’s Visit to Mauritius Attempts to Counterbalance China’s Regional Influence

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam in a 2014 file image. Photo by RAVEENDRAN / AFP
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is in Mauritius this week to sign two agreements to expand Indian maritime cooperation with the small Indian Ocean island. The deals are seen as a way for ...

Thailand’s Fruit Exports Hit $6.51 Billion in 2024, Durian Leads as China Remains Top Market

File image of durians for sale in Qingdao in 2024. Photo by CFOTO / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP
Thailand’s fruit exports soared to $6.51 billion in 2024, with the overwhelming majority, 97.4%, heading straight to China, according to the Trade Policy and Strategy Office TPSO. Fruit was the most valuable ...

Vietnam’s VinFast Takes on China in Indonesia EV Market with Plant and 100,000 Charging Stations

Low-priced China's EVs are driving Southeast Asia’s surge. Vietnam is now second in Southeast Asia’s China-led EV market. (Photo: Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnamese automaker VinFast is making a major push into Indonesia’s electric vehicle EV sector with a planned $1.2 billion investment, including a $200 million EV manufacturing plant in West Java and

China Wraps up Key Political Meet With Call for ‘Unrelenting Struggle’

By Mary Yang and Matthew Walsh China on Tuesday concluded one of its biggest political events of the year with a call to “struggle unrelentingly” for the country’s rise after a conclave dominated ...

Uncertainty Roils Minerals Markets

A 2023 image of workers at the Tenke Fungurume mine - the world's largest cobalt mine - operated by the Chinese company CMOC in the DRC. Photo by Emmet LIVINGSTONE / AFP
Uncertain economic outlooks for key markets and the erupting trade war are disrupting markets for critical minerals. While prices for some tech-related minerals are spiking as countries scramble to secure supplies, others are ...

Vietnam-China Trade Tops $31 Billion in Early 2025, Exports Decline as Beijing Tightens Controls

Dinh Vu Port in Haiphong. Vietnam’s trade with China grew in the first two months of 2025, but not in Vietnam’s favor. Image: Nhac Nguyen / AFP
Vietnam’s trade with China surged in early 2025, but not in Vietnam’s favor. Fresh data shows that while imports from China are rising, Vietnamese exports are struggling to keep up. In the ...

Thailand Defends BRICS Membership as China Expands Influence Amid Geopolitical Shifts

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa on Monday, March 10, 2025, defended the country’s decision to join BRICS, stating that membership is in the national interest and will enhance economic growth, technological cooperation, and Thailand’s role in global governance.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa defended the country’s decision to join BRICS on Monday, stating that membership is in the national interest and will enhance economic growth, technological cooperation, and Thailand’s role ...

Indonesia and Vietnam Agree to Upgrade Strategic Ties

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto (R) addresses a joint press conference with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam (L) at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on March 10, 2025. BAY ISMOYO / AFP
Indonesia and Vietnam agreed on Monday to upgrade ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership as the Southeast Asian allies’ leaders met in Jakarta to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations. Vietnamese Communist Party ...

China’s EV Battle Heats Up in Indonesia: Wuling Overtakes BYD in Surprise Shake-Up

In a surprise upset, Wuling Motors has overtaken BYD as the best-selling Chinese EV brand in February 2025, signaling a major shift in market dynamics. Image via Xinhua.
China’s electric vehicle (EV) battle is intensifying in Indonesia, which has become a key battleground for EV dominance. In a surprise upset, Wuling Motors has overtaken BYD as the best-selling Chinese EV ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Weighing the Value of “Values”

I was in Berlin this week for a conference on the EU’s relationship with Africa in the context of the continent’s growing ties with external actors, many of whom Europe finds acutely worrying.
The conference eerily landed on the two-year anniversary of the October 7 attack in Israel. I was in Berlin two years ago as well. In the weeks after the attack, one could see how Western powers’ ...

China Urges All Parties to ‘Immediately Stop’ Clashes in Syria

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at the regular press briefing in Beijing on March 10, 2025. Image via the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China on Monday called for all warring parties in Syria to “immediately stop” the violence after reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians triggered an international backlash against the worst bloodshed since Bashar ...

China Touts Success of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway But Leaves Out One Very Important Detail

File image of Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway that China financed and built as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Simon Mania/AFP
Chinese state media is touting the enormous success of the Beijing-backed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya, which serves as a showcase for the Belt and Road Initiative. The official Xinhua published a ...

China, Nigeria to Cooperate in Combatting Cybercrime

Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, with Olanipekun Olukoyede, executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja on March 4, 2025. Image via @YDunhai.
China and Nigeria have agreed to cooperate together to crack down on cybercrimes in the West African country, particularly those that involve Chinese nationals. “The Chinese government is ready to send out a working group ...

As Trade War Worsens, Chinese Ag Buyers Shift From U.S., Canada to Brazil

File image of a Brazilian combine harvesting wheat. CC BY 4.0
Beginning Monday, China will increase tariffs on U.S. chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton exports by 15%, with duties on a slate of other food products, including soybeans, pork, and beef, going up by an additional 10%. ...

VinFast Ships 2,500 EVs to Indonesia as Chinese Automakers Cement Their Lead

Low-priced China's EVs are driving Southeast Asia’s surge. Vietnam is now second in Southeast Asia’s China-led EV market. (Photo: Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast is accelerating its presence in Indonesia, a market where Chinese automakers dominate. As VinFast ramps up shipments and prepares for local production, the battle for Indonesia’s booming electric ...

Iran, Russia, China to Hold Joint Military Exercises

The navies of Iran, Russia and China will hold military drills off the coast of Iran this week in a bid to boost cooperation, Iranian media reported on Sunday. The three countries, which share a ...

Philippines Set to Sign Visiting Forces Deal With Canada

File image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. NHAC NGUYEN / AFP
Manila said Friday that the Philippines and Canada have negotiated a deal for the deployment of troops, which will occur once the latest security pact is signed in the face of increasingly tense ...

China’s Geopolitical Blueprint on the Global South, Asia, and World Order: Wang Yi Speaks Out

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2025. Pedro PARDO / AFP
The world is shifting, and China wants everyone to know where the momentum is coming from. “The wind rises from the South, and the tide comes from the South,” declared Foreign Minister ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China Suspends Beef Imports From Seven Companies in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mongolia

Levi Bianco / Brazil Photo Press via AFP
China will push its steel sector to lower production output to drive up prices. The National People’s Congress was told that restructuring in the sector would be encouraged. The size of the output cuts ...

Vietnam’s 2025 Economic Surge: China’s Dual Role Boosts Growth but Deepens Trade Deficit

Dinh Vu Port in Haiphong. Vietnam’s trade with China grew in the first two months of 2025, but not in Vietnam’s favor. Image: Nhac Nguyen / AFP
Vietnam’s economic story in the first two months of 2025 took an interesting turn, driven largely by deepening ties with China. While the country enjoyed robust export gains and a surge in ...

Mexico to Review Its Tariffs With China, President Says

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum gestures during her daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on March 6, 2025. Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, under U.S. pressure not to allow her country to be a backdoor for Chinese goods, said Thursday that her government would review its tariffs with Beijing. Mexico imports “many ...

Thailand Repatriates Hundreds More Chinese Scam Center Workers

Alleged scam centre workers and victims from China handed over from Myanmar board a plane at Mae Sot Airport in Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
Hundreds of Chinese nationals freed from Myanmar online scam centres flew home through Thailand on Thursday, as the kingdom said it aimed to repatriate 1,500 such workers a week. Thailand, Myanmar and China ...

China Voices Support for Arab States’ Gaza Plan

Displaced Palestinians prepare for the iftar fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in their tent at the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
China supports an Egypt-led reconstruction plan for Gaza that would avoid the displacement of the Palestinian population. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Wednesday said: “China supports the effort by Egypt and other ...

China’s Top Diplomat to Hold Friday Press Conference

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2025. Pedro PARDO / AFP
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi will take questions from journalists Friday on the sidelines of the “Two Sessions” political meetings, Beijing said. The veteran diplomat will answer questions on “China’s foreign policy and diplomatic relations”, ...

Thailand Maintains Neutral Stance Amid China-U.S. Rivalry, Urges Stronger ASEAN Ties

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (L) with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Image: Xinhua
As China’s influence grows across Southeast Asia, Thailand is carefully treading a fine line, choosing not to side with either Beijing or Washington. At an event on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister ...

China Says to Hike Defense Spending by 7.2% This Year

File image of People's Liberation Army soldiers at a training facility in Cambodia's Kampot province on March 15, 2020. Image via Xinhua.
By Oliver Hotham and Ludovic Ehret China’s defense spending will rise by 7.2 percent in 2025, the same as last year, Beijing said on Wednesday, as its armed forces undergo rapid modernisation and ...
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