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

Chinese National Among the Dead After Mass Shooting in Bangkok Mall

An ambulance is seen outside Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. Jack TAYLOR / AFP
A 14-year-old boy suffering from a psychiatric episode walked into Bangkok’s upscale Siam Paragon Mall and randomly started shooting, killing two and wounding five others. Among the dead included a female Chinese tourist. ...
by Eric Olander

Illegal Chinese Migration to the U.S. Surges via Mexico

2023 data through August. Data includes both encounters by Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at and between Chart via The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico is surging, according to new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Last year, the total number of undocumented Chinese ...
by Eric Olander

Ongoing Tensions at Shoal Amid U.S.-Philippines Naval Exercises

A Chinese coastguard vessel patrolling the Scarborough Shoal is glimpsed during a surveillance flight by Philippine forces in late September. Image: Ted Aljibe / AFP
The Philippine press is reporting that the Chinese coastguard is using rubber boats to control access to the contested Scarborough Shoal to Philippine fishing boats. Henrelito Empoc, a spokesperson for a fishing group, said, “The ...
by Cobus van Staden

Getting China Out of Mineral Supply Chains Will Take Closer Cooperation With Africa: Report

The United States is increasingly focused on lessening its dependence on China for critical minerals. While some key rare earth minerals are mined in China, its involvement is much broader in mineral refining ...
by Cobus van Staden

While Confucius Institutes Are Being Kicked Out of the Global North, They Remain Popular in the Global South

Chinese Shaolin monks meeting with young Indonesian martial arts students at a Confucius Institute event in Indonesia in September. Image: Adek Berry / AFP
In September, the Federal University of Bahia opened its new Confucius Institute, the fourteenth in Brazil. These language-learning centers, usually tie-ins with local universities, are being closed in droves across the Global North under ...
by Cobus van Staden

Marcos: Philippines Not Looking For Trouble With China, Vows to Defend Against Incursions

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said he would protect against Chinese incursions into his exclusive economic zone. Earvin Perias / POOL / AFP
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. issued a conciliatory yet firm message to China that his country does not want to provoke a confrontation over disputed territories in the South China Sea, but he will ...
by Eric Olander

Growing Concern in Asia That China-Philippines Stand-Off Could Escalate Into Full-Scale International Conflict

Chinese coast guard ship blocking a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' ship while its personnel aboard a rigid hull inflatable boat sailing past the Philippine ship as it neared the Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on September 22, 2023. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
The steadily escalating confrontation between China and the Philippines over disputed maritime territories in the South China Sea is prompting new anxieties in Asia that the feud could trigger a much larger conflict ...
by Eric Olander

Pro-China Opposition Leader to be Next President of Maldives

File image of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) head Mohamed Muizzu who won a presidential run-off election on Saturday to become the Indian Ocean island state's next president. Mohamed Afrah / AFP
Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Muizzu easily won a second-round vote against incumbent Ibrahim Solih to become president-elect of the small Indian Ocean island state. Muizzu, who is widely seen as favorable to increased engagement ...
by Eric Olander

Reality Now Dawning Western Countries Probably Can’t Catch-Up With China in the Critical Minerals Race

Percentage share of global production. Note: Report published in July 2022. Source: International Energy Agency
There’s been a noticeable shift in recent weeks in the European and North American discourse about China’s dominance of critical resources used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. Officials on both sides of the ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Huawei Sets up Commodities Hedging Team in Singapore, Hong Kong

DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP
Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) is building a commodities team to hedge and trade metals and energy products, according to the Chinese technology company’s job posts on professional social network LinkedIn. The company was looking ...
by Eric Olander

Saudi Arabia, China to Hold Joint Naval Exercises This Month

Fayez NURELDINE / AFP
The Chinese and Saudia Arabian navies will conduct a second round of joint naval exercises later this month off the coast of Guangdong in southern China. “This joint training focuses on overseas maritime ...
by Eric Olander

Lots of Smiles and Lots of Handshakes, But What Else Did Syria’s President Get During His Recent Visit to China?

Syrian President Bahsar al-Assad returned to China for the first in almost twenty years last month in a bid to secure President Xi Jinping's support for reconstruction aid. Image via Xinhua.
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 ...
by Eric Olander

WEEK IN REVIEW: Foreign Minister Wang Yi Said China Willing To “Play a Constructive Role” at Upcoming APEC Summit in November

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Türkiye on Wednesday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. ELMOND JIYANE / GCIS / AFP
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is willing to “play a constructive role” at the upcoming APEC summit in November but wouldn’t confirm if President Xi Jinping will attend. Xi stayed home from both ...
by Eric Olander

$1.3 Billion Chinese Investment in Zambian Copper Sector as EU Readies Competing Deal

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema meeting the management of Chinese mining giant China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Company (CNMC) on 27 September 2023 in Lusaka. Image via @HHichilema
The Chinese mining giant China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Company (CNMC) announced a plan to invest $1.3 billion in Zambia across a range of sectors. The agreement, announced by CNMC chairperson Xi Zhengping, includes a ...
by Cobus van Staden

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

How to Lure Chinese Financing Back to the Global South: Report

Global South countries face increasing financing pressure, endangering their ability to keep developing while also implementing measures to deal with a growing climate crisis. The disruption of global trade is coupled with a larger megatrend: flows of international capital to the developing world have turned negative. This means that countries are now routinely paying more to service loans than they receive in disbursements.

The vast majority of Global South borrowers ...

Climate Graph of the Day: After a Rapid Increase, China’s Oil Demand May Have Peaked

After decades of ever-growing oil use, China’s oil demand may have peaked this year, according to Chinese oil executives cited by FT. This has significant implications for countries from Angola to Russia ...
by Cobus van Staden

A Debt Deal for Sri Lanka Without China?

Arun SANKAR / AFP
Some members of Sri Lanka’s creditor committee are reportedly promoting an agreement to restructure the bankrupt country’s debt without China. According to a report by Bloomberg, the United States, Japan and India ...
by Cobus van Staden

Revealed: The Issues Complicating a Key Belt and Road Project in Pakistan

A train line is only one of numerous infrastructure projects forming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a prominent Belt and Road project. Image: Arif Ali / AFP
China is apparently balking at proposals from Pakistan to expand cooperation in their shared China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), revealing growing problems in the key Belt and Road Initiative project. These were revealed by a ...
by Cobus van Staden

China, Philippines Tensions Surge After Manila Removes Barrier in South China Sea

The Philippine Coast Guard says it removed a 300 meter floating barrier installed by Chinese maritime forces in the South China Sea. Image via the Philippine Coast Guard.
Already strained ties between China and the Philippines worsened further on Tuesday following the announcement by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that it successfully removed a 300-meter barrier that Chinese maritime forces installed ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Top Diplomat to New Delhi Calls for “Friendly Coexistence” With India

Chargé d’Affaires Ma Jia, is China's highest ranking diplomat in New Delhi. China has not been without an ambassador to India for the past 11 months. Image via the Chinese embassy in India.
The Chargé d’Affaires at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Ma Jia, Beijing’s most senior diplomat in India, renewed a call for the two Asian powers to “normalize” their relations in a bid ...
by Eric Olander

China-Backed AIIB Admits Three New Members, Announces New Climate Finance Initiative

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liquan delivered the keynote address at the bank's annual meeting in Egypt. Image via @AIIB_Official.
The Chinese-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank wrapped up its two-day annual meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh on Tuesday and announced that three new members, all non-Asian, would be ...
by Eric Olander

The West’s Answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative is Already Encountering Resistance… From Turkey

Map of the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The hugely ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) multi-modal trade route is already beginning to encounter resistance just weeks after being announced at the G20 leaders summit in New Delhi. IMEC is the latest ...
by Eric Olander

After Siding With the West, Liberia is Now Aligned With China on Sensitive Territorial Issues

Liberia's Deputy Foreign Minister Deweh Gray endorsed Beijing's One-China policy at a National Day celebration this week at the Chinese embassy in Monrovia. Image via Liberian Observer.
Deweh Gray, a deputy foreign minister in Liberia, told an audience at the Chinese embassy in Monrovia on Tuesday that her government firmly supports Beijing’s One-China policy. For most countries, that’s not a ...
by Eric Olander

U.S. Charm Offensive to Pacific Island States Amid China Worries

U.S. President Joe Biden (fourth from right) puts his arm around the shoulders of Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown as the leaders pose at the White House. Image: Jim Watson / AFP
A summit between the United States and the Pacific Islands Forum that started in Washington on Monday is the newest signal that Washington plans to increase its presence in the region in response to ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Reacts to U.S.-Vietnam Arms Talks

File image of U.S. President Joe Biden (sencond left) meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Vo Van Thuong (second right) during his state visit in September. Image Nhac Nguyen / AFP
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin commented on a report this weekend that the United States is in talks with Vietnam about a massive arms deal. Wang’s response was measured: Asian countries share a desire for ...
by Cobus van Staden

$23 Billion of Deals Signed at China-Arab Trade Fair

Representatives from 60 countries attended this year's China-Arab Trade Expo in the northwest region of Ningxia. Images via Xinhua.
The China-Arab Trade Expo closed on Sunday in the northwestern region of Ningxia with $23.4 billion in deals signed. As is customary with these kinds of announcements, Chinese officials did not release any ...
by Eric Olander

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz Wants to Lead the Effort to Curtail China’s Growing Influence in Latin America

US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing to examine advancing next generation aviation technologies, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 29, 2023. Stefani Reynolds / AFP
U.S. anxieties about China’s increasingly influential presence in Latin America and the Caribbean will be a popular topic of discussion on Capitol Hill this week. Conservative Texas Senator Ted Cruz will introduce a ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese Contractor Pledges to Complete Nigerian Capital’s Light Rail in Eight Months

Jason Cheng (center), chairman of the Chinese contractor CCECC, assured Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima that the Abuja light rail will only take eight months to build. Image via @officialSKSM.
The local head of Chinese construction major CCECC, Jason Zheng, pledged that it would only take eight months to build the once-abandoned light rail in the Nigerian capital Abuja. Zheng made the promise ...
by Eric Olander

U.S. Acknowledges It Can’t Cut China Out of the EV Battery Supply Chain

A Ford worker in the United States assembles a new electric powered F-150 Lightening pick-up truck that is powered by a bettery with that uses Chinese-processed minerals and metals. JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP
For much of the past year, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to remove China from the critical ...
by Eric Olander

Vietnamese EV-Brand VinFast Hopes Possible EU Sanctions Against Chinese Electric Cars Will Give It an Opening

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 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 ...
by Eric Olander

Blockbuster Movie Scares Chinese Tourists Away From Thailand

Movie poster for the hugely-popular Chinese movie "No More Bets" that was set in Thailand.
Chinese tourists landing in Bangkok on Monday were greeted with a heroes welcome, including Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who went to the airport to personally welcome the first batch of visa-free visitors.
by Eric Olander
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