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  • 1 day ago
    • Central Asia
    • China

    Full steam ahead for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway?

    Genevieve Donnellon-May
    After a long haul already, there is still a journey ahead for a new route to connect China and Europe via Central Asia.
  • 26 May 2023
    • Central Asia
    • China

    Explaining China’s Central Asia pivot

    Xiaoli Guo
    Beijing’s ambition with its western neighbours is more about heading off US influence than a quest to dominate.
  • 18 May 2023
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • Coronavirus
    • Multilateral Institutions

    Why the WHO needs Taiwan

    Joel Keep
    Taiwan’s early warning and pandemic response should be offered as a model to the world, not hostage to China’s whim.
  • 17 May 2023
    • China
    • European Union
    • France
    • Germany

    Europe’s divisions over China could hamper G-7 unity

    Dominique Fraser
    If European capitals, Brussels, and Washington are not aligned, immediate economic interests will overshadow common, long-term goals.
  • 15 May 2023
    • China
    • China's Economy
    • China's Government
    • China-India Relations
    • India
    • WTO

    Foreign policy China-style: beyond protocol and alcohol

    Ved Shinde
    Southeast Asian nations are realising that forming balancing coalitions will be their best bet in dealing with Beijing.
  • 15 May 2023
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Iran
    • Saudi Arabia

    China to the rescue, with peace plans for Saudi, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan – up to a point

    Henry Storey
    These diplomatic gambits all carry a message. But conflict resolution isn’t necessarily the main one.
  • 11 May 2023
    • China
    • Pacific Islands
    • Solomon Islands

    The disproportionate attention on the Solomons-China security pact

    Ilan Kiloe
    A tendency to “securitise” problems via a geopolitical lens only downplays legitimate aspirations of local communities.
  • 9 May 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Hydro-hegemon? Complexities of shared rivers between China and India

    Genevieve Donnellon-May
    Alarm about China building dams upstream of Brahmaputra River must be tempered by India’s own record on water-sharing.
  • 9 May 2023
    • China
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • Multilateral Institutions

    “Play defence” in any collective response to China’s economic coercion

    Victor Ferguson , Viking Bohman
    The cost of fighting back is unlikely to be spread evenly across any coalition, which risks undermining the effort.
  • 5 May 2023
    • Asean
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • South China Sea
    • Southeast Asia

    Indonesia’s dilemma as China pushes a “Global Security Initiative”

    Alfin Febrian Basundoro
    Existing regional mechanisms can accommodate diverse interests in Southeast Asia without the need for a new forum.
  • 2 May 2023
    • China
    • Laos
    • Global Economy

    What price will Laos need to pay to be saved, and will China pay it?

    Mariza Cooray
    The debt-burdened Southeast Asian nation offers China a chance to recast its reputation.
  • 26 Apr 2023
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • Australia

    The two big flaws in Penny Wong’s talk of deterrence over Taiwan

    Hugh White
    It’s wishful thinking to dismiss debate on the most difficult and important foreign policy question as a “parlour game”.
  • 26 Apr 2023
    • Asean
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • United States

    Quad should ask ASEAN to a diplomatic dance

    Ved Shinde
    For all the talk of hedging, Southeast Asian nations have long worried about China’s ambition to dominate the region.
  • 19 Apr 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • United States

    Hugh White on the choice facing Penny Wong

    Hugh White
    How long can the Foreign Minister talk of a multipolar order in Asia in a government working to bolster US strategic primacy?
  • 13 Apr 2023
    • Asia
    • China
    • Global Economy
    • IMF
    • United States

    Economic diplomacy: Counting the cost of decoupling

    Greg Earl
    US-China tensions are disrupting economic links for other countries as new forecasts of slow growth make change harder.
  • 13 Apr 2023
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • European Union
    • France

    Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant

    David Vallance
    The French President’s comments are the latest example of his consistent call for Europe to set its own path.
  • 12 Apr 2023
    • China
    • Australia in the World
    • China-Australia Relations
    • United States

    Australia’s delicate dance with the United States and China

    Philipp Ivanov
    Could Canberra’s deft management of its Beijing relationship influence policy in Washington?
  • 12 Apr 2023
    • China
    • Russia
    • Ukraine

    What does China want in Ukraine?

    Ved Shinde
    Beijing has reservations about Putin’s war, but seeing Moscow take a beating is not in China’s interests.
  • 11 Apr 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Russia
    • Türkiye
    • Africa

    Russia foreign policy: the search for new friends

    Ian Hill
    Shunned by the West, Moscow is wooing the rest of the world. And so far it’s finding success.
  • 11 Apr 2023
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Pakistan
    • Sustainability

    Multilateral cooperation can improve South Asia’s water woes

    Genevieve Donnellon-May
    Transparency will help foster trust, which can lead to a common river management framework for the benefit of all.
  • 6 Apr 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Philippines
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security

    China is its own worst enemy

    Daniel R. DePetris
    Xi’s belligerence prompts classic balancing, an alignment among smaller states that would alone struggle to compete.
  • 4 Apr 2023
    • China
    • Indonesia

    Indonesia-China: a smart city can make for clever politics

    Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat , Yeta Purnama
    With a new capital to build, Indonesia can benefit from directing Chinese investment.
  • 31 Mar 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Russia
    • Multilateral Institutions

    Great power rivalry is poisoning multilateralism

    Ved Shinde
    With India in summit season, New Delhi is banking on minilateral partnerships to counter China’s hegemonic ambitions.
  • 30 Mar 2023
    • China
    • South China Sea
    • Australia
    • Resource security

    Climate change, ironically, reduces the heat in the South China Sea

    John Quiggin
    The days for oil and gas are numbered, so the economic case of a fight over undersea resources doesn’t stack up.
  • 29 Mar 2023
    • China
    • Sustainability

    China’s food dilemma

    Genevieve Donnellon-May
    The push for a “Food Silk Road” is telling of the superpower’s vulnerability – environmental and geopolitical.
  • 28 Mar 2023
    • China
    • Pakistan
    • Iran
    • Saudi Arabia

    China trumpets the Saudi-Iran deal, yet much credit goes to Pakistan 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    A little-heralded meeting in Islamabad set the stage for two arch rivals to set aside differences.
  • 28 Mar 2023
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • India
    • Pakistan

    India’s delicate dance with the Taliban

    Henry Storey
    With Afghanistan’s China pivot proving disappointing, the Islamist group is reprising its relationship with New Delhi.
  • 24 Mar 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Russia
    • Technology

    A Catch-22 for India’s tech ambitions

    Divyanshu Jindal
    With Russian supply chains under stress, New Delhi explores indigenous capabilities.
  • 22 Mar 2023
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • Australia
    • Australian Navy
    • Defence & Security
    • United States

    AUKUS commits Australia to fight China if America does, simple

    Hugh White
    Whatever the flag, Washington would not sell nuclear-powered boats unless it could count on them in war over Taiwan.
  • 20 Mar 2023
    • China
    • China's Military
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australian Navy
    • China-Australia Relations
    • Defence & Security

    Australia, China, AUKUS and the squandered advantage

    Sam Roggeveen
    Canberra appears to have overlooked the tyranny of distance as its chief asset in regional military deterrence.
  • 17 Mar 2023
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Al Qaeda
    • ISIS
    • Terrorism
    • Russia
    • United States

    Is a stable Afghanistan where China, Russia and the US cooperate?

    Hilmand Dehsabzi
    Three of the world’s most influential powers have skin in the game when it comes to preventing another civil war.
  • 16 Mar 2023
    • China
    • Chinese Trade
    • Laos

    Economic diplomacy: unlocked Laos looks for new links

    Greg Earl
    The once isolated and landlocked nation has become an unlikely partner in Australia’s latest push into the region.
  • 14 Mar 2023
    • China
    • Russia
    • Ukraine

    Will China really funnel weapons to Russia through Belarus?

    Nikola Mikovic
    With war on his doorstep, the Belarusian president is juggling Beijing and Moscow to reap the benefits of geography.
  • 8 Mar 2023
    • China
    • China's Government
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Beijing and the birth rate: a question of human rights for women

    Yun Jiang
    Despite the government's gender positive rhetoric, Chinese women are still viewed as resources of the party state.
  • 23 Feb 2023
    • China

    Chinese interference is dangerous – but also often ineffective and counterproductive

    Joshua Kurlantzick
    Understanding Beijing’s failures now is crucial ahead of a time when efforts to shape opinion are more sophisticated.
  • 22 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Europe
    • Russia
    • Ukraine

    Wang Yi’s fruitless diplomacy in Europe

    Michael Clarke
    Beijing misunderstands that Russia’s war in Ukraine – and China’s failure to condemn it – has vastly changed views.
  • 15 Feb 2023
    • China
    • United States

    Balloon goes up for Washington’s “decisive decade”

    Elizabeth Buchanan
    Matching it with Beijing will take far more attention than the United States has so far devoted.
  • 15 Feb 2023
    • China – Belt and Road Initiative
    • China
    • Philippines
    • Defence & Security
    • United States

    Reset in US–Philippines relations tells of yet another China fumble

    Makoi Popioco
    The 180-degree reversal in Manila’s foreign policy was a consequent evolution of the previous regime’ approach.
  • 10 Feb 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives

    The Maldives: geopolitics of Chinese tourism

    John Kachtik
    With a presidential election set for September, Maldivian candidates need to balance the economy and Beijing.
  • 9 Feb 2023
    • Asia
    • Asean
    • China
    • India
    • Laos
    • North Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Defence & Security
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • United Nations

    With caution and tact: How Asian countries voted on Ukraine at the UN 

    Stéphanie Fillion
    A resolution forces nations to show their hand. After Russia’s invasion, consistency has not been to everyone’s liking.
  • 8 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • Trade

    What the China thaw means for Australia’s trade diversification agenda

    Leigh Howard
    While it’s easy to say never again allow one market to dominate, the promise of premium prices will be hard to ignore.
  • 8 Feb 2023
    • China
    • China's Economy
    • IMF

    China’s growth prospects after zero-Covid

    Roland Rajah , Robert Walker
    A strong initial rebound perhaps but held back by major downward pressures.
  • 7 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Japan
    • Thailand
    • United States

    Power in Asia: six surprising facts

    Jack Sato , Susannah Patton
    Following the launch of the 2023 Asia Power Index, the authors dig into data that reveals how power is shifting in Asia.
  • 6 Feb 2023
    • Asia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia
    • United States

    The big picture: five lessons for five years of the Asia Power Index

    Hervé Lemahieu
    Superpower rivalry matters – but don’t be blinded to the role of smaller players in a region of many contests.
  • 6 Feb 2023
    • China
    • International Relations
    • United States

    Chinese grey zone spy balloons over the American heartland

    Peter Layton
    High-flying espionage went out of fashion in the 1960s, but the most recent sky crisis has reignited tensions.
  • 6 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • Defence & Security

    A Chinese invasion of Taiwan isn’t inevitable

    Daniel R. DePetris
    The logistics pose a momentous challenge. And more so, Xi Jinping knows a war will entail enormous costs.
  • 3 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • South China Sea
    • Southeast Asia
    • Energy
    • Resource security

    Global energy scarcity and the South China Sea

    Suryaputra Wijaksana
    A new source of natural gas within the controversial “nine-dash line” should revive questions about sharing access.
  • 2 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Vietnam
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • IMF
    • Trade

    Economic diplomacy: Diversification is hard to do

    Greg Earl
    Treasurer Jim Chalmers should rise above outdated jibes at the IMF to justify his aims for a new values-based economy.
  • 25 Jan 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Resource security
    • Technology

    Lithium, lightest metal on earth, carries heavy geopolitical weight

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Instead of a source of great tech power competition, lithium should be key to a collective fight against climate change.
  • 23 Jan 2023
    • China
    • Chinese Trade
    • Australia
    • Australia's Trade
    • Trade
    • WTO

    How will China’s punitive trade restrictions against Australia end?

    Justin Brown
    Good vibes could turn into a solution – but if China demands a quid pro quo, reaching agreement will be complex.
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