South East Asia

Hard geopolitics dominates China’s view of Russian action in Ukraine. In the West, China’s views on Ukraine have largely been seen through the lenses that people want to interpret China’s actions. Some fear Beijing will use the opportunity to do something in Taiwan, while others instead suggest that this will …

When President Donald Trump lost the 2020 US presidential election to democratic candidate Joe Biden, many leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) saw an ominous warning that democracy may again take center stage in US foreign policy, with autocrats trying to consolidate power in their hands. However, …

What Xi Gains—and Loses—From Backing Putin The Ukraine crisis is primarily a standoff between Russia and the West, but off to the side, another player stands awkwardly: China. Beijing has tried to walk a fine line on Ukraine. On one hand, it has taken Russia’s side, blaming NATO expansion for …

As the world was focused on the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House published its Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States on February 11.[1] Purportedly, the release of the strategy was meant to coincide with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s travel …

On February 25, 2022, the Chinese outlet The Global Times uploaded to its YouTube channel a video of statements made by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying regarding the Ukraine conflict, America’s culpability in it, and the issue of Taiwan. In the statements, Hua said that the U.S. is the …

Mainstream US media continues to celebrate the supposed strength of the US economy. Almost daily, headlines speak of hopeful numbers, sustainable growth, positive trends and constant gains. The reality on the ground, however, tells of something entirely different, which raises the questions: Are Americans being lied to? And for what …

China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to U.S. and European markets by doing too much. Even if Beijing …

Chinese-Russian Convergence and the Future of American Order The greatest strategic problem the United States faces is the convergence of its two main rivals, China and Russia—countries that don’t always like or trust each other but nonetheless derive great benefits from their simultaneous assaults on the existing international order. And …

While the world looked to Ukraine during its time of crisis amid the Russian invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, his close ally China and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been busy reiterating that Taiwan is part of their sovereign territory after it had previously stated in a UNSC …

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, held a phone call with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday after Russian troops invaded Ukraine and began airstrikes on numerous Ukrainian cities. The call is part of a delicate geopolitical balancing act on China’s part. Beijing has been careful not to explicitly endorse …