South East Asia

A full-spectrum strategic partnership is in the cards. Russia’s recent praise of the Taliban’s anti-terrorist successes, foreign spy chief Sergey Naryshkin’s historic visit to Kabul, and the impending trip of Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk as part of an economic delegation have prompted global interest in Russia’s game plan in …

The European Union still lacks an adequate understanding of the China it is negotiating with and of the world in which it now has to compete. Geopolitics and the Illusions of Power: Europe’s Refusal to AdaptIt is common for Europe to regard many of its economic problems as being China’s …

Introduction L’idée de «combattre» la Chine dans la fabrication mondiale de produits finis est aujourd’hui largement illusoire. La Chine n’est plus seulement l’«Usine du monde» : elle est devenue une superpuissance industrielle intégrée, dotée d’un écosystème complet, d’une capacité d’innovation croissante et de leviers de pression sur les chaînes d’approvisionnement …

America might still be the world’s most powerful country economically, but by turning trade into a weapon, Washington may be accelerating the very redistribution of global influence it fears the most. The trajectory of powerThe most important shift in the US-China competition may not be the size of either economy …

Key Takeaways: Washington as a stage. Xi is due Wednesday, 23 Sept, with trade, AI, and security on the card. RFA’s Ding Wang (pseudonym): the real audience is home, before next year’s Party congress and a possible fourth term. A high-profile Trump meeting, then state TV, is meant to show …

September 27, 2024 – The deadly pager attack in Lebanon has sparked global concerns over supply chain security. Chinese international relations scholar Shen Yi stated that China should take some measures in response to the U.S.’s increasingly aggressive stance in the strategic competition with China. When someone first sent me …

Behind China’s aircraft carriers lies the strategic depth of the Pacific; behind Türkiye’s, however, lie narrow seas that are becoming increasingly transparent. One of the most consequential mistakes in debating the future of naval power is to treat the platforms operated by major powers as models that can be replicated …

Pakistan should honor its defense commitments to Saudi Arabia through strictly defensive cooperation and protection of maritime commerce, while avoiding offensive military action against the Houthis that could drag Islamabad into a wider Middle Eastern conflict, alienate Iran, and deepen its domestic and strategic vulnerabilities. Pakistan should honor its defense …

Key Takeaways: The author treats the Aug. 31 Putin–Xi meeting in Bishkek (their second in 2026, after Putin’s May China visit) as the latest show of a post–Cold War thaw: the 4,300 km border was settled in treaties through 2008, and official language now calls ties “unprecedented,” especially after Western …

There has been no shortage of complaints about Chinese overcapacity in recent years. Beijing’s commitment to driving exports and widening its trade surplus, by any means necessary, has undermined the manufacturing aspirations of advanced economies such as the United States and those in Europe, as well as developing countries in …