You can’t understand the world without understanding China. No country has had a less predictable, more dynamic impact on the world in the past 40 years — and the next 40 will be no different.
Beijing has quickly formulated and passed a new law to retaliate against any individual or organization who implements “discriminatory restrictive measures” — i.e. sanctions — against Chinese citizens or organizations, or those who “interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
China is America’s “greatest geopolitical and geoeconomic challenge” according to the Senate, which passed a bill to spend more than $250 billion to ensure that the U.S.A. stays on top. But will it work?
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held a meeting to mark 30 years of formal ties, and appeared to smooth over tense spots in relations — with the help of Chinese vaccine aid, which has focused on Southeast Asia.
In mainland China, fear of Taiwanese independence feeds the fever of traumatized nationalism, unites domestic rivals around a shared national dream, and serves as a never-ending threat that justifies enormous military expenditures — but not for war.
United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen met China’s top America-whisperer, Liu He, over a cordial “introductory virtual meeting.”
As a small surge in COVID-19 cases disrupts life in Taiwan, and the island’s vaccine rollout continues slowly, Taiwanese officials blamed China for blocking some of their vaccine supply.
The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution today condemning China’s human rights abuses and counter-sanctions over Xinjiang. Ratification of the EU-China investment deal is off the table, the resolution says, until Beijing removes those sanctions.
At a ceremony on Monday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador officially apologized for an act of violence 110 years ago that shattered the Chinese community in Torreon.
After two decades, U.S. troops are finally fully leaving a country bordering China. Beijing appears to have mixed feelings about the development, taking advantage of opportunities to increase regional influence while warning about the possibility of instability.
A U.S. State Department official described China’s Xinjiang region as “an open-air prison” and reiterated the Department’s view that Beijing is committing genocide against Uyghurs. Meanwhile, several more reports have detailed how the Chinese government is chipping away at Muslim culture and life in Xinjiang.