Campaigning has officially begun for Indonesia’s Feb. 14 presidential election, a race in which the two frontrunners are likely to face off in a runoff round. But even before the official campaign season got underway, President Joko Widodo’s dynasty-building efforts introduced no small amount of intrigue and controversy to the race.
Two weeks ago in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech to a gathering of U.S. business leaders that was chock full of his signature ideological ideas, including “Chinese-style modernization.” Why did Xi lecture them about these ideas? And what does Chinese-style modernization mean for U.S.-China relations?
The Solomon Islands has become the focus of a fierce geopolitical rivalry between the allies of the U.S. on one hand, and China on the other, after announcing an extensive security pact with Beijing a year and a half ago. But some are concerned that great power competition is overshadowing national development priorities.
Opposition forces fighting against Myanmar’s military junta had been making progress in recent months, but on Oct. 27 they crossed a threshold, dealing a powerful blow to government forces and putting the regime on the defensive. The offensive in Myanmar’s eastern-most Shan state could be a turning point in the country’s civil war.
As preparations fall into place for the first in-person summit in four years between EU officials and their Chinese counterparts, hopes for constructive partnership have been displaced by mutual suspicion. Yet in hardening its stance toward Beijing, Brussels is ignoring weaknesses within China that could also generate risks.
The APEC Summit presents an opportunity for the U.S. to prioritize human rights in climate policy. To begin, this requires considering the conditions in which climate activists operate as a metric of successful climate response. And the human rights landscape across key U.S. partner states in the Indo-Pacific isn’t promising.
While China’s current economic malaise has multiple factors, there is something about President Xi Jinping’s pursuit of utopian policies that increasingly seems to weigh on the country. One manifestation of this despondency is the phenomenon of “lying flat,” a Chinese concept that closely equates to “opting out.”
The city of Shenzhen is looking for ways to adapt to China’s shifting economic landscape. But Shenzhen is not just another city. It was the birthplace and symbol of the Reform and Opening Up era. What future does that leave for Shenzhen, now that the China it once represented no longer exists under President Xi Jinping?
As much as any other single development, China’s rise over the past two decades has remade the landscape of global politics. China rapidly transformed its economy from a low-cost “factory to the world” to a global leader in advanced technologies. Along the way, it has transformed global supply chains, but also international diplomacy.
Today’s violent and complex world has drawn many historical analogies, particularly with the 1950s and the start of the Cold War. While the current geopolitical landscape does not feature two blocs in the Cold War sense, we can distinguish two families of countries or “worlds,” geographically, but above all politically and culturally.
EU officials have been careful to avoid framing Global Gateway, an infrastructure development initiative, as a response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, but comparisons between the two frameworks are inevitable. It is no surprise, then, that the narratives the EU uses to discuss the Global Gateway contest those surrounding the BRI.
U.S. technical consultation with Taliban authorities is necessary to advance specific and urgent interests, such as out-migration of Afghans processed for U.S. residency. But senior overtures to Taliban leadership would require a shift in the policy landscape. That may explain some recent actions taken by the Biden administration.
Though Thailand’s elections in May were won by pro-democracy parties, the result was a coalition government led by Pheu Thai that includes military-aligned parties. The question now is: Can Pheu Thai actually govern in a way that reunites Thais, strengthens democratic institutions and addresses Thailand’s many other problems?