Amidst all that is happening in the Arab world (escalating violence in Syria, and nuclear brinkmanship by Iran) and the never-ending (epic) saga of the Greek sovereign debt crisis, comes the delayed EU-China summit in Beijing this week (February 14, 2012). Held on Valentine’s Day, it was full of promises for mutual love, respect and […]
The Chinese government has sentenced writer Li Tie to 10 years imprisonment for his online articles, in which he urged respect for ordinary citizens, called for democracy and political reform, and urged basic human rights. Journalists around the world have noted with sorrow — but not surprise — this incredibly harsh and hypocritical decision. That […]
With sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran gaining greater momentum and the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran looming large in the global economy, a key question remains whether or not the Islamic Republic will ink a deal to extricate itself from increasingly biting sanctions and ensure its survival, […]
Any suspicions that the US went into Afghanistan to secure access to resources went out the window last week. On Wednesday, Tom A. Peter over at the Christian Science Monitor reported, “China’s National Petroleum Corporation became the first foreign company to tap into Afghanistan’s oil and gas reserves. Chinese officials have estimated that the deal could […]
If you are one of the few to hold a high place in the Chinese Communist Party life has to be good. You are running one of the world’s greatest powers and you don’t have to worry about elections next Fall, or the next Fall, or the…However, there is one major hangup to being part […]
Iceland’s Minister of the Interior, Ögmundur Jónasson, rejected Chinese businessman Huang Nubo’s bid to purchase a large tract of territory in the northeastern region of the country. Huang had sought an exemption from an Icelandic law which prohibits nationals from outside the European Economic Association from purchasing large amounts of land. Huang wanted to purchase […]
As developments unfolded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during the past 8 months, one thing has become abundantly clear: the political transformation will not survive without an economic transformation. As many analyst have pointed out, an overwhelming motivation of the people who took to the streets with the ‘Arab Spring’ was the […]
Last month Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proclaimed, in an article for the Foreign Policy Magazine, ‘America’s Pacific Century’! This week, President Obama will be laying the foundation through a series of multilateral meetings involving Pacific Rim countries. He will start with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Hawaii (Nov 12th-13th), and continue at […]
Global economic developments this year, along with the impact of safe-haven investment flows have led to the appreciation of the dollar in global markets, contributed to the high level of unemployment in the U.S. and increased the chances for a double-dip recession in America. All these developments have further highlighted the international tensions over exchange […]
On October 19, seven American solar manufacturing companies asked the government to slap 100% tariffs on Chinese solar imports alleging unfair trading practices. The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing’s President Gordon Brinser said, “Chinese producers have used – and continue to use – continuous increases in production capacity and output, fueled by unprecedented levels of […]
The flagship of Canada’s aging fleet of icebreakers suffered mechanical failure to its center propeller on September 19 and has been anchored off the coast of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut since September 27. The 42-year old St-Laurent had been on a joint mission with the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to conduct bathymetric surveys and mapping of the […]
The respective security roles that the United States and India traditionally play in East Asia seemed to switch last week. By deciding not to supply Taiwan with the new fighter aircraft it has requested, the U.S. appeared to defer to China, which had cautioned that the sale was a “red line” that must not be […]
In his critically acclaimed book on the Indian Ocean last year, author Robert Kaplan warned that with growing Sino-Indian rivalry, the “the Indian Ocean and its adjacent waters will be a central theater of conflict and competition.” It seems that Kaplan’s prophetic claim was made none too soon. Last week, an editorial in the Global […]
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a piece detailing some of the methods behind China’s expansion into the African continent. The informative article not only does a nice job detailing specific cases of African and Chinese government business partnerships, but ties in how what is being exchanged it not just money and goods, but also […]
Recently released U.S. State Department cables from Wikileaks show that the Chinese government exerts strict control over journalists. Domestic Chinese journalists are particularly under tight restrictions. In terms of foreign news organizations, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Liu Jianchao said during a late-night press conference in November 2008 that Chinese nationals can only work […]