Diplomacy

Japan, China and the race for Africa’s critical minerals

As Japan expands its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision across Africa, competition with China is increasingly centred on critical minerals, supply chains and strategic infrastructure. Japanese academic Mitsugi Endo analyses the implications.

Mitsugi Endo

After Trump and Putin, Xi turns to North Korea

Amid rumours of Xi Jinping visiting North Korea, analysts believe this is a calculated move by China to hold the strategic initiative and balance ties among the US, Russia and North Korea. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei finds out more.

Sim Tze Wei

How China sustains the illusion of equality with Russia

Amid its meetings with US and Russian leaders, academic Marcin Kaczmarski observes that China holds a firm upper hand in its relations with Russia, while continuing to massage Russia’s great-power ego.

Marcin Kaczmarski

Can ASEAN find its own voice between great powers?

As great power rivalries intensify, Southeast Asia is moving beyond mere geopolitical balancing and pursuing “epistemic autonomy”. The region is rejecting imported Western narratives to build its own knowledge, trust local institutions, and dictate its own future on its own terms, say Chinese academics Li You and Zhai Kun.

Li You

[Video] US–China tech ties revealed at Xi’s power banquet

A carefully curated guest list at the high-profile state banquet during the Trump-Xi summit placed American and Chinese tech titans side by side, revealing not just diplomatic optics, but a supply chain that remains deeply intertwined despite rising geopolitical tension. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina finds out more.

Yi Jina

Why China must reject Trump’s ‘G2’ narrative

China’s embrace of multilateralism and rejection of a US-led “G2” order reflects Beijing’s belief that only broader global cooperation can counterbalance American pressure and reshape an increasingly fractured world order. Academic Gu Bin gives his take.

Gu Bin

Trump-Xi summit: Why China scored the bigger strategic win

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “constructive strategic stability” framework and carefully choreographed optics defined the Trump-Xi summit, yielding modest gains for both sides, but a broader strategic advantage for China in setting the terms of future US-China relations. Academic Dylan Loh examines the details.

Dylan Loh

Trump-Xi summit leaves Taiwan independence camp on edge

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is reeling after US President Donald Trump, following his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, bluntly warned against any push for independence. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Chuang Hui Liang notes that this signals a potential shift in US policy, forcing Taipei to urgently redefine its cross-strait strategy.

Chuang Hui Liang

Trump–Xi summit delivers a triple win

While the US has unsuccessfully sought to suppress China, the latter has responded calmly and effectively to signal that it is not to be taken for granted. The latest meeting between the US and Chinese leaders may mark a new chapter of greater stability, both bilaterally and globally. Academic Gu Qingyang gives his analysis.

Gu Qingyang

Trump-Xi summit delivers deals — and exposes fault lines

At the US-China Summit in Beijing, while China focused on pushing a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability”, the US looked to advance business deals and kept the Taiwan card close to its chest. While both sides want some kind of stability, it is anyone’s guess when the house of cards would topple. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong weighs in on the issue.

Han Yong Hong

Trump in Beijing: Why even limited success is remarkable

Pomp and pageantry aside, the US-China summit focused on business and trade deliverables, with upbeat atmospherics masking deeper tensions. US academic Zhiqun Zhu explains why even limited progress is notable in a relationship defined by rivalry, mistrust and deep structural tensions.

Zhiqun Zhu

Trump in Beijing: Why China may miss Trump after 2029

Even as US-China rivalry deepens, Beijing may look back on Trump’s transactional unpredictability as a rare stabiliser in an increasingly ideological and uncertain post-Trump world, argues Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei.

Sim Tze Wei