Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The SCO development bank: China’s answer to Western financial hegemony?

China’s push for an SCO development bank aims to offer Eurasia a non-dollar, low-conditionality alternative to Western finance. But governance challenges, funding gaps and divergent interests may stall its ambition before it takes flight. Researcher Genevieve Donnellon-May discusses the issue.

Genevieve Donnellon-May

29 Sep 2025

Venezuela exposes the limits of China’s global power

China’s limited response to Venezuela amid Trump’s deployment of naval vessels to the southern Caribbean in the crackdown on drug smugglers makes clear that Beijing cannot (yet) provide an alternative to Washington’s hegemony. Italian commentator Emanuele Scimia discusses the issue.

Emanuele Scimia

29 Sep 2025

Inside Xi Jinping’s push to reshape global governance

China’s recently unveiled Global Governance Initiative (GGI) differs from earlier calls to reform the global order in terms of the scope and drive for change. Beijing now seeks a leading role on the world stage either with the US playing a diminished role or without the US. But global reception to the GGI hinges on Beijing matching its words with action.

Lye Liang Fook

19 Sep 2025

The ‘one China’ policy India never wrote down

By keeping its Taiwan stance vague, New Delhi holds leverage over Beijing — and room to manoeuvre with Washington, says Indian researcher Anushka Saxena.

Anushka Saxena

11 Sep 2025

The new Asian chessboard: Modi navigates China, Japan and a ‘wobbly’ US

By deepening relations with Japan and signalling openness to dialogue with China, India may be saying that equality remains the key strategic goal and it does not like to be pushed, says Indian analyst Rishi Gupta.

Rishi Gupta

09 Sep 2025

Xi’s long game vs Trump’s deals: A clash of global futures

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, embody radically different styles and visions for global order. Their diverging paths, from Xi’s long-term statecraft to Trump’s transactional populism, risk a bleak future if ideological divides persist. US academic Zhu Zhiqun examines this quagmire.

Zhiqun Zhu

09 Sep 2025

China’s ascendant power: A new balance, a less certain peace

As China unveils its strength in a high-profile military parade, a new global force takes shape. In a world where peace is fragile and justice contested, both great powers and small states face a new test in navigating shifting geopolitical ground. Lianhe Zaobao China news editor Yang Danxu shares her thoughts.

Yang Danxu

04 Sep 2025

Tianjin Declaration: China’s blueprint for a post-Western world?

At the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Tianjin, China positioned the bloc as a vehicle for fairer global governance and multipolar cooperation. While unity was the message, the path forward reveals both shared ambitions and the realities of diverse interests. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Lim Zhan Ting finds out more.

Lim Zhan Ting

02 Sep 2025

The price of alliance: Is US foreign policy still American?

While the global south states consolidate autonomy, the US finds its own sovereignty and independence compromised — not by external conquest, but by internal capture, says academic Ma Haiyun.

Ma Haiyun

01 Sep 2025

How China is shaping India without confronting it

Amid China and India’s seeming rapprochement, China’s structural penetration into South Asia has become increasingly visible this year. Beijing is no longer nibbling at the region’s edges, but laying a wedge, says academic Hao Nan.

Hao Nan

21 Aug 2025

Trump’s tariff war is forging an unlikely BRICS unity

By wielding tariffs as a weapon against India, Brazil and South Africa — three founding members of BRICS — Trump has, in effect, pushed them toward closer alignment with China and Russia, says commentator Deng Yuwen.

Deng Yuwen

19 Aug 2025

As US tariffs bite, China and India need each other more than ever

Diversifying exports to non-US markets is a common priority for both China and India, says ISAS academic Amitendu Palit. Both countries need to look more closely at each other as potential big markets for key exports, such as India for Chinese electric vehicles, and China for Indian pharmaceuticals and energy products.

Amitendu Palit

19 Aug 2025