Ukraine

People walk along a street in the Dongcheng district of Beijing on 3 December 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)

Three 'traps' that China could fall for

Researcher Wei Da looks at three lessons that China needs to learn, from the Lushan Conference and breakup of the USSR, to the war in Ukraine. China cannot afford to make the same mistakes of the past and present, if it is to make itself a major power.
US President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on 14 November 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

Can Biden and Xi seize the day and create breakthroughs in international relations?

Former journalist Goh Choon Kang looks at the global situation, from central Asia and the Caucasus to China-US relations, and how tensions might be de-escalated and countries can work together rather than against one another.
Cartoon: Heng Kim Song

ThinkCartoon (2 November)

Heng Kim Song has been the freelance editorial cartoonist

Special forces personnel take part in the  Double Ten Day celebration ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, on 10 October 2023. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Gaza, Ukraine crises have implications for Taiwan

The emerging war fatigue and the twin crises in Ukraine and Gaza have analysts weighing up the implications for Taiwan. Ultimately, the US can afford Ukraine’s failure or even let the conflict in the Middle East continue, but it will do everything possible to keep Taiwan separate from China, says US academic Zhu Zhiqun.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on 18 October 2023. (Sputnik/Sergei Guneev/Pool via Reuters)

Russia’s reliance on China is growing, but will China benefit?

The outside world predicts that China and Russia are set to demonstrate a “no limits” relationship and join hands to counteract the US and its Western alliance. However, China seems to be gaining dominance in China-Russia relations as Moscow is trying to strengthen its already deep economic, military and energy cooperation with Beijing. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk and journalist Miao Zong-Han tell us more.
This pool image distributed by Sputnik agency shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un shaking hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on 13 September 2023. (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP)

US's 'axis of evil' narrative could escalate tensions on Korean peninsula

With North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia recently, observers worry that North Korea and Russia, together with China, are drawing closer, forming a greater “axis” of nuclear threat. But academic Jin Kai sees the sense of a greater “alliance” forming as all part of the US and its allies’ “geopolitical imagination”, which could see them taking steps that escalate the situation in the Korean peninsula.
In this pool photo distributed by Sputnik agency, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on 13 September 2023. (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP)

Why Kim Jong-un’s first trip after the pandemic was not to China, but Russia

The solidarity between North Korea and Russia based on an “anti-imperialist” or anti-American mindset can be said to be a strategic and simple construct: “An enemy’s friend is an enemy.” 
A train leaving Russia and entering China at Manzhouli. (Photo: Jack No1/Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

Russia 'looks East': Surging logistics and trade flows across China-Russia border

With China-Russia trade leaping many-fold since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both sides have forged stronger cross-border transport and freight links, says US academic Chen Xiangming. However, this comes with challenges, due to Russia’s historical orientation toward Europe and severely underdeveloped Far Eastern regional and local economies.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a BRICS summit meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 27 July 2018. (Mike Hutchings/File Photo/Reuters)

Xi Jinping's rare absence from the G20 summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s likely absence from the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi sends a message, amid tensions with India. However, it also means that there is less of an opportunity for China to engage with the US. Does this also mean that China is less interested in talking to the US, or is it leaving that encounter for later at the upcoming APEC summit in San Francisco?