Europe

Three of China’s major airlines have announced plans to purchase about 300 aircrafts from Europe’s Airbus, much to the chagrin of the US’s Boeing. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan discusses the reasons behind the move and what this might portend.

The recent NATO summit in Madrid seems to indicate that NATO is making a comeback in full force. For China, painted as presenting “systemic challenges” to NATO, this should sound a warning that when the time is ripe for the US to contain China, key countries in the Asia-Pacific and the EU will not be on its side.

Chinese academic Zhang Jingwei notes that while US President Joe Biden has cast a wider net in building alliances compared with his predecessors, much of these frameworks are lacking in substance. Will the US be able to benefit from them and use them against its strategic rival China?

Following a nationwide power shortage, China moved to rein in coal prices starting in October 2021. But experts reveal that prices have become a huge problem again this year, as imports grow pricier due to the war in Ukraine and regulations such as the price cap prove inefficient.

With Finland and Sweden applying to join NATO, some in Asia are asking if Southeast Asian countries will follow suit and seek an alliance with “like-minded” powers. Malaysian academics Kuik Cheng-Chwee, Abdul Razak Ahmad and Lai Yew Meng explain why such realignment is unlikely in Asia (for now).

Amid a changing global order, Russian academic Artyom Lukin analyses the different ideologies of the US, China and Russia and explains why it would be hasty to lump Russia and China in one camp or to dismiss the similarities between the US and Russia. In the end, the ideology that rules the emerging new world may not even be that of any of the three countries.

With the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, logistics providers have been hard put to keep goods moving between China and Europe. One route is the China Railway Express (CRE) that cuts through Russia and Ukraine, which gives sellers and suppliers cause for concern, leading to a sharp drop in the volume of goods being transported via that route. Zaobao correspondent Edwin Ong takes a look at the impact of the war and how the CRE can get through the challenging period that is coming.

We should not underestimate the role of political psychology in international relations, says Lance Gore. Often, human nature and emotions play a large part in decision-making, and factors such as wounded pride, a need to assert one’s identity or a sense of insecurity can bring about major consequences. Moreover, when feelings are stoked and public opinion drawn on the side of the “good guys”, it is not so much the high ideals of liberalism but a realist game at work. Russia and China have not learnt finesse in playing the two-tier game of international politics; neither have they realised they are not strong enough yet to change the rules of the game.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has brought about significant impacts on the global economy. While some analysts think that China's economy will benefit from the war, NUS academic Xu Le points out that the situation is not clear-cut, as China will have to face hits to its exports, as well as rising energy prices and challenges to food security.