Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan analyses the outcomes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Uzbekistan and the implications of China’s perceived stronger courting of the Central Asia region.
International relations
Politics
China seems to be pulling back while Russia wants to take a step forward, as seen from the Xi-Putin parlay at their meeting in Uzbekistan. But the delicate dance is not only at the surface level of the Ukraine war, but China’s deeper strategic goals in Central Asia, where Russia considers itself a dominant power.
Economy
Academic Naoise McDonagh asserts that a key question posed by China’s rise is whether the liberal international order can remain rules-based, when its second largest member is a socialist market economy operating on different rules that it increasingly seeks to apply externally.
Politics
Japanese academic Mitsugi Endo gives his assessment of the recent Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) in Tunisia. While it was announced that Japan's public and private sectors combined would make investments in Africa amounting to US$30 billion over the next three years, the impact of great power politics in Africa, including by players such as China and Russia, may have an impact on Japan's future engagement with the continent.
Economy
East Asian Institute academic Yu Hong analyses the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, an update from the earlier Build Back Better World Initiative. With the aim of mobilising up to US$600 billion over the next five years, it is a much more robust effort to counter China’s BRI. But will such heft be enough? This is the first in a five-part series of articles on the future of China.
Politics
As the world rapidly shifts from an economic one to a highly political one, competition will no longer be about who wins more but about who loses less. In the shift from a win-win to a zero-sum game, China is torn as it strives to get closer to the developed world yet seeks to maintain a distance from the third world and Russia. In navigating these troubled waters, three critical developments — relations with Russia, Taiwan, and decoupling from the West — may alter the fate of China. This is the last in a series of four articles contemplating a changing world order.
Politics
Following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, visits by other US politicians have come fast and furious, with the latest a delegation led by Democrat Stephanie Murphy. But while these visits show US support for Taiwan, they also sometimes come with an agenda. How will Taiwan navigate such a situation amid pressure from Beijing?
Politics
Japanese academic Shin Kawashima wonders if a recent Japan-China press conference signals China's willingness to engage Japan amid heightened tensions after Chinese missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Even if this is so and the Kishida administration is keen to emphasise relations with China, it will not be an easy task to answer China's call.
Politics
Tunisia will host the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) on 27-28 August, during which various topics will come under discussion. How can Japan set itself apart from other powers such as China who are aggressively supporting Africa's development?