China

At Arab Summit, China’s Xi calls for End to Israeli Settlements and Quick Establishment of Palestinian State With East Jerusalem as Capital

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China’s trade with the Arab world was over $330 billion in 2021, and will likely be a third larger this year, given the high price of petroleum. The largest single source of oil for China is Saudi Arabia. It imports significant amounts of petroleum, as well, from Oman, Kuwait and […]

Arab World

Xi announces “New Era” in China-Saudi Relationship with $30 bn. in Deals, as Arabs Seek to Offset Dependence on Washington

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on Thursday signed an agreement with visiting Chinese Premier Xi Jinping at the Yamama Palace regarding a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries. Xi announced that his visit to the kingdom would inaugurate a “new era” in the relationship of […]

Arab World

Xi lands in Saudi Arabia: What does China want from the Arabs?

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor ) – The problem with most Western media’s political analyses is that they generally tend to be short-sighted and focused mostly on variables that are of direct interest to Western governments. These types of analyses are now being applied to understanding official Arab attitudes towards Russia, China, global politics and conflicts. […]

China

A Letter to President Joe Biden: About that pledge you Made of “Diplomacy First”

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment) – Dear Joe, Remember the mid-March snowball fight with some boys in our 8th grade class at St Helena’s School in Wilmington, Delaware? The snow was wet and made for hard, icy snowballs, so I hid my young sister Monica behind a parked car. You joined me against the […]

China

What If the U.S. and China Really Cooperated on Climate Change? Imagining a Necessary Future

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com) – As President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping arrived on the resort island of Bali, Indonesia, for their November 14th “summit,” relations between their two countries were on a hair-raising downward spiral, with tensions over Taiwan nearing the boiling point. Diplomats hoped, at best, for a modest reduction in tensions, which, […]

China

Deaf to History’s Questions: A Tale of Two Elizabeths, One Joe, One Donald, and Us

Andrew J. Bacevich

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Britons mourned the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and understandably so. The outpouring of affection for their long-serving monarch was more than commendable, it was touching. Yet count me among those mystified that so many Americans also professed to care. With all due respect to Queen Latifah, we decided way […]

Batteries

China’s Decarbonization Miracle: “We are Witnessing a Fundamental Change in its Electricity Mix”

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – When it comes to a global clean energy transition, China is both part of the problem and part of the solution. On the problem side, China is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world by a rather wide margin. In 2020, China was responsible for a little […]

China

Death Knell for Big Carbon? Globally, All New Electricity Demand was Met by Renewables in first 1/2 of ’22, with Fossil Fuels Flat

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the first half of 2022, there was no increase in the world’s use of fossil fuels, and all new electricity demand was met by renewables. The world is nearing a tipping point, estimated by the International Energy Agency to come in 2025, after which all new electricity demand will […]

China

One City in China Plans More Offshore Wind Capacity by 2030 than the Entire United States

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Shenzhen Daily reports that the city of Chaozhou in China’s southern Guangdong Province is planning the world’s largest offshore wind farm, at 43.3 gigawatts. The United States has almost no offshore wind now, but the Biden Administration has a goal of 30 gigawatts by 2030 and the Interior Department […]