East Asia

By Belinda Schäpe and Byford Tsang | – ( China Dialogue ) – What happens in China’s steel plants matters for the global climate. After power generation, the steel sector is the second largest contributor to China’s emissions, accounting for roughly 17% annually. China produces more than half of all global steel, and over 60% […]

China

In Saudi Arabia, Biden Plays Defense against Russia, China, Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Although President Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia was ostensibly about petroleum and attempting to lower gasoline prices in the US, it doesn’t seem to me that that rationale entirely explains Biden’s about-face on Saudi Arabia. For one thing, Biden must have been told that Saudi Arabia does not have […]

censorship

Review of Ilham Tohti, We Uyghurs Have No Say: An Imprisoned Writer Speaks

Marc Martorell Junyent

Tuebingen (Special to Ann Arbor) – Review of Ilham Tohti, We Uyghurs Have No Say: An Imprisoned Writer Speaks (London: Verso, 2022). Ilham Tohti, a Chinese intellectual and advocate for the rights of the Uyghurs, the Muslim minority group he belongs to, was jailed in 2014 by the Chinese government. Little has been known about […]

China

Why China Will Decide the Outcome of Russia v. the West

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In its attempt to swallow Ukraine whole, Russia has so far managed to bite off only the eastern Donbas region and a portion of its southern coast. The rest of the country remains independent, with its capital Kyiv intact. No one knows how this meal will end. Ukraine is eager to […]

China

What Difference Does a War Make? The Geopolitics of the New Cold War

Alfred W. McCoy

( Tomdispatch.com ) – From his first days in office, Joe Biden and his national security advisers seemed determined to revive America’s fading global leadership via the strategy they knew best — challenging the “revisionist powers” Russia and China with a Cold War-style aggressiveness. When it came to Beijing, the president combined the policy initiatives […]

China

Biden’s Golden Opportunity to Reverse Course on China

John Feffer

Originally published in Hankyoreh. ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Joe Biden has wrapped up his first trip to Asia. He met with new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to shore up the U.S.-ROK alliance. He traveled to Tokyo to reinvigorate the Quad grouping with Japan, Australia, and India. And he peddled the new […]

Batteries

As US Squanders $728.5 billion/ yr on Pentagon, China Captures 65% of Global EV Sales, ups Production 115%

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China is beating the pants off the United States in the burgeoning new energy vehicle market, out-producing and out-selling America with regard to plug-in vehicles by a massive margin. Whereas the Chinese government is supporting this new industry, the US government is still subsidizing fossil fuels and is spending $728.5 […]

China

No to WW III: Why Russia Fumbled in Ukraine, China Lost Its Way, and America Should Exercise Restraint

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com) – In Western military circles, it’s common to refer to the “balance of forces” — the lineup of tanks, planes, ships, missiles, and battle formations on the opposing sides of any conflict. If one has twice as many combat assets as its opponent and the leadership abilities on each side are approximately equal, […]

China

Ukraine: why China is not yet bailing out Russia

The Conversation

By Aglaya Snetkov, UCL and Marc Lanteigne University of Tromsø | – As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, China’s role has been thrown into sharp relief. Prior to the war, some commentators suggested that China would openly side with Russia or seek to act as a mediator – so far Beijing appears to have resisted […]