On April 19, during the presentation of a report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Secretary General António Guterres stated that 2021 would become crucial for fighting climate change. To underscore the seriousness of the problem, he mentioned Verkhoyansk, in Russia’s northern... MORE

Expectations regarding the summit between Presidents Joseph Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva last Wednesday (June 16) were set quite low (see EDM, June 14, 17), but the media hype was considerable—and both suited the Russian leader just fine. Putin enjoyed being at the center... MORE

On June 15, Qiushi, the leading theoretical journal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published an article by CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) titled, “Taking history as a mirror, use history to demonstrate convictions, know history and love the party, know history and love... MORE

Introduction After Mao Zedong (毛泽东, 1893-1976) became the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1936, he began a thorough-going purge of the party’s earliest generation of free-thinking intellectuals in the temporary party headquarters at Yan’an, Shaanxi Province. Since then, the CCP has... MORE

Introduction The phrase “military political work” (军队政治工作, jundui zhengzhi gongzuo) is an overarching term that describes all the efforts and activities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aimed at managing human capital and influencing the civilian environment in order to achieve the political and military... MORE

Known as the “Pivot to Asia” and informally announced by Vladimir Putin in early 2012, Russia’s strategic (re)orientation to the Asian markets and China, in particular, seems to be failing to work as planned (Mn.ru, February 27, 2012). New evidence, broken down into five categories,... MORE

The Chinese agronomist and “Father of Hybrid Rice'' Yuan Longping (袁隆平) passed away on May 22. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent his condolences to Yuan’s family, and the state news agency Xinhua ran a rare weekend commentary to honor his passing—actions more usually suited to... MORE

Introduction The automation of justice has become a worldwide phenomenon. Various big data and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technological applications have been introduced in the administration of justice over the past years. These range from predictive analytics to automated divorce proceedings and automated decisions in small... MORE

Introduction China’s building of ambitious hydropower and water diversion projects, and increasing focus on the Himalayan ecosystem as a critical developmental resource, has increased tensions with its regional neighbors, particularly India. The Chinese state contractor PowerChina in November 2020 announced plans for a 60-gigawatt dam... MORE

Introduction On March 23, the 240,000-ton, 1,312 feet long (399 meters) Panama-flagged MV container ship Ever Given, drawing 47 ft 7 in (14.5 meters) and carrying 20,000 containers from China’s Yantian International Container Terminal in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province bound for Rotterdam, accidentally grounded its bow... MORE