Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific

Russia in Search of New Gas Markets

Since the start of the Russian all-out assault on Ukraine on February 24, Gazprom’s natural gas supplies to Europe have been cut by approximately 80 percent (Bruegel.org, November 22). Such a drastic reduction is primarily due to Moscow’s own decisions aimed at stoking political and... MORE

Will Mass Protests Force Xi to Change Course on Zero-COVID?

The apparent failure by Beijing to determine new ways to handle the COVID-19 pandemic given what many consider the largest mass protests since the student movement of 1989 has exposed the limited abilities of the new Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership to handle unexpected events... MORE

Wrangel Island Controversy Resurfaces With a Vengeance

As the long-running dispute between Moscow and Tokyo over the status of the Kuril Islands (“Northern Territories dispute”) shows, Russian officials and commentators tend to react hysterically to any suggestion that land their government considers part of Russia belongs to anyone else. Some rare exceptions... MORE

Putin’s Nuclear Blackmail Hits US Resolve and Chinese Wall

The missile that landed in Eastern Polish farmland on November 15, killing two people and injuring three, caused a sharp international crisis, which was treated by Warsaw with due care and the utmost responsibility. Had the stray projectile been a Russian sea-launched Kalibr or an... MORE

China’s Economy: More Debt than Meets the Eye

Introduction Since the beginning of this year, investment banks and international financial organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, have steadily downgraded their forecasts for the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) GDP growth in 2022 to around 3.2 percent (Nikkei Asia, October... MORE

The Changing Paradigms of Taiwan’s Grand Strategy

Introduction As Taiwan holds local elections on November 26 and presidential elections in early 2024, the island nation faces tough decisions in the midst of its changing economic, political and strategic trajectory. Polling suggests that the Kuomingtang (KMT) may have the upper hand in local... MORE