5 h. ago Xi’s diplomatic blitz casts new light on China’s foreign policy

In less than a week, Chinese President Xi Jinping has held bilateral talks with leaders from more than 20 countries during two high-profile events – the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the northern port city of Tianjin and the Victory Day commemoration in Beijing. The themes of the talks have shed more light on China’s engagement with partners as Beijing casts itself as a champion of a multipolar global order and forges closer economic cooperation. Multilateralism: a keyword...

Politics

12 h. ago US asks Supreme Court to overturn ruling that bars Trump’s tariffs

The US government has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeal court ruling that declared US President Donald Trump’s use of emergency executive powers to impose tariffs unlawful. The move sets up a high-stakes legal showdown over the limits of presidential authority in trade policy. In its appeal filed on Wednesday, the Trump administration told the high court that the case “addresses the validity” of the government’s “most significant economic and foreign-policy initiative”. “The...

Politics

7 d. ago China warns against external interference in ties with South Korea

Third parties should not interfere with – and were not a factor in – the relationship between China and South Korea, Beijing said on Wednesday following suggestions that Seoul would not act counter to Washington’s policy. “The China-South Korea relationship is based on mutual interests, is not targeted at a third party, and should not be interfered with,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. “China’s policy is consistent and stable, and we hope that South Korea will work with...

Events

9 d. ago Has Ukraine war sparked a moment of reckoning for China’s foreign policy?

The protracted war in Ukraine has emerged as a global watershed, redrawing alignments and shifting geopolitical alliances across continents. For China, it is also a moment of reckoning – a revealing lens that highlights the tensions within Beijing’s foreign policy, where strategic pragmatism often clashes with its declared principles. As Ukraine marked its Independence Day on Sunday, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to his counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a highly unusual...

Events

9 d. ago If Americans Are Lawyers and the Chinese Are Engineers, Who Is Going to Win?

If Americans Are Lawyers and the Chinese Are Engineers, Who Is Going to Win?  Foreign Policy

Politics

1 week ago Alaska summit heralds change of direction for global diplomacy

When Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump on August 15, in Anchorage, Alaska, the geographic significance of the event was not lost on Russian observers. Putin became the first Russian leader to visit the former colony at a time when the Arctic is a high priority in Russia’s foreign policy strategy. However, the summit itself was an anticlimax. Peace in Ukraine remained postponed; there was a meagre readout and the delegation lunch was cancelled. As Putin remarked...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Ignorance and neglect’ mark flawed US policy in China race: Da Wei

Da Wei is director of Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy in Beijing. His research focuses on China-US relations and US security and foreign policy. In this interview, he discusses the prospects for a trade deal between Beijing and Washington and examines China’s role on the global stage in light of America’s current foreign policy. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. China and the United...

Events

2 w. ago China’s Decarbonization Is So Fast Even New Coal Plants Aren’t Stopping It

China’s Decarbonization Is So Fast Even New Coal Plants Aren’t Stopping It  Foreign Policy

Politics

2 w. ago North Korea scorns South as ‘faithful dog’ of US, rejects reunification

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said her country would never see South Korea as a partner for diplomacy, state media reported on Wednesday in what was her latest taunt of Seoul’s new efforts to mend ties. Kim Yo-jong, who is one of her brother’s top foreign policy officials, denounced the ongoing South Korea-US military drills as a “reckless” invasion rehearsal and claimed Seoul’s peace gestures conceal a “sinister intention” against Pyongyang. Her comments came during a...

Politics

2 w. ago Indonesia’s Prabowo touts economic wins in defiant first state of nation address

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has used his first state of the nation address to spotlight the country’s economic resilience and independent foreign policy, striking a defiant tone against colonial legacies and geopolitical rivalry while positioning himself as a reformer at home. In a wide-ranging speech before the People’s Consultative Assembly on Friday, the 73-year-old leader – inaugurated last October – pointed to second-quarter growth of 5.12 per cent as a sign of the economy’s...

Economics

3 w. ago Quad alliance risks unravelling as Trump strains ties with India and Japan

Beijing must be watching with satisfaction as US President Donald Trump has, in less than 200 days, come close to unravelling one of the few foreign policy legacies of his first term: the fragile coalition countering China in the Indo-Pacific. The rationale behind Trump’s deliberate straining of ties with India and Japan – two of Washington’s most vital regional partners in balancing Beijing – through tariffs, sanctions threats and incendiary rhetoric remains opaque, likely driven more by...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump’s 50% tariff sows ‘total mistrust’ between US and India

An abrupt decision by US President Donald Trump to double tariffs on Indian goods has triggered what analysts describe as a “total mistrust” in bilateral ties and sent a “muddled strategic signal” about Washington’s foreign policy priorities. The move – an additional 25‑percentage‑point tariff on Indian exports, doubling duties to 50 per cent – was issued in an executive order on Wednesday to penalise India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, which Washington argues is helping fund Moscow’s war...

Politics