Almost a week after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, called for a global peace conference and a ceasefire. China’s messages can be boiled down to three main points: 1) condemning attacks on both Israeli and Palestinian civilians and the breaking of international law, 2) calling for dialogue between the warring sides, and 3) emphasising the necessity of a two-state solution. China’s messaging follows a similar pattern expressed after previous Israel-Palestine escalations, whereby Beijing refuses to take sides explicitly, urging restraint and promoting peace talks. Chinese-Palestinian & Chinese-Israeli relations: China’s ‘neutrality’ leans in support of Palestine, at least rhetorically. While insisting on both Israel and Palestine’s right to statehood, Wang Yi …

Relations between Germany and Taiwan strengthened in 2022, despite Germany’s reluctant acceptance of Beijing’s One China Policy. Meanwhile, bilateral economic ties with both Taiwan and China have sparked discussions about Germany’s foreign policy goals and whether Berlin is reviving the antiquated diplomatic strategy known as Wandel durch Handel (“Change through Trade”) amidst Europe’s growing security vulnerabilities. In June 2023, Germany and the Chinese state-owned firm COSCO signed a contract for the sale of shares in Hamburg’s seaports. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visits to Taiwan, once unimaginable , were strategically timed to coincide with the contract. Two months later, Germany established an agreement with TSMC, Taiwan’s largest semiconductor company.  Prevailing narratives among policy circles view Wandel durch Handel as a relic from Germany’s regulatory …

During the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill protests in Hong Kong, activists made extensive efforts to internationalize their movement, engaging in public diplomacy and lobbying foreign governments to support their cause. The Hong Kong pro-democracy lobby—a loose coalition of individuals and organizations aiming to steer Western foreign policy in a direction they believe will benefit Hong Kong’s democratic prospects—emerged amidst this unprecedented grassroots mobilization. Four years on, however, the Hong Kong lobby is facing an uncertain future. Activists are striving to overcome the barriers posed by transnational repression and reinvent their image in today’s fraught geopolitical landscape. Two factors explain the success of Hong Kong activists in constructing and consolidating their lobbying infrastructure in 2019. First, the expansion and transformation of the …

The 2023 BRICS Summit: A Mixed Bag for China Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the 15th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 21-24 encompassed both diplomatic successes and self-inflicted setbacks. While China effectively championed BRICS expansion, missteps by the Chinese delegation detracted from the trip’s achievements. Beijing sees BRICS as key to engaging the Global South and countering the West China sees BRICS as a valuable and unique mechanism for engaging with the Global South. In July 2023, ahead of the BRICS summit, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi described BRICS as “the most important platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries.” BRICS summits allow Chinese officials to …

Africa’s public debt burden has doubled from 2010 to date. Data from the International Debt Statistics Data as of December 2022 shows that African countries owe $ 644855.2 billion (USD). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank consider 22 low-income African countries to be either in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress as of November 2022. Debt distress in this context means a country is experiencing difficulties in servicing its debt. A high debt burden could risk the continent’s economic growth, development, and climate investments. The additional global economic downturn and falling commodity process could compound the issue for countries on the continent. While there is no immediate threat of systemic and financial collapse due …