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Diplomacy

Diplomacy
Latest news, features and analysis on global diplomatic relations, with a focus on China’s international ties – especially with the US, its Asian neighbours and the European Union.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
US President Donald Trump attends the “Shield of the Americas” summit in Miami, Florida, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Americas and the Caribbean

Trump offers Latin American leaders US missile strikes to hit drug cartels

The US president launched a 17-nation ‘counter cartel’ coalition at his ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s US trade deal faces a sovereignty reckoning at home

Australia

Australia complains to China after encounter between military helicopters

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Americas and the Caribbean

Trump says Cuba is going to ‘fall pretty soon’

The president has said it is ‘just a matter of time’ before the US turns to Cuba after finishing its war in Iran.

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A woman holds a pro-Trump sign and Cuban flags during a protest against Cuba’s government in Miami, Florida, in February. Photo: Reuters
China-Middle East relations

Opinion | US-Iran conflict puts China’s pragmatism to the test

For Beijing, the danger is less about losing Iran as a partner than losing stability in the energy-rich Middle East.

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US-China relations

Trump sued in bid to undo approval of TikTok’s US sale

The lawsuit is the first legal challenge to the deal with China’s ByteDance, but does not seek to force a US ban on the short-video platform.

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United States

24 US states sue to stop Trump’s latest global tariffs

The lawsuit argues that the president cannot sidestep the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated his previous sweeping import duties.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House in February. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Ukraine military drone experts ‘due in Gulf soon’

There is said to be interest in anti-drone warfare not only from the US but from private and public channels in Gulf nations too.

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United States

US won’t let India become rival like China, Trump official says

Washington will not ‘make the same mistakes’ as it did with Beijing 20 years ago, the State Department’s Christopher Landau says.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Trump demands Iran forces surrender or die, wants say on next leader

US president dismisses Khamenei’s son as a ‘lightweight’ and orders Iranian forces to lay down arms or face ‘guaranteed death’.

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US President Donald Trump at the White House on Sunday. Photo: AP
US, Israel war on Iran

European states move to secure Red Sea navigation, protect Cyprus

Italy, ‌Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days.

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A U-2 spy aircraft lands at the UK’s RAF Akrotiri airbase, near Limassol, Cyprus on Thursday. Photo: AP
US, Israel war on Iran

US submarine strike on Iranian warship near Sri Lanka rattles the region

Experts say the strike highlights the risk of the conflict spreading into Asian waters and tests India’s careful diplomatic balancing.

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US-China relations

Opinion | China waits and watches as the US fights all its tigers at once

Far from freeing up resources to focus on China, Trump’s administration finds itself fighting fires on several fronts, sapping its resources.

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US, Israel war on Iran

US Senate rejects bid to curb Trump’s Iran war powers despite growing concerns

The bipartisan resolution, which failed by 52-47 votes, was aimed at stifling Donald Trump’s authority to continue military strikes on Iran.

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Democrat senator Tim Kaine, one of the lawmakers who introduced the Senate resolution, claimed US President Donald Trump had dragged the US into “unnecessary forever wars”. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
China-Germany relations

Opinion | Merz’s China visit shows pragmatic diplomacy still matters

The German chancellor’s trip to Beijing suggests that Europe can de-risk from China while still pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits the Forbidden City in Beijing on February 26. Photo: AFP
Russia

Russia may halt gas supplies to Europe amid Iran energy spike, Putin warns

The leader says the chaos triggered by the Iran crisis has led to the emergence of other buyers willing to pay top dollar for fuel.

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War and conflict

Opinion | Pakistan’s forever war and the politics of exhaustion

What Pakistan needs is not war with Afghanistan but urgent efforts to fix its economy, security and divided society after disruptive decades.

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Pakistan

Pakistan aims to walk tightrope between Saudi Arabia and Iran as war flares

Islamabad has to navigate a tricky regional environment and manage the domestic blowback of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

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Pakistani security officers stand outside the US consulate in Karachi on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Britain

3 arrested in UK on suspicion of spying for China, including MP’s husband

They are the latest in a number of arrests in the UK of people accused of spying or causing political interference on behalf of China.

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Spain

Germany’s Merz lacked ‘solidarity’ amid silence during Trump attacks: Spain

The comments came after the US president said the Spanish government has been ‘terrible’ during the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The Philippines

Philippines arrests Filipino nationals suspected of spying for China

China has dismissed the espionage allegations as fabricated and politically motivated, accusing Manila of ‘stigmatisation’.

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A screen grab from China’s CCTV news footage shows (from left) David Servañez, Albert Endencia and Nathalie Plizardo, the three Philippine nationals arrested on suspicion of spying in China. Photo: CCTV
China society

Opinion | Why a TV hit in China about waging peace resonates so deeply

Swords into Ploughshares can tell us a lot about Beijing’s approach to the crisis in Iran, cross-strait relations and this year’s ‘two sessions’.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Israel-Iran conflict

US submarine sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, at least 80 dead

Sri Lanka said it had launched a search-and-rescue ⁠operation to locate survivors after ⁠receiving a distress call, with 32 people rescued.

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US-China relations

Iran war leaves China in foreign policy divide

China is leading opposition to US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while also seeking to avoid a breakdown in its relationship with Washington.

China-Asean relations

Singapore and China have ‘common interests’ in safeguarding global order: envoy

In Beijing, Peter Tan Hai Chuan says two countries built ties based on sovereign equality and respect, not just cultural or ethnic links.

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Peter Tan Hai Chuan, Singapore’s ambassador to China, says: “An open, connected, and cooperative region serves our common interests.” Photo: Handout
Asean

Opinion | Fatigue is rewriting the US-China soft power contest, starting in Asean

At a time when no one has bandwidth left, soft power is being won by being the partner that feels usable, steady and low-risk.

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People pick up Labubu toys at a Pop Mart store in Siam Square in Bangkok on May 8, 2025. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

China and US to hold high-level talks in Paris before Trump’s Beijing visit

Delegates to discuss trade and investment deals amid rising global tensions in lead-up to President’s first visit since returning to power.

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United States

As I see it | Under Trump, the US has unleashed its own wolf warriors

Chinese diplomats need to project a measured and calming presence on the international stage to contend effectively with American blowhards.

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