Advertisement
Advertisement
-
TOPIC

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

videocam
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

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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

videocam
18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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

videocam
93
Illustration: Henry Wong

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

videocam
40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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

videocam
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

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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

videocam
18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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

videocam
93
Illustration: Henry Wong

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

videocam
40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (middle) attends the crisis unit meeting to discuss the situation in Iran and the Middle East where he announces the creation of a Gulf Task Force and answers questions at the Farnesina in Rome on Sunday. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

Italy to send aid to Gulf states and Cyprus after Iranian strikes

Sources said that supplies to Gulf nations may include ‌surface-to-air missile SAMP/T batteries.

videocam
US, Israel war on Iran

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

videocam
US-China relations

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

videocam
5
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.

videocam
46
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

videocam
People gather around the coffin of an army soldier, killed in the border clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces, during a funeral prayer in a village in Lakki Marwat, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 28. Photo: AP
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
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.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno arrives for the Nato Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels. Photo: Nato/dpa
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’.

videocam
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’.

videocam
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.

videocam
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.

Smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran. Photo: WANA via Reuters
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
5
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

7
US Ambassador to France Charles Kushner delivers a speech at the official launch of America 250, to celebrate the 250th birthday of the US, at the American embassy in Paris, France, on December 4, 2025. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

US and China trade chiefs to meet mid-March before Trump-Xi summit

The planned Paris talks suggest a meeting between the two countries’ leaders will go ahead despite American strikes against Iran.

videocam
China-Middle East relations

China urges Israel to end war in Iran as regional tensions escalate

Beijing says US-Israeli strikes were in bad faith and calls for an immediate halt, a return to talks and opposition to unilateral action.

videocam
85
US, Israel war on Iran

Iran will not ‘automatically’ fall after Khamenei’s death, shah’s widow says

Farah Pahlavi, Iran’s last empress, has lived in exile in Paris since being driven from the country with her husband in the 1979 revolution.

videocam
Women protest and chant anti-US and anti-Israel slogans in Magam town in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

‘Nothing to them’: Indonesia’s US-Iran peace broker bid faces long odds

Indonesia’s president offered to fly to Tehran in person, but critics say joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ cost Jakarta its neutrality.

videocam
Young Indonesians hold signs as they take part in a protest against Israel outside the US embassy in Jakarta last month. Photo: Reuters
India

India’s 100GW nuclear push was missing one thing. Canada just provided it

India needs to triple its uranium supply to meet its nuclear targets. Canada, with mines already in the pipeline, is well placed to deliver.

videocam
US-China relations

Exclusive | US, China discuss investment revival ahead of Trump’s trip: sources

Both sides exploring structured joint ventures and licensing deals, with Beijing seeking protection and Washington eyeing better market access amid declining capital flows.

videocam
17
North Korea

Opinion | Kim Jong-un’s daughter may well become North Korea’s first female leader

The signs of succession are apparent, from Kim Ju-ae’s growing public appearances with her father to her reported appointment to a new leadership position.

videocam
Kim Ju-ae with her father, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, watching a demonstration flight commemorating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army Air Force at Kalma Airfield in Wonsan, Gangwon province, on November 28. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP
War and conflict

Editorial | Strikes on Iran may complicate US-China ties

No significant impact expected on China’s, or Hong Kong’s, economy from the most recent conflict in the Middle East.

A missile launched from Iran is pictured in the sky from the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 1. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

US advisory panel warns China is gaining in undersea warfare

Commission urges Pentagon to preserve underwater edge as Beijing expands submarines, unmanned systems and seabed ambitions.

videocam
4
US-China trade war

Trump’s 2026 trade agenda sharpens push for ‘managed’ US-China ties

US Trade Representative report touts deficit drop, pledges tougher Section 301 enforcement ahead of Trump’s Beijing summit with Xi.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement