Lucas Niewenhuis is the Newsletter Editor at The China Project. Previously, he has researched China-Africa relations at the Social Science Research Council, interned at the Council on Foreign Relations, and studied Chinese language and culture in Shanghai and Beijing.
Some are alarmed by the number of Chinese military planes that flew near Taiwan over the weekend. But Taiwan's ADIZ (air defense identification zone) is not the same as its sovereign airspace: there have been no PLA jets over Taiwanese land, a fact that has been lost in some of the breathier news coverage.
Does the Biden administration have its own China trade strategy, or is it just โTrump with alliesโ? U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai gave a speech on China that recalled Trumpโs tactics: castigating โstate-centeredโ economics while demanding that Beijing direct more purchases of American goods, and offering both fig leaves and threats on tariffs.
A comprehensive report from AidData estimates that $385 billion in debt from Chinese loans have been hidden from official balance sheets, and 35% of Chinaโs Belt and Road projects have โmajor implementation challenges.โ
The U.S. deal that allowed Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to leave Canada and escape extradition was swiftly followed by Chinaโs release of two Canadian detainees, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The apparent prisoner swap resolved a pressure point in U.S.-China relations, but only heightened concerns about Chinaโs โhostage diplomacy.โ
Since mid-August, flows of foreign aid have been interrupted to Ethiopiaโs war-torn Tigray region and to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The U.S. has threatened sanctions to try to pressure a resolution to the Ethiopia conflict, and is reluctant to lift restrictions on the Taliban. China has objected to all foreign sanctions, calling them unilateral interference.
At the UN General Assembly, Chinaโs leader pledged to end support for coal projects overseas in favor of green and low-carbon energy. But while the single sentence effectively marked the end of coal financing abroad, China continues to build new coal power plants at home.
Evergrande is an enormous conglomerate that develops real estate, sells apartments and wealth management products, and invests in electric vehicles and soccer teams. Is the house of cards about to collapse?
The U.S., Australia, and Britainโs new trilateral military alliance, designed to counter China partly by giving nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, came as a shock to the EU and France.
Also: Will China pivot to mRNA vaccines?