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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
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (left) and US President Donald Trump at a summit in Egypt last year. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

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

Nearly 80 civil groups and 65 academics have signed a petition urging parliament to block ratification of the ‘shameful’ deal.

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’

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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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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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.

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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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A Ukrainian officer examines a downed Shahed drone at an undisclosed location in Ukraine in November 2024. Photo: AP
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, 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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Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during the International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, on February 18. Photo: AP
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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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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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: Sputnik via EPA
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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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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People walk along the River Thames in London. Counter-terrorism ​officers arrested a 39-year old man in London as well as a 68-year old man and a 43-year old man in Wales. Photo: EPA
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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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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Iranian frigate IRIS Dena anchored in the port of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2023. Photo: EPA
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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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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(From left to right) US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris for high-level trade talks, in the lead-up to US President Donald Trump’s forthcoming Beijing visit. Photo: Reuters
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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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.

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