Author: Kerry Brown, King’s College London
China’s convening of its annual parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), delayed due to COVID-19, finally took place from 22 to 28 May. It delivered predictably mixed messages. On the economic front, the tone was almost conciliatory and focussed on the tried and tested message of delivering growth, opening up to the world and regaining the momentum of reform. On the political front, however, the message on Hong Kong showed a totally different aspect. Read more…
Author: Jeppe Mulich, Cambridge University
After a year of protests and upheavals, Beijing is poised to put an end to Hong Kong’s autonomous status. The National People’s Congress (NPC) has approved a decision on new ‘Mechanisms for the Preservation of National Security’ in the Special Administrative Region.
Read more…
Author: Baogang He, Deakin University
In recent decades, it has become customary for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to hold annual concurrent plenary sessions of its National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The ‘Two Sessions’ are normally held in March, but were delayed until May this year due to the COVID-19 crisis. Read more…
Author: Robert Joseph Medillo, Manila
Taiwan’s global efforts in the wake of COVID-19 have the potential to undermine China’s assertive ‘One China policy’ and realise a greater international acceptance of Taiwan’s de facto independence. Drawing from its COVID-19 experience, Taiwan can broaden its place in international cooperation.
Read more…
Authors: Melissa Conley Tyler and Tiffany Liu, Asialink at the University of Melbourne
In February, experts from government, think tanks, civil society and academia met in Bangladesh for the ninth meeting of the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) to address the challenge of people movement and displacement in the region. The dialogue has already seen some positive outcomes, and it highlights an important role for non-official actors in diplomacy.
Read more…
Author: Raffaello Pantucci, RUSI
Relations between Central Asian powers and China are brittle at the best of times. While at an official level both sides are eager to highlight their closeness, among the public it does not take long to find friction. Read more…
Author: Meijun Qian, ANU
State ownership might be crucial for sectors that are vital for social stability. Over the last half century, the consensus among economists has been that state ownership is notorious for management inefficiency. Since the 1970s, there has been a wave of privatisation globally.
Read more…
Author: Anthony V Rinna, Sino-NK
Overshadowed by the glaring stalemate between Seoul and Washington over defence cost-sharing, the role of the United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea is now receiving renewed attention. ‘Revitalising’ the UNC could provide advantages, but would also raise political complications. Read more…
Author: Nobuaki Hamaguchi, Kobe University
The United States and Europe tend to associate South America with Amazon rainforest burning, pink-tide leftist ideology, drug trafficking, corruption and illegal migration. These issues oppose their values of justice, social stability and global order. For China, whose 2016 Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean states a position of ‘non-interference in each other’s internal affairs’, these are not of concern.
Read more…
Author: Phuong Pham, Queen Mary University of London
Vietnam is handling the outbreak of COVID-19 relatively well. Vietnam has confirmed a total of 327 cases with 278 recovered and no deaths, which is fairly low given its proximity to China. Vietnam has earned international accolades as one of the most successful countries in Asia to contain the virus. But Vietnam may win more than international praise, especially in political terms.
Read more…
Author: C Veeramani, IGIDR
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting world trade across all sectors, but it is having the biggest effect on industries where production processes are fragmented through global value chains (GVCs). GVCs in several industries are mainly controlled by multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating from countries significantly affected by the pandemic. Exports from almost all countries will decline due to the supply shock emanating from disruptions to GVCs. In the case of India, it is most affected by the demand shock arising from fall in consumption and investment spending across the world. Read more…
Author: Thomas Bernhardt, Vienna
When Myanmar’s military regime began opening up the country politically and economically in 2010, one motive was to alleviate the country’s overreliance on China. Ten years down the road, in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the threat of new Western sanctions triggered by human rights violations against the Muslim Rohingya minority, China’s influence appears hardly diminished. Read more…
Author: Abidah B Setyowati, ANU
Major disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic show how modern societies depend on access to electricity. With millions of people confined to their homes, distant modes of learning and working — as well as online streaming for entertainment — are now an everyday reality around the globe. Electricity is also critical to operating medical equipment to treat those badly infected with COVID-19. But the comfort of being able to work, learn and play from home should not be taken for granted.
Read more…
Author: Leif-Eric Easley, Ewha Womans University
At the 2020 World Health Assembly, South Korean President Moon Jae-in shared his country’s success fighting COVID-19 based on democratic institutions, science and technology. He has also pledged Seoul will become a world leader in human security cooperation. This reflects South Korea’s national identity as a rising middle power in Asia, in stark contrast to its colonised and war-ravaged past. Middle-power goals, such as strengthening diplomatic networks that implement multilateralism, are now a yardstick for South Korea’s foreign policy performance. Read more…
Author: Ngeow Chow Bing, University of Malaya
China’s Health Silk Road (HSR) first appeared in a speech given by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 in Uzbekistan. But the concept can be traced back to a document prepared by China’s health authorities in 2015. The document laid out a three-year proposal (2015–2017) to promote the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through cooperation in the healthcare sector.
Read more…
