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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

Wu Shicun on why Beijing will not rule out Scarborough Shoal construction

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

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

Wu Shicun on why Beijing will not rule out Scarborough Shoal construction

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28
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

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
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday. Photo: Reuters
2026 Xi-Trump summits

US targets China’s global trade surplus at G20 meeting ahead of Xi-Trump summit

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raises concerns over China’s ‘excessive imbalances’ just weeks before crucial bilateral meeting.

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SCO

Xi, Putin vow to deepen strategic ties after meeting at SCO summit

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Pakistan

India rejects ruling on water-sharing treaty with Pakistan by Hague court

2026 Xi-Trump summits

Prediction markets have priced the Trump-Xi summit. Do the bets have any value?

Trump has announced a September 24 meeting, but Beijing has not. As prediction market bets multiply, they may begin to shape diplomacy.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
US-China relations

Data centre anger, Bill Gates’ AI warning: 7 US-China relations reads

From Ivy League China audits to Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’, highlights from our overseas correspondents in the second half of August 2026.

US-China trade war

Beijing pushes back on Washington’s attempt to rally G20 over trade imbalance

After US Treasury Secretary Bessent called for coordinated response from G20 towards China, Beijing urged consultation instead.

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China exports

As China-EU trade talk deadline nears, ex-Brussels official adopts bullish tone

The former president of the European Council says the two sides are approaching a common ground.

Former European Council president Charles Michel. Photo: Handout
Defence

Israel and Greece sign US$3.5 billion defence deal, largest ever between the 2

Buyers favouring Israel's battle-tested weapons have helped push its defence exports to record highs.

China-Africa relations

Xi’s Cairo trip marks ‘best ties in history’ as Egypt seeks to balance West

Chinese president’s visit comes amid expanding Suez investment and joint air force exercises.

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United Nations

Countries must consider reparations for slave trade, UN committee says

At least 12.5 million Africans were ‌taken and sold between the 15th and 19th centuries, according to the committee.

A vote by the UN General Assembly on a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade and the racist enslavement of Africans the gravest crimes against humanity in March. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Indonesia

Indonesia-US joint military drills with allies kick off with 4,700 soldiers

The exercises, which have been held for nearly two decades, will include special forces infiltration training and cyberdefence drills.

A US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter flies past during the Garuda Shield joint multinational exercise in Lampung, Indonesia, on September 3, 2025. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Exclusive | Hong Kong, Singapore aren’t ‘enemies’, our competition is healthy, envoy says

Consul General Eric Teo calls for ‘win-win collaboration’ in wealth management despite competing tax packages to attract capital.

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Ukraine war

Ukraine prepares for talks with Trump envoys as Kyiv reels from strikes

Zelensky pursues diplomatic opening as Myla warehouse death toll reaches 38 and Russia threatens energy grid.

Indonesia

Orangutan rescued from Borneo fire battles respiratory illness

Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain forest and land fires across six provinces in Borneo and Sumatra.

Veterinarians treat an orangutan named Sampurna during a rescue operation at a palm-oil plantation near an area affected by wildfires, in Kuala Satong village, Ketapang regency, West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong society

Former UN official says Hong Kong’s low fertility offers opportunity. Here’s how

Siddharth Chatterjee, former UN resident coordinator in China, outlines proposals to help Hong Kong earn ‘Child Friendly City’ status.

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Siddharth Chatterjee now serves as an honorary adviser to the Hong Kong Committee for Unicef. Photo: Sun Yeung
Donald Trump

Trump steps up stunts as US midterms loom

From a row with Canada to proposed talks with North Korea’s Kim, is the US president trying to distract voters from his unpopular Iran war?

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Nepal

Nepal floods: rescuers send air pipe into tunnel with trapped workers

There could be over 100 survivors stuck inside the tunnels, and the breakthrough raises hopes that rescue teams will be able to reach them.

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India

‘Important part of India’: the phrase rattling US-Pakistan ties

Whether a slip or a calculated trade tactic, Sergio Gor’s remark upended decades of studied American neutrality on Kashmir.

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A paramilitary policeman waves India’s national flag in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, on the eve of Independence Day celebrations this month. Photo: Reuters
Taiwan

As I see it | Taipei’s debt hardball carries a clear warning for its remaining allies

How Taiwan dragged its former diplomatic partner Grenada through US courts to collect on defaulted loans should be a lesson for island nations currently holding Taiwanese debt.

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US-Venezuela conflict

Trump says US to take control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela oil reserves

The US president faces mounting pressure to address high petrol prices as Iran war hits a six-month milestone with no conclusion in sight.

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US-China relations

US Treasury sanctions Hong Kong-based firm over Iran money laundering ties

Kameng Trading Ltd allegedly acted as front company to help Iran’s Pedram Pirouzan Exchange House access international financial system.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast” on Monday, which expanded secondary sanctions on entities in jurisdictions deemed to support Tehran. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Belt and Road Initiative

In Focus | Can Beijing’s gateway plan for Tibet survive geopolitics and natural disasters?

Beijing hopes trade will stabilise Tibet, but friction with India and the looming Dalai Lama succession are hampering its efforts.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | US-China AI rivalry needn’t preclude cooperation

Forcing countries to choose between the US’ and China’s initiatives would be counterproductive to global AI governance.

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US, Israel war on Iran

As Iran war hits six-month mark, Trump says he’s ‘not in a hurry’

The president’s ‘little excursion’ in the Middle East grinds on, despite his earlier promise to voters to keep the US out of ‘endless wars’.

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US-China relations

Opinion | US and China must team up to keep maritime trade routes free and safe

The Strait of Hormuz crisis shows neither state benefits when key waterways can become instruments of political pressure or economic coercion.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
US, Israel war on Iran

Hormuz deal presses pause on Iran conflict, but fears of ‘forever war’ remain

Tehran is likely to stick to its guns in the hopes that the US midterms will bring about a Republican defeat, analysts say.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (right) greets Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi in Tehran on Tuesday. Photo: Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs/EPA
US-China relations

Talks are ‘only way out’ on Iran, Beijing says as Trump hints at Chinese bank bans

Latest salvo from US president adds pressure to already fragile US-China ties before expected summit in Washington.

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US-China trade war

US urged to use Beijing playbook to secure Chinese tech transfers

Experts say Washington should target areas where cutting-edge Chinese technological know-how could be welcomed, then applied to help US.

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