It’s pretty much impossible to discuss the geopolitical realities of China (or Southeast Asia as a whole, for that matter) without putting the South China Sea situation in the spotlight. We can consider it a textbook “elephant in the room” case study. Or, in other words, a situation which has been complex for decades without
Geopolitics
21
Jul
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The Cold War from a Chinese Perspective?
Words cannot begin to describe how important the difference between “getting” and “not getting” China is for an investor or potential investor. The difference between a superficial headline-based perspective on China which revolves around “facts” that are either incorrect or dated and a perspective based on a meaningful understanding of China’s past and present. And,
18
Jul
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The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): WB/IMF Threat or Complementary Solution?
It’s not even a matter of debate that China’s political influence has gone up tremendously, not just in the Asia-Pacific region but globally as well, with China reaching out in a meaningful manner to pretty much all geopolitical players, including African nations. However, this political influence frequently comes with a price tag, one that can
17
Jul
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China’s Military Sector: From Modernization to Tackling Corruption
For an extended period of time, before Deng Xiaoping’s post-1978 reforms started kicking in, the Chinese military industry was best described by insiders as being in a “golden rice bowl” situation or in other words, receiving a significant percentage of China’s GDP but always somehow needing more and asking for more. Deng Xiaoping decided it
14
Jul
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How Powerful Is China’s Current Leader, Xi Jinping?
To eliminate potential confusions right from the beginning and gradually present arguments, the answer is simple: extremely powerful, possibly the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. It should therefore come as no surprise that for the year 2018, he was considered the most powerful leader in the world by Forbes, dethroning Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
13
Jul
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China’s Processed Rare-Earth Products: A Geopolitical Bargaining Chip?
Time and time again, analysts try to point out that China has a lot more to lose in a US trade war scenario than the United States due to the significant trade surplus China keeps experiencing, a trade surplus which might end up being crippled by measures such as tariffs and a wide range of
11
Jul
Jul
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Looking at China Through a BRICS Lens
The initial term “BRIC” was coined by the chief economist of Goldman Sachs (Jim O’Neill) back in 2001 and referred to the world’s four most important emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India and China. As of 2010, South Africa (the “S” dimension of BRICS) was added to the equation and right off the bat, it’s important
08
Jul
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Could China Win a Trade War Against the United States?
In light of the (relatively) recent concerns surrounding the possibility of trade tensions between China and the United State escalating in a dramatic manner, a lot of observers are undoubtedly asking themselves whether or not a trade war can actually be won. So, could China win a trade war against the United States? Yes. Could
06
Jul
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China – India Relations: From Common Economic Goals to Geostrategic Concerns
China, with its population that exceeds 1.4 billion and India, with a population that exceeds 1.3 billion and is getting close to the 1.4 billion milestone, represent the world’s #1 and #2 nations by population and at the same time, countries that have grown tremendously from a GDP perspective and are poised to maintain their
05
Jul
Jul
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China and Taiwan: Economic Strength vs. Geopolitical Vulnerabilities
As an analyst, one cannot help but be prudent when describing the relationship between China and Taiwan… or, to be more precise, relationships (plural) because, frankly, it’s very difficult as well as sub-optimal to treat the Chinese-Taiwanese status quo in a uni-dimensional matter. The most straightforward approach, in this author’s view at least, is seeing