Category: Latest

The recent results of Latin America’s electoral super-cycle (2025–2026) suggest that China has become an increasingly important feature of regional politics. While Beijing’s overall popularity in the region is at an all-time high, Latin Americans are voting in candidates who position themselves as U.S.-aligned and, at times, China skeptics.  The ideological pendulum seems to be swinging to the right, and with it, the region’s place in the broader China-U.S. geostrategic competition is shifting. Even Peru and Colombia, where China policy did not initially appear likely to become a decisive electoral…

Taiwan and China are back at the annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting, returning after all external partners were excluded in 2025. And Beijing isn’t happy about it: China’s special envoy called Taiwan’s participation “very inappropriate” and warned, “There will always be consequences.” With multiple Pacific leaders not in attendance amid whispers of foreign interference, China-Taiwan competition is on everyone’s minds. While no Pacific country switched recognition in 2026, Beijing’s pressure campaign this year has been more systematic and intense than in any year since Naoero (formerly Nauru) flipped…

After many months of contention over Taiwan’s government spending, the pan-Blue camp seemed to finally relent on August 14. The budget was finally passed on that day – 266 days past the deadline, and almost one year after the Executive Yuan originally submitted the budget for consideration on August 29, 2025. The eventual passage of the budget occurred amid growing concern that defense spending was being held up – especially funding for drones.  The Kuomintang (KMT) – which currently holds the majority in the legislature along with its third-party ally,…

The Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He is often closely associated with Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road narrative. But the historical figure has been used as a diplomatic tool for decades, long before Xi launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Zheng He entered the diplomatic storytelling of the People’s Republic of China within a decade of its founding. Under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao he became part of a broader historical argument about China’s rise, a role that remained prominent during the first years of Xi’s presidency.  Much attention has…