The ‘new generation’ prime minister of the city-state chose the People's Republic of China for his first trip outside Southeast Asia. In his meeting with Xi Jinping, he praised ‘multilateralism and the rules-based global order’. The ambitions of the former marginal colony that has become a major financial hub between East and West. On Taiwan, support for the ‘one China’ policy.
More and more young workers in Chinese cities are taking advantage of the weekend to travel outside the country at least once a month. Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Russia are the most popular destinations, but some are even venturing overseas on gruelling tours with very tight schedules.
An Iranian blockade of the world's main maritime transit point for oil and gas would have severe repercussions in Asia, especially for China, India, Japan, and South Korea. As crude oil prices rise, many doubt that Iran can carry out its threats because they would harm China, risking further isolating the country.
With Xi Jinping's offer of mediation from Astana falling on deaf ears, China is looking with great concern at a possible direct US intervention in Iran. The crisis is highlighting the fragility of the multilateral bodies promoted by Beijing such as SCO and BRICS. Meanwhile, Chinese nationals are being evacuated.
In Hong Kong, the NGO that reported on spontaneous worker protests and workplace accidents in mainland China has been forced to cease operations. It was founded in 1994 by activist Han Dongfang, who tried to set up an independent trade union in Tiananmen Square in 1989. A few hours after the announcement, the website was already down. Sixty civil society groups have now been dissolved since 2020.
While the eyes of the world are on the negotiations between China and the United States, Chinese-backed ethnic militias control new unregulated rare earth deposits. Beijing's priority is clear: to secure control over strategic resources, including through growing interventionism that is fuelling the country’s civil war and causing serious environmental damage.
