Does Vietnam and Bangladesh’s Cheap Labor Threaten ‘Made in China’ Textiles?
There is rising chatter about Vietnam and Bangladesh harnessing cheap labor to compete head on with the textile manufacturing “Made in China.” What does this mean for the 20 million people in China...
View ArticleThe Stati v Kazakhstan Saga Ends
Kazakhstan’s government and its main creditor have agreed to a settlement that ends a 14-year legal dispute. Both sides said that the resolution could lead to “increased investment potential” in the...
View ArticleSupply Chain Disruption: A Key Trigger for India’s Plea for Climate Change...
Delivering the absentee Indian prime minister’s message at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Kazakh capital Astana on July 4, the country’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar...
View ArticleAustralia Aims to Broaden Media Engagement in the Indo-Pacific
Last week the Australian government launched its new Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy. The release of the strategy comes at a time when competition for influence in the Indo-Pacific has intensified,...
View ArticleWhat’s Really Ailing Thailand’s Economy?
Last year, the Thai economy grew 1.9 percent, and analysts have trimmed their outlook for this year, with the World Bank now projecting GDP will grow by 2.4 percent. The first quarter of 2024 did...
View ArticleWhat Do Tongwei and LONGi’s Struggles Say About the Future of Solar Supply...
In early July, Tongwei and LONGi, two of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-purity silicon and monocrystalline silicon wafers, released financial statements for the first six months of 2024. The...
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As Protests Erupt, a Rocky Start to Sheikh Hasina’s Fourth Consecutive Term
Six months have passed since Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won office for the fourth consecutive time through a controversial and non-competitive election. However, in contrast to the ease...
View ArticleCan China and the US Find Common Ground on Military Use of AI?
The day when artificial intelligence (AI) makes important military decisions is no longer in the distant future but is happening in the present reality. In the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, the...
View ArticleSouth Korea in the Maelstrom: East Asia’s Geopolitical Upheaval Brings Danger
East Asia is witnessing seismic geopolitical shifts. The June summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, culminating in a heightened military partnership, sent...
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Brides Too Soon: The Rising Trend of Early Marriages in Uzbekistan
“I became a kelin when I was 20, still a college student, after meeting my husband-to-be only two to three times before the wedding,” said Shohida Kenjaeva, who currently lives in Germany. A kelin, an...
View ArticleChina’s Third Plenum Embraces a ‘New Development Philosophy’
The much-anticipated Third Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 20th Central Committee wrapped up on July 18, with a communique issued at the end of the session pledging to “further deepen...
View ArticleWho Is Engineer Rashid, One of Kashmir’s New MPs?
On June 4, India’s 18th Lok Sabha election concluded its term. The new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in along with several ministers on June 9. For the first time in a decade,...
View ArticleThe 2 Koreas’ Cold War Measures Destabilize the Korean Peninsula
On May 28, North Korea made its first attempt at launching balloons carrying garbage toward the territory of South Korea. Pyongyang was responding to the launch of balloons carrying USB drives and a...
View ArticleLaos and China Use BRI-funded Railway to Bring Their Armies Together
Hundreds of soldiers from the Chinese army participated in wargames in Southeast Asia during the first two weeks of July. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted joint exercises with the Lao...
View ArticleAfter Modi’s Moscow Trip, Where Do India-Russia Relations Stand?
On July 9, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a two-day visit to Russia, marked by substantive discussions with President Vladimir Putin during the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. This...
View ArticleThe Coming Clash Between Japan’s Current and Former Prime Ministers
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan’s ruling party, is expected to hold its presidential election in September when Kishida Fumio’s presidential term expires. The stakes are high: Given the LDP’s...
View ArticleMisreading China’s Third Plenum
The recent Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded with a communique that has sparked a spectrum of reactions from investment banks and foreign...
View ArticleThe Quota Reform Protest In Bangladesh Is Much More Than It Seems
The quota reform movement in Bangladesh has rocked and shocked the whole nation due to the massive crackdown on the protesters by law enforcement forces and the ruling Awami League’s student wing,...
View ArticleHow Will the Judicial Branch Impact the Future of TikTok and China-US Relations?
The debate over TikTok is far from over. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s official support for the Chinese-owned app has brought it back into the public eye. Earlier this year, Congress...
View ArticleWhat Is the SCO Doing Wrong? Lessons From ASEAN and SAARC
As the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in July came to an end, questions about the futility of the organization remained. Initiated by China as the Shanghai Five in 1996, the...
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