There was a place in Venice called the Fondaco dei Turchi where one traded with the enemies. While the Serenissima and the Ottoman Empire were fighting on the seas, business continued in the Santa Croce district. Death and trade were… Read More ›
European Union
Cadence Column: Asia, November 1, 2021
China has been told, then told again. This week, China was told again again again. The EU gave a blistering rebuke to China’s unsolicited three cents about what other governments call their offices. Specifically, Taiwan is labeling it’s representative office… Read More ›
Why did Biden’s contain-China G7 dream burst so fast?
President Macron and Chancellor Merkel jointly held a direct talk with President Xi via video conferencing on July 5 Monday, merely four weeks after the release of the G7 communique (VOA 2021 June 13). As regards the two European leaders’… Read More ›
EU Trans-Atlantic relations should not exclude Latin America
On the historic date of March 08th – International Women’s Day, a large number of international affairs specialists gathered for the second consecutive summit in Vienna, Austria. This leg of the Vienna Process titled: “Europe – Future – Neighbourhood at… Read More ›
Europe’s crusade to fend off Chinese interference falls short
After trumpeting victory over an agreement reached between Europe and China for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) only a few months ago, Chinese leaders are probably stunned at the much harsher narrative now coming from European institutions. Beyond the… Read More ›
Trinity for Scrutiny: Council of Europe, Human Rights instruments and Citizens
Building on the tasteful piece written recently by Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, this article will endeavour to explore further why the Tromsø Convention (Norwegian International Convention on Access to Official Documents)[1], although adopted more than a decade ago, is in fact deserving… Read More ›
China is one of three powers in the world, and none can defeat the others alone
Now, like Cao Cao, the US is too strong for China to fight for superiority with while the EU is also well-established like Sun Quan’s State of Wu that China can use as its ally to counter US threat.. Like… Read More ›
Criminal Law in the EU and the Right to a Fair Trial Internationally
1. Introduction Trials are the way to avoid injustices, but the fairness of criminal proceedings will depend on what is meant by the concept of justice. The roots of rights in trials are, with other principles and values, as old… Read More ›
Stop erosion of human rights in Europe
“2020 has been a disastrous year for human rights in Europe,” commented Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at a speech in front of the Council of Europe at the end of last year. In an unprecedented… Read More ›
China calls for EU autonomy as Western alliance disintegrates
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called on the EU to act “independently and autonomously,” a day after U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to confront Beijing with “extreme competition.” Wang made the remarks in a video meeting with EU… Read More ›
The EU Sputnik Borrell in Moscow: An aftermath of diplomacy
After almost unanimous assessment of the Western media and analysts (one would be inclined to conclude they are “gleichgeschaltet”, modeled on the methods of Nazi master of propaganda Goebbels ), a visit to Moscow of the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs,… Read More ›
European Integration – Quo Vadis?
As part of the Geneva Lecture Series concepted and conducted by prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, President of the Republic of Austria Dr. Heinz Ficher (2004-16) and current Co-chair of the Vienna-based Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens centered his two-hour long mesmerizing… Read More ›
Who jeopardizes the Balkans?
It will be recorded in the history of international relations that all countries of the Balkans peninsula, starting from Slovenia to Bulgaria had or have officially applied for membership in the EU and NATO, except for Serbia which has declared… Read More ›
Montenegro President Đukanović’s war with the USA (and the West)
On 30 August 2020, Montenegro held the 11th parliamentary election since the first multi-party election in 1990, and the fifth since Montenegro gained independence in 2006. The turnout was as high as 76.65%. The elections brought an end to the… Read More ›
EU-China pact sparks concern over labor standards, human rights
A major investment pact between China and the European Union, which wrapped up negotiations on the deal this week, has sparked concerns that it will give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a free pass on human rights and labor standards,… Read More ›
EU-China trade agreement, step forward or tripwire?
The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) just signed between the EU and China is not the solution to commercial and economic problems, but it could be a step forward or become a tripwire for bigger problems around China and the world. In… Read More ›
EU’s sanity is the basis of the China-EU investment deal 2020
The correct description of the Western reaction to the deal as “… greeted with a shrug by underwhelmed analysts” by a brilliant Jan 4 China News essay has exposed the understated insanity that many mainstream pundits remain ignorant and naïve… Read More ›
China-EU investment deal: ‘landmark’ treaty greeted with a shrug by underwhelmed analysts
The China-EU investment deal agreed to in principle on Wednesday has been greeted with a shrug by economists, with some questioning whether an under-pressure European Commission has oversold a deal that will not significantly move the needle in economic terms…. Read More ›
China, EU nail down market-opening investment pact
The European Union and China’s agreement today (December 30) on a new investment pact is either a sign that Brussels is willing to sacrifice its values on the altar of trade or a clever bit of realpolitik to assert independence… Read More ›
European logistics hubs of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
The second decade of the 21st century put the geoeconomic emphasis and cooperation within the framework of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative into the China – East European states relations. China’s “One belt, One road” initiative today creates prerequisites… Read More ›
Will China be able to win over Europe?
As the global geopolitical sphere shapes up into a battleground between the US and China, Europe will have to ally either an erratic Donald Trump or a dubious Xi Jinping. The bright side of the Sino-European relationship Trade between the… Read More ›
An occasion for the European Union to reaffirm its standing on security policies and human rights
Vice-President of the EU Commission Margaritis Shinas was a keynote speaker at this summer’s Diplomatic Conference in Vienna organised by the International Institute IFIMES, Media Platform Modern Diplomacy and their partners. High dignitary of the Commission seized the occasion to… Read More ›
Europe just declared independence from China
As the EU navigates an increasingly Sino-American world, it finally sees the need to stand together, even against Beijing. China’s diplomats were already having a terrible year in Europe, but this week they managed to make it even worse. At… Read More ›
US allies once seemed cowed by China. Now they’re responding with rare coordination
Chinese President Xi Jinping surprised the world with a speech at Davos in 2017, defending free trade and joint action on climate change as then US president-elect Donald Trump argued for precisely the opposite. It might have been an overambitious pitch by Xi… Read More ›
China ‘needs to win over Europe’ after loss of trust and impact of US rivalry
When Washington imposed tariffs on Chinese imports to set off the US-China trade war in 2018, Beijing warned Europe not to “stab China in the back”, yet the continent has since criticised China on issues including trade, the coronavirus and… Read More ›
MPs from eight countries form new global coalition to counter China
What does the chair of the Australian parliament’s Intelligence Committee have in common with a Greens MP, a former Japanese Defence Minister, and a former Liberal Canadian attorney-general? The answer is China. Today, a group of 19 MPs from eight… Read More ›
China faces fight to hang on to foreign manufacturers as US, Japan, EU make Covid-19 exit plans
Three of the world’s four largest economies, the United States, Japan and the European Union, are drawing up separate plans to lure their companies out of China. Over the space of two weeks, powerful figures from three of the world’s… Read More ›
Is China powerful enough to change the world order?
As the US president Donald Trump got his trade deal lately with the European Union president Jean-Claude Juncker, it seems that all those recent tensions between the world’s largest economy and the EU has come to an end. To China,… Read More ›
China, Germany step up as U.S. retires from world leadership
The U.S. traditionally takes point in the search for common approaches to the big global issues of the day at G-20 summits. Not this time. When world leaders meet in Hamburg on Friday, China and Germany will move in to… Read More ›
Germany warns that liberal world order would end if US cedes leadership to China and Russia
Germany’s veteran finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, urged the U.S. to limit Russian and Chinese influence or risk bringing about “the end of our liberal world order.” The comments by Schaeuble, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet since she took… Read More ›
EU upsets China with new steel price investigation
The European Union has launched a new investigation into whether Chinese manufacturers are selling steel into Europe at unfairly low prices, angering China which says Europe’s steel problems are due to the region’s own economic weakness. The European Commission has… Read More ›
China slams EU Commissioner’s ‘slitty eyes’ comment
China expressed disdain Wednesday over European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger’s use of the term “slitty eyes” to describe Chinese people in a leaked recording of a speech to business leaders. In the comments, secretly filmed at a Hamburg event earlier this… Read More ›
Could Hong Kong, after a merger with Shenzhen, help China’s One Belt One Road thrive?
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) June 2016 research report “Neoliberalism: Oversold?” which was described as “a political bombshell … that caused a near-panic among advocates of free market policies” by the Foreign Policy analyst Rick Rowden [Note 1]… Read More ›
China must be stopped from blocking supply in the South China Sea
Australia and other countries are currently pushing for freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea, in response to China’s aggression and illegal claims in the region. For the immediate future, these countries should have a permanent presence in… Read More ›
International investors are pulling out of China in favour of India because of China’s interference in stock market
The tumult in China’s stock markets has turned into a blessing for Indian shareholders. International investors are pulling out of China, fuelling record outflows through the Shanghai-Hong Kong exchange link, amid a $2.8 trillion plunge in mainland equity values since… Read More ›
India to beat China again as fastest-growing economy in 2016 says IMF
India will be the world’s fastest growing economy for the second consecutive year in 2016 at 7.5 per cent, IMF today said, even as it lowered its current year global economy growth forecast to 3.3 per cent. In its World… Read More ›
China leads in research for ‘coat of invisibility’ and other ‘super materials’
People are impressed by the coat of invisibility in the fiction movie Harry Potter, but you perhaps do not know that researchers in various countries are making great efforts to develop various super materials including the material to make such… Read More ›
Asia’s dominance in manufacturing will endure – that will make development harder for others
By making things and selling them to foreigners, China has transformed itself—and the world economy with it. In 1990 it produced less than 3% of global manufacturing output by value; its share now is nearly a quarter. China produces about… Read More ›
EU cannot maintain protection against Chinese imports, as rules change in China’s favour
European fears of being forced to lower tariff defences against cheap Chinese imports have grown following a confidential warning from the EU’s own lawyers, who say the bloc should not ignore changes to global trade rules set to favour Beijing…. Read More ›
‘Made in China’ tops the EU’s most unsafe list
Every parent assumes the plush doll they bought for their child at the mall is safe, but if it has a “Made in China” label, you should think twice. A European Watchdog agency issued 2,435 notifications of unsafe products in 2014, which… Read More ›
Japan, US, ASEAN direct investment in China drops dramatically, as China considered less attractive
Japan‘s direct investment in China in 2014 dropped 38.8 percent from the previous year to $4.33 billion, the Commerce Ministry said Thursday. The plunge, which compares with a decline of about 4 percent in 2013, reflects soured bilateral relations over… Read More ›
China’s says its New Silk Road will be America’s ultimate nightmare
The following is a translation from Chinese media. The website of a Spanish media outlet reported on October 9 that while the US “New Century” is rapidly aging, the Beijing–Moscow-Berlin strategic trade alliance may be a reality in the future…. Read More ›
Philippines to propose no action to raise tension with China in sea disputes
The Philippines will propose a freeze on all activity that raises tension in disputed waters in the South China Sea as part of a three-part plan at a regional security meeting next month, Manila‘s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Southeast… Read More ›
China’s exports gain steam but imports fall, signalling weaker domestic demand
China‘s exports gained steam in May thanks to firmer global demand, data showed on Sunday, but an unexpected fall in imports signaled weaker domestic demand that could continue to weigh on the world’s second-largest economy. Exports rose 7 percent in… Read More ›
China February exports plunge by 18%
China‘s exports unexpectedly tumbled in February, swinging the trade balance into deficit and adding to fears of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy despite the Lunar New Year holidays being blamed for the slide. The sharp drop in exports… Read More ›
EU-China investment pact of limited but global significance
In the debate about the transatlantic free trade agreement one issue has remained below the radar: the European Union (EU) is shortly to also commence negotiations with China. On October 18, 2013 the EU member states are set to pass… Read More ›
China state sector a honey pot for corrupt officials
In March last year, after getting government approval to go ahead with a $900 million refinery expansion in China’s southeastern Fujian province, state-run oil giant Sinopec Corp warned the team handling the project against taking bribes. “Project engineering and construction… Read More ›
China’s role in the French Pivot
During his recent visit to Jakarta for a bilateral with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, France’s top diplomat, Minister Laurent Fabius, dropped by the Asean Secretariat and there announced to a regional audience that his country had made a “pivot” to… Read More ›
China’s growth affects future of Europe
The EU of social welfare or of generational warfare, the continent of debt-bound economies or of knowledge-based community? Is the predatory generation in power? Why the only organised counter-narrative comes as a lukewarm Mouse Mickey – between Anonymous and Pirate… Read More ›
EU competing with China in Latin America
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders have become increasingly concerned that China’s continued rise in Latin America could squeeze out European business. China has not only increased the quantity of its exports to Latin America, but also used… Read More ›
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