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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
“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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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’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 ›
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 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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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‘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 ›
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 ›
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 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‘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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Foreign executives in China are upset at a new rule that allows authorities to hold passports for up to 15 working days when processing and renewing residency permits, saying it could disrupt essential business travel within China and abroad. The changes are… Read More ›
It is well-known that when rolling out a new and significant policy, Chinese officials are extraordinary cautious. Those who expect radical shifts over night are always left disappointed. So it should come as no surprise that the latest development in… Read More ›
Belgians are justly proud of their nation’s reputation as one of the world’s finest chocolate producers. So when Chinese authorities announced this week that they had destroyed an unspecified amount of their chocolates because they contained toxic substances, alarm bells rang. The Belgian… Read More ›
Looks like France is waking up with a hangover and will be in need of some hair of the dog to get through China’s statement that there will be an anti-dumping probe carried out by the latter on wine exports… Read More ›
The US still has not learned that China does not move in a linear, predictable, pattern. As the US and its allies gain geopolitical ground in the Pacific and power balancing shapes a semi-circle in China’s East, China projects its… Read More ›
