Targeted, personal sanctions aimed at oligarchs create a genuine problem for Vladimir Putin’s hold on power, notes analyst Natalie Nougayrède. Russia is an authoritarian kleptocracy. The elite’s loyalty to the… Read more »
The Vatican and China are planning a first-ever exchange of artworks, as the two states forge ahead with soft diplomacy amid a stalemate in negotiations to heal decades of diplomatic… Read more »
Sweden said on Tuesday it was stopping new aid for Cambodia after the main opposition party was outlawed by the Supreme Court at the government’s request….. But Western donors have… Read more »
The resumption of talks on the “quadrilateral” strategic initiative between the US, Australia, Japan and India is a shot across the bows of China. It has more than a whiff of… Read more »
Outspoken Labor MP Michael Danby has warned of China’s rise in “hard power”, praising the “push-back by Australia’s democratic system” against soft power initiatives, the Australian reports: Speaking to a… Read more »
Chinese leaders have long sought to present themselves as equals to American presidents. Xi Jinping has wanted something more: a special relationship that sets China apart, as the other great… Read more »
Young Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong warned Wednesday that China’s rise means human rights are in increasingly greater danger of being overshadowed globally by business interests, The Associated Press… Read more »
At the 19th Communist Party Congress, China’s President Xi Jinping declared that a “new era” had begun. Xi set out a vision of a political system directly opposed to Western values of democracy… Read more »
Xi Jinping is quietly ramping up the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist party in a push for global “soft power”, The FT’s James Kynge writes in a… Read more »
A number of major western news groups whose coverage has irked Beijing were excluded from Xi Jinping’s unveiling of China’s new ruling council on Wednesday – in some cases for the… Read more »