Categories: Diplomacy

Japan Can't Afford Fight with China

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on September 21

I was in Beijing late last month, shortly after news broke that China had passed Japan as the world's second-largest economy. The official line in the Chinese media: No gloating...

China-India Tensions Still Strong at Meeting with Russia

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on October 28

Just three days after a not-so-cordial meeting between Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in Hua Hin, Thailand, the foreign ministers of the two countries, Yang...

A Tense Meeting for China and India's Premiers

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on October 26

Check out this Xinhua picture of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at their meeting over the weekend. Wen has a wan smile, and Singh can’t...

Taiwan Postpones Trade Talks with China

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on October 19

The controversial proposal for a new trade deal between China and Taiwan suffered a setback on Monday with the Taiwanese government announcing it was calling off a meeting scheduled to...

China and India Business Grows as Border Dispute Flares

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on October 14

Fresh on the news that Indian outsourcing power Tata Consultancy Services plans a big expansion of its China operation comes an interesting op-ed in today’s Indian Express by Washington-based scholar...

Chinese President less Protectionist than Obama?

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on September 22

Chinese President Hu Jintao can afford to take the moral high ground on protectionism when he sits down with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly...

WTO Talks Start in New Delhi, With Global Free Trade Alliance in the Balance.

Posted by: Mehul Srivastava on September 03

A fresh – and informal - round of negotiations began Sept 3 in New Delhi, hoping to make some movement towards a global free trade pact that could get signed...

Humanitarian Talks Mark North Korea’s Shift in Game

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on August 26

Since the early 1990s when a nuclear crisis first surfaced on the Korean peninsula, North Korea has swung between confrontation and conciliation in a game of brinkmanship with the U.S....

China Spy Charges Against Rio Tinto's Hu Relaxed

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on July 20

The case involving Chinese allegations of espionage against four Rio Tinto employees, including Australian Stern Hu in Shanghai appears to have taken a new turn that may help diffuse tensions...

North Korea Seeks Talks with U.S. by Jailing Journalists

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on June 08

At first blush, North Korea’s move on June 8 to sentence two U.S. journalists to 12 years in labor prison appears Pyongyang’s escalation of confrontation with Washington. But if you...

North Korean Rocket Launch Spurs Diplomatic Frenzy

Posted by: Kenji Hall on April 05

North Korea’s launch of a rocket on April 5 defied several United Nations Security Council resolutions and puts pressure on the international community to crack down on what the U.S....

North Korea's Dangerous Game

Posted by: Kenji Hall on March 25

Brinksmanship. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "the art or practice of pushing a dangerous situation or confrontation to the limit of safety especially to force a desired outcome." It's...

China, Dalai Lama at Odds as Tibet Anniversary Approaches

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 25

On March 10, 1959, Tibetans began an uprising against Chinese rule. A few days later, the Dalai Lama left Lhasa and went into exile in India. He has never returned....

China’s Christmas Panda Diplomacy Reaches Taiwan

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on December 24

It’s the latest goodwill gesture to emanate across the Taiwan Straits. Beijing on Dec. 23—let us call it an early Christmas present—sent two of its rare giant pandas on a...

The never-ending China-India border fight

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 11

Imagine what it would be like if the French and the Germans were still squabbling about Alsace and Lorraine. That’s sort of the situation we have in Asia, where the...

Of Boats and Moles and Saving Face

Posted by: Kenji Hall on June 18

What do a sunken fishing boat and a few rocky islands inhabited by moles and ants have to do with diplomacy in Asia? A lot more than you’d think. First,...