Beijing will reduce tariffs on thousands of products from India and South Korea, as well as the smaller economies of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Laos, China’s commerce ministry said Thursday. The reductions are due to take effect on July 1. They’re part of an agreement between the six countries called the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement […]

The hard financial confrontation between the US and China now moves to black gold. In fact, from the upcoming November 4 the United States plans to ban Iranian oil purchases and all transactions with the Central Bank of Tehran and financial institutions that violate these sanctions will lose access to dollar-based payment systems. Beijing are […]

Silence on China As early as September 2016, there has been a pending resolution calling for an inquiry into Duterte’s “conflicting” foreign policy. There are also at least 3 resolutions calling for an investigation into China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Yet until now, nearly two years after and with China being more hostile, […]

BEIJING, CHINA: Chinese President Xi Jinping stiffly defended his country’s claim to disputed islands in the South China Sea after US Defense Secretary James Mattis questioned the militarisation of the region in a day of meetings in Beijing Wednesday with top officials. The two sides held firm to their stances on a hot-button issue which […]

China secured valuable allies and partnerships by pouring US$45.8 billion into infrastructure investment in the East Asia and Pacific region from 2000 to 2016 While China secured valuable allies and partnerships by pouring US$45.8 billion into infrastructure investment in the East Asia and Pacific region through the first 16 years of this century, the influence […]

China spent more than $48 billion across East Asia and the Pacific between 2000 and 2016 to reward countries that consume its products and support its foreign policy positions, a new report has found. Infrastructure investment dwarfed other arms of Chinese public diplomacy over the period, according to a study by US research lab AidData […]

China on Friday announced its J-20 stealth fighter had entered into combat service — but military sources told the South China Morning Post that it had an “embarrassing” flaw. Makeshift engines in the J-20 mean that it cannot fly or fight as a true fifth-generation jet and that its stealth has been compromised. It looks […]

President Xi Jinping tells US Secretary of Defense James Mattis that Beijing will guard its sovereignty. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told US Defense Secretary James Mattis during a meeting that Beijing would “not concede an inch” regarding disputed areas such as the South China Sea and Taiwan. “Our stance is steadfast and clear-cut when […]

The time has come for the US and its allies to abandon ineffective freedom of navigation operations for much firmer measures China’s incremental approach toward its goal of complete control over the South China Sea has so far avoided any serious repercussions. That should change unless the United States and its allies are willing to […]

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano views the Philippines and China as husband and wife – and what a relationship this is, as President Rodrigo Duterte marks his second year in office MANILA, Philippines – Prepare your imagination… and hold your horses. So, more than a century ago, the Philippines was born. Our parents were the […]