Note before starting: Hats off to CGTN for its excellent video, “The Untold Story of Meng Wanzhou.” I referred to it extensively to expand my research. The prosecution of telecommunications giant Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou on charges of violating U.S. sanctions policies with Iran has been very politicized from the...
Allegations and accusations that China is trapping Africa into unsustainable debt agreements have dominated the conversation around Africa-China relations in Western media, but what does the data tell us? The reality is that China is canceling 23 loans to African countries amid this 'Debt Trap' debate. We look at the international implications of this claim, what debt trap diplomacy is, and who owns most of Africa's external debts. Featuring Sri Lanka, the African Development Bank, and the “secret” lenders they don’t tell us about, with Mikaela Nhondo Erskog researcher at TriContinental Institute for Social Research and one of the hosts of the new podcast The Crane, an African China podcast by the Dongsheng Collective. Plus: We discuss Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy, what to make of Biden’s student loan debt moves, Lindsey Graham’s threats of “riots in the streets” if Trump is prosecuted, and more...
In the last decade xenophobic tropes intended to stoke fear and loathing of Chinese have accelerated ominously in the American mainstream media as many public officials of both parties label China as our “adversary” or even our “enemy.” This last formulation is deep cause for growing alarm, especially because many...
As legislators across North America continue bashing the People’s Republic of China, some Canadians, including this author, were invited on a tour of three Chinese cities during the spring. During our time in China, we saw beautiful nature and technological innovation in Hangzhou, the peaceful coastline in Qingdao, and a...
After almost a year of an escalating trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last week...
On July 4, 2020, the U.S. Navy dispatched an unprecedented two aircraft carriers and four other warships to the South China Sea for naval maneuvers in waters claimed by China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo subsequently broke with the official U.S. policy of neutrality in territorial conflicts in the...
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan, marking a major escalation of U.S. aggression towards China. While this may not on it’s face seem alarming, the reality is that the U.S. is playing with fire. 1979 was the last time that a U.S. head of state or member of the ruling party visited Taiwan. Since the 70’s the official policy of the U.S. has been the One China policy, and this visit undermines this very policy. China’s statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous. Those who play with fire will perish by it.”
A recent article in the New York Times attacked peace groups and activists who oppose the U.S. government’s drive towards war with China. Just days later, Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding an investigation into Code Pink, Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Dongsheng and others named in the article...
In 1989, the American public was flooded with iconic images of brave Chinese students standing up to Chinese Communist tanks in Tiananmen Square—students who were then brutally slaughtered by the Chinese military. Or so we were led to believe. But a startling new book reveals that the American public may...
Western media described recent protests in China as “mark[ing] a new awakening” and represent a significant challenge to Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China. After years of leading the world in addressing COVID-19, the Chinese government is indeed relaxing some of the lockdown regulations, but the situation is far more nuanced than the media is reporting.