In The News

The Diplomat: Will Trump Cement the China-Russia Alliance?

Dai Weilai June 12, 2018
Trade encourages peaceful and broad-based relationships, and a US trade war targeting China could improve Chinese-Russian relations. The United States has imposed 25 percent tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods, and China has promised retaliation. The United States also challenges China on Taiwan and the South China Sea while imposing economic sanctions on Russia and criticizing its military...

Financial Times: US Relations With Allies at New Lows

Chris Giles June 11, 2018
Trade tensions made for an acrimonious G7 summit, reports Chris Giles for the Financial Times: “The west was in disarray after Donald Trump left the summit early, instructed his officials to tear up the bland G7 statement, threatened to impose more tariffs and called the Canadian prime minister ‘very dishonest and weak.’” Trump administration officials became defensive after G7 host and Canadian...

Chatham House: Britain Stands Up to China Over Freedom of Navigation

Bill Hayton June 8, 2018
British naval ships traversed the South China Sea to demonstrate support for freedom of navigation despite China’s claims to most of the major waterway. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by China and the UK, gives countries control over 12 nautical miles from their coasts – foreign military and other ships have the right to traverse such waters as long as they do not “threaten ‘...

Reuters: What the G7 Can Offer the World

Peter Apps June 8, 2018
Amid trade tensions triggered by the United States and debt troubles for Italy, leaders of the world’s top industrialized democracies gather in Canada. The Group of 7, or G7, has the potential to apply democratic values and restore faith in democratic institutions, maintains Peter Apps for Reuters. In turn, this will contribute to resolving global challenges from climate change to conflicts over...

Wall Street Journal: Western Cities Try to Slow Chinese Home Buying

Paul Vieira, Rachel Pannett and Dominique Fong June 7, 2018
Chinese buyers regard real estate in Western cities like Vancouver and Sydney as a good investment. Real estate prices in Canada and Australia were relatively low, inviting buyers and capital from China. The steady onslaught prompts fears about market distortions, changing local culture and inability of young adults to purchase their first home, reports the Wall Street Journal. “In Vancouver,...

Reuters: Facebook Confirms Data Sharing With Chinese Firms

David Shepardson June 5, 2018
Facebook confirmed data-sharing partnerships with about 60 companies including Huawei, Lenovo Group, OPPO and TCL in China. Once again, the agreements may have allowed the firms to access data of users’ friends without explicit consent, reports David Shepardson for Reuters. Many of the partnerships had already ended, and Facebook is taking steps to end agreements with the Chinese firms. “Chinese...

Times of India: Zigzags in Trump’s Trade Policy

Nayan Chanda June 5, 2018
The Trump administration goes back and forth with threats over trade deficits and demands that China, Canada, Mexico and other countries purchase more US-made goods. Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, ponders whether abrupt announcements from the president are intended to maintain pressure on other nations during negotiations or boost domestic support. “Whatever the motivation,...