The perception abroad, and not only in Western countries, is that often China is a threat. Yet, many have a hard time pinpointing why it is so and, thus, what kind of threat China is. China has no vaunted goal of Hitlerian global conquest, nor does it have the old Soviet ambitions for universal communist […]
In theory, it is a peninsula, but actually, for all practical purposes, it is an island. South Korea is separated from the rest of the Asian continent by its intractable half-brother to the North, making any land contact with its neighbors impossible. The gap between the reality (being an island) and the theoretical aspiration (being […]
USA-China Mirrors What will work better between USA and China, short-term economic cycles or long-term systemic assets or baggage? The picture may look not so clear if seen from Beijing. Beijing has just launched a whole array of measures aimed at compensating for lackluster growth at the beginning of the year, and its main thrust […]
Last week’s deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered by China is a significant success for Beijing, and it could as well change the shape of the Middle East. Still, it’s not clear in which direction it could spin. It may bring benefits to everybody, or it might also increase conflict in the region. The […]
A forty-year bond of trust between entrepreneurs and the government, the backbone of China’s meteoric rise, is in jeopardy because of short-term mistakes and long-term neglect. Some Chinese are apparently voting with their feet or lack of activity against what they don’t like. It fuels and is also fueled by growing foreign mistrust of China.[1] It […]
There may be a missing bridge, a missing brother between the billion Catholics or self-proclaimed such, the Church, and people of other faiths. There may be other scriptures giving different names to their gods—the search for a theology beyond scriptures. It doesn’t eliminate scriptures, but it goes into a hitherto empty space unoccupied by scriptures, […]
The mobilization announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21 is not sure to bring a victory from the battered fields of Ukraine. Still, it declares loudly what a growing number of observers have been saying for months: that the “special operation” against Kyiv has failed and that Moscow has been defeated. Against this […]
