LONDON -- The European Union's new sanctions against Iran appear to open a new space for eager Chinese companies to expand their investments in a country viewed as a rogue player by much of the western world. With China recently coming to light as Iran's largest trade...
China Uneasy Over US Nuclear Policies
BEIJING - With the dispute over Iran's controversial nuclear program moving this week to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the stage is set for a perilous confrontation between the Islamic republic and the international community a showdown that not...
Chinese Govt Censors Anti-Japan Protests
BEIJING - As anti-Japanese protests continued for a third day in a row here, government censors imposed a news blackout on coverage of protests signaling that Beijing was trying to contain further damage to already strained Sino-Japanese relations. None of the...
China Blasts Japan for Taiwan Stance
BEIJING It was Japan and not the United States that bore China's greatest ire after Tokyo and Washington took the unprecedented step over the weekend to declare that Taiwan would be a common security concern. The inclusion of Taiwan, which China regards as a...
Two Nations in a Bind Over Nukes
BEIJING - North Korea's bold statement that it has nuclear weapons in order to thwart a possible U.S. strike puts Beijing in an uncomfortable position. This is because it exposes China's ambiguous position on the primacy of the United Nations when it...
China Unfazed by Bush Rhetoric
BEIJING - There is a reason why China reacted calmly to U.S. President George W. Bush's pledges to "oppose tyranny" and "spread freedom" around the world. Beijing is confident that the country is becoming indispensable to the United States,...
China-Iran Tango Threatens US Leverage
BEIJING - Even as Iran pledges suspension of its uranium-enrichment program to avert United Nations sanctions, U.S.-led international efforts to curb Iran's nuclear capabilities are being undermined by the emergence of an ever stronger partnership between China and...
China: Damage Control After Criticizing Bush
BEIJING - The 2004 vote for the U.S. president would have gone down in history as one of the most painless polls for China since Washington recognized its communist government in 1979, had it not been for a political gaffe committed by Beijing on the eve of the...
Chinese Change of Guard Just Political Window Dressing?
BEIJING - The resignation of ex-president Jiang Zemin from his powerful post as commander-in-chief of the Chinese military heralds his impending political demise. However, his handover of authority to the younger President Hu Jintao signifies little imminent change in...
Dalai Lama’s Overtures to Seek Tibet Solution
BEIJING - Two high-profile envoys of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, have arrived in China amidst hopes that their visit could lead to a substantive dialogue with the Chinese government after tentative behind-the-scenes contacts in recent months....