East Asia

Asia vis-à-vis the invasion of Ukraine

By Miquel Vila · 22/03/2022

The West has presented a united front before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Western audiences may believe that the world is rallying behind us against Russian expansionism. The fact is that we no longer live in a time when the opinion of the West could be taken as the opinion of the international community. The […]

Can the Tsai Administration’s Emphasis on Taiwan’s Soft Power Offer Lessons for Catalonia?

By Brian Hioe · 16/04/2021

Under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s successes in expanding its international space have been well-noted. In particular, with Taiwan having remained entirely lockdown-free during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has seen international accolades for its successful response to the pandemic. Likewise, Tsai’s credentials as a progressive politician that enjoys the support of Taiwanese young people have been […]

The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment: the risks of navigating without a map

By Miquel Vila · 17/02/2021

On the brink of 2021, China and the European Union (EU) signed the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment’s (CAI). The Commission argues that the CAI contains substantial concessions from China that would help balance trade relations and create a level playing field between both economies. China has agreed to open new areas of its economy […]

Is China an enemy of Biden’s America?

By Xulio Ríos · 29/01/2021

We might contextualize the most recent US policy towards China through two speeches, that of Vice President Mike Pence at the Hudson Institute in 2018, and that of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Nixon Library in 2020. Both developed, to some extent, the 2017 National Security Strategy. The message is clear and twofold: […]