'Scholz said arguing for fair competition “must be done from a position of self-confident competitiveness and not from protectionist motives”.
He recalled how the entry of Japanese and South Korean cars on to the European market had been a cause for concern, just as Chinese cars…

What might trigger the US-Philippines MDT, you ask? Marcos: 'I think Secretary Austin explained it very well, if any Filipino serviceman is killed by an attack from any foreign power, then that is time to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty.'
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

#Australia 's no priority for #SouthKorea . Attention comes at the end of presidential administrations (see Moon's visit in Dec 2021). But could Australia work with that and become a preferred partner for lame-ducks seeking easy diplomatic wins? lowyinstitute.org/the-interprete…

Amazing considering the Chinese still can't make a jet engine as good as the Russians, much less the US

Poll asking who was most responsible for the People Power Party's defeat in the general election (I would've preferred a poll asking respondents why they voted the way they did, but...🤷‍♂️)
goodmorningcc.com/news/articleVi…

A lot of political reporting still casually equates the interest of (German) business operating in China with the interest of the Germany economy. Politico for example ...

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My latest Interpreter article discusses the implications of Nauru's recent MOU with Bank of China. It speaks to a broader issue: that financial risks are causing Western banks to flee the region, leaving a void for China to fill. lowyinstitute.org/the-interprete…

Beijing’s worldview in a nutshell

michaelturton demonstrating once again the power of good writing combined with sharp insights
taipeitimes.com/News/feat/arch…

Prof. Feng: 'No one should doubt China’s desire to end this cruel war through negotiations'
China: 👇

Those who understand what's going on here understand what's going on here, but to casual observers the former leader of Taiwan saying that Taiwan and China are not separate countries is understood as 'China and Taiwan are not separate countries'

Important to keep in mind when gauging South Korean public sentiment that the DPK won 53.7% of the seats compared to the PPP’s 30%, but the gap in terms of votes was narrower, with the DPK receiving 50.45% vs. the PPP’s 45.05%
chosun.com/opinion/editor…

Han Dong-hoon: “Popular sentiment (민심, 民心) is always right. On behalf of our party, which was lacking in receiving the people's choice, I apologize to the people. I solemnly accept the will of the people and deeply reflect on myself.” (translation)
n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/…

Newly elected DPK legislator Lee Un-ju calls for 'reassessing hostile diplomacy and trade policies toward China and Russia'
(적대적인 중러 외교통상정책 재고)
n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/…

Given that the fundamental divide between progressives and conservative relates to North Korea (left leans more cooperative, right leans more confrontational), this generational plus gender structure will presumably shape South Korea’ approach toward Pyongyang.
Byung-Cheon Choi…

Fmr. Chief of the National Assembly Research Service, Kim Man-heum: 'It's a very serious issue to consider whether there has been a country in the world where the leaders of both the 1st and 2nd opposition parties ran for election while being criminal defendants' (translation)…

South Korean Pres. Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rate down to 32.6%
n.news.naver.com/mnews/hotissue…

The proportion of invalid votes in South Korean legislative elections increased considerably following the introduction of a mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation system, with associated longer and more complicated ballot papers:
2024: 4.4%
2020: 4.2%
<2019: reform bill…

Maybe I just read too much of this stuff, but I’m so over this kind of framing from the media and academics:
Some say Sogavare is a budding dictator/is China’s puppet/will destroy Solomon Islands’ economy
—true, there’s a real concern, but the full picture is more nuanced!
The…

It's OK kids, come and study in China. Prof. Jia is trying to organize a separate system to politically review your dissertations:
'Jia Qingguo (賈慶國), a professor of international relations and a national political adviser, has suggested that Beijing clarify its laws involving…