55/ Well, the US wanted an arms race and it got both a conventional build-up and a nuclear one. #GeopoliticsOfGHGs Military assessment of China in Pentagon's annual report to Congress: media.defense.gov/2021/Nov/03/20… x.com/NarangVipin/st…

Young 🇫🇷 progressives struggle to vote for Macron to defeat Le Pen in #presidentielle2022. To convince them not to abstain, an interesting argument quoted today in ⁦Le Monde⁩ : "Deciding not to vote against Le Pen is a form of white privilege".

Germany drops opposition to Russian oil ban, ministers say reut.rs/3LEGip4

TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE: ITS WEBSITE RECEIVED OVERSEAS CYBER ATTACKS ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON

CHINA'S SU-35 FIGHTERS ON THE WAY TO TAIWAN STRAIT - CHINESE TV

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued a statement on Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to China's Taiwan region. Following is the full text of the statement peoplesdaily.pdnews.cn/china/statemen…

BREAKING: China announces military drills encircling Taiwan from Aug. 4-7 trib.al/NWWcvEh

2. Au-delà du symbolisme de la visite de Pelosi, le plus important pour les futurs calculs chinois est la réponse de Taiwan et des Etats-Unis militairement sur le terrain ; démontrer détermination, capacités et sang-froid. 13/14

Algeria 🇩🇿, Africa's largest country is interested in joining the BRICS group. BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging economies : Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa 🇿🇦 Iran and Argentina have applied to join the BRICS.

More countries openly saying they want to join BRICS is not just a sign of more of the world not wanting to be under the thumb of the West, but that they are now brave enough to defy them and say it.

1. Announcement of significant military exercises all around Taiwan in coming days 2. Eastern theater command statement that may imply missiles crossing over TWN airspace 3. MFA statement that is pretty stern 4. Large (but not unprecedented) PLA aircraft entering into ADIZ  (4/

This all is done within a few hours of Pelosi's plane landing.  I'd say that is pretty impressive.  Lots of coordinated activity across a range of tools of statecraft, some more thoughtful than others (the econ sanctions seem tailored well to target DPP constituencies).  (6/

Globally, the US currently has 57 of 111 operational ships attached to the 7th Fleet. NE Asia currently has 2 (super) carrier groups and 2 (smaller) carrier groups deployed (CSGs and ESGs respectively…but lots of F35s on all of ‘em). (11/ news.usni.org/2022/08/01/usn…

68/ Biden is set to speak with Xi Jinping on Thursday now that we are fully in the 4th Taiwan Straits crisis. Speak softly and carry a big stick i.e aircraft carriers, warships & submarines thenation.com/article/world/… x.com/70sBachchan/st…

China has blocked imports of citrus and fish from Taiwan in retaliation for U.S. Speaker Pelosi's visit but avoided sanctions on Taiwanese processor chips for smartphones and other electronics that could send shockwaves through the global economy. apnews.com/article/taiwan…

it's time for the private sector to step up. shanghai's brutal lockdown is evidence that the direction of Chinese politics is no longer mutually exclusive from its so-called economic reliability for foreign firms.

In volume in 2020, dual-use trade with China represented 3x the EU's dual-use trade with Russia pre-Ukraine invasion. This gives a partial indication of the cost that a China/West geopolitical confrontation could incur, as dual-use trade is highly vulnerable to disruption.

🔴#Chine: l’ex-président Hu Jintao, 79 ans, a été escorté samedi vers la sortie lors de la cérémonie de clôture du congrès du #PCC. Paraissant affaibli, Hu Jintao a été incité par des employés à se lever de son siège situé à côté de Xi Jinping au premier rang du Palais du peuple.

#UPDATE QatarEnergy announced a 27-year natural gas supply deal with China on Monday, its CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi (pic) calling it the "longest" ever seen as it strengthened ties with Asia at a time when Europe is scrambling for alternative sources ▶️ u.afp.com/ic23