EHiN 2024’s Post

The recent state visit to the UK by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan marked a significant milestone in the longstanding UK-Japan partnership. This historic event not only celebrated the deep-rooted friendship between the two nations but also underscored their commitment to future collaboration in various domains, from trade and security to science and culture. #EmperorandEmpressvisit #UKstatevisit #UKJapancooperation #UKJapanculturalexchange #UKJapandefense #UKJapanfuturerelations #UKJapanpartnership #UKJapansciencecollaboration #UKJapanstrategicalliance #thxnews

#VantageOnFirstpost Xi Jinping in Serbia: Why China is Deepening Ties with Eastern Europe | Vantage with Palki Sharma Chinese President Xi Jinping received a warm welcome in Serbia today (April 8, 2024). In the second leg of his European trip that has come after a break of five years, President Xi was welcomed by the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who termed him a "friend". Xi's visit to Serbia coincides with the 25th anniversary of NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. While remembering the incident, Xi said that "we must never forget this". Serbia and China have signed 29 deals today, and decided to implement a free trade pact - which could complicate Europe's efforts to "de-risk" from Chinese supply chains. Belgrade is a strong ally for Beijing, with the country even supporting China's claims on Taiwan. As Xi Jinping nears the end of his European tour, Palki Sharma explains how the Chinese president is exploiting the cracks within the European Union. --- China | Xi Jinping | Serbia | Alexandar Vucic | Europe | Firstpost | World News | News Live | Vantage | Palki Sharma | News #china #xijinping #serbia #alexandervucic #europe #firstpost #vantageonfirstpost #palkisharma #worldnews

As first foreign trip of 2024 President Xi Jinping will make a visit to Europe. You can find my opinions on his agenda and the challenges of a collective China strategy under the EU umbrella in this article. 🇪🇺🇨🇳 https://lnkd.in/dqtV_nSm

Would you believe that the relationship between Indians and Mexicans goes back 400 years?! Read the history in the first article of MND’s “Global Mexico: India” series with articles all week long on different facets of the relationship between the two countries.

Joined #cgtn China 24 to discuss President Xi's ongoing European trip and his most recent stop in #serbia. Some talking points: There are many different sides to Europe and many competing interests, so much so that many worry the #eu project as a site of resistance to US hegemony has collapsed due to growing internal divisions that have been exacerbated by US pressures and conflict with #russia. What we can see in this visit is President Xi speaking directly to two different sides of the EU divide. On the one hand, France has been a moderate voice on China in Western Europe and at least sometimes tried to be a reasonable voice on Russia. On the other hand, much of Central and Eastern Europe have mobilized as a part of a very determined anti-Russia bloc in #nato, and in turn facilitated greater US hegemony in Europe, which has run contrary to Chinese as well as what Macron regards as French interests, especially at it intersects with US efforts to isolate and contain #china. In Central and Eastern Europe, #hungary and Serbia have been the exceptions. They have not been sucked into the anti-Russia hysteria or American attempts to make China somehow responsible for Russia’s conflict with #ukraine. They understand the US is fighting a proxy war there and Washington should shoulder a significant amount of responsibility for provoking the conflict and continuing it. They understand the US is moving towards a new #coldwar paradigm and they want to avoid it, to be part of Europe but also have good relations with China and if possible, Russia. And it is in Serbia where this understanding it strongest, and indeed why China and Serbia decided on Wednesday to "build a community with a shared future," a formal upgrade of their relations, which were already described as a "comprehensive strategic partnership." Europe remains a very important market for China and vice versa, but Europe has fallen more deeply into a security trap vis-à-vis NATO and US efforts use its hegemony to cut Europe off from China and Russia. Europe has faced tremendous US pressures to decouple from China, in tech and finance especially, to restrict Chinese market access, even in green products, and many Europeans have been subjected to massive disinformation campaigns about China, the Chinese people, their political system, their economy, their products, and so on. Xi’s visit is a timely response aimed at pushing back with an opposite message, one of mutual recognition and respect, and increased trade and cooperation that aims to build a community a shared future. The fact that his visit to #belgrade came on the anniversary of the #nato attacks which destroyed the Chinese Embassy there in 1999, and were coupled with explicit criticisms of hegemony in tandem with showcasing the development progress Serbia and China have achieved together, provides proof that Europe's problems come from the West, not the East.

President Xi Jinping's recent trip to #Europe, including #France,# Hungary, and #Serbia, was #strategically chosen. France's position within the EU and #NATO contrasts with China's close ties to Hungary and Serbia. This diverse itinerary underscores China's multifaceted interactions with Europe. The visit to France tests European unity and aims to restore balance in Franco-Chinese relations. Serbia and Hungary's proximity to Beijing and Moscow highlights their strategic importance. This alignment raises concerns among some Europeans about a potential axis between Eastern and Western Europe. Xi's visit sparked debates in Paris about EU-China relations, while strengthening political and economic ties with Serbia and Hungary. Overall, the trip highlighted differing viewpoints within the EU and hinted at tensions between Eastern and other European nations.

If you live in a European, African or LatinAmerican country and want to know about China, I really recommend you to read this book

China Talk is pretty much my favourite China pod, so v happy to be on it as co-host with Jordan Schneider this week, interviewing the ever excellent Raja Mohan. It was a rich and thoughtful discussion. A few especially interesting quotes below on the border, Taiwan and the future of Indian democracy: Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gkfjzAmu On the border: "I think we're in the worst possible situation.....we're almost in a semi-permanent military confrontation all along the 4,000 kilometers of frontier between India and China." On Taiwan: "There is a new realization in Delhi that a Taiwan contingency is also an Indian contingency — because if Taiwan goes under, the Himalayas are the next... the outcome in Taiwan matters to us. Therefore, it's not as if India is going to simply be a bystander." On Democracy: "As far as the East Asian authoritarian model, I would say India is too big, too diverse... We are democratic by structure... My sense is that Indian diversity will continue to keep us democratic." If you want to learn more about @MohanCRaja and his thinking, then read this "Mohan’s world" essay Q A I did with him in Mekong Review a while back — probably to my mind the best introduction to his worldview. https://lnkd.in/gzTcb_4w #India #china #geopolitics #modi #Xi #chinatalk

Joined #cgtn to discuss President Xi’s attendance of the Shanghai Cooperation meeting in #astana and his state visits with the presidents of #kazakhstan and #tajikistan. The biggest accomplishments include continuing to reinforce and expand the #sco, which has been instrumental in resisting as well as managing hegemony and security concerns in Central Asia, especially following the US invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11, when the US operated airbases in former Soviet republics, creating risks for China and Russia, and started promoting color revolutions in the region that other countries found unwelcome. We also saw Xi welcomed with official state visits in Kazakhstan, with whom China already has strong relations, and in Tajikistan, where ties continue to grow. China and Tajikistan already have a comprehensive strategic partnership, but Xi proposed upgrading ties to better reflect the emergent needs of the New Era, including deepening trade ties and promoting more synergies in national development strategies, especially through high quality Belt-and-Road projects. Competing with Russia? Or the US? Or India? All the major powers have interests in Central Asia. The US continues to look for new airbase access. India has airbase access in Tajikistan. Russia has traditionally viewed the area as its backyard and sphere of influence, while China is now playing a pivotal role in helping the region develop, become more secure and independent. It’s true that Russian and Chinese strategic interests have some vital alignment that necessitate cooperation in some areas but they also diverge and perhaps compete in others. Some believe that Russia is sensitive to China’s growing influence and clout in Central Asia, and some argue that President Putin’s visits to North Korea and Vietnam ahead of President Xi’s state visits in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan indicate a bit of game playing between the two leaders. In fact, that’s both possible and reasonable from a realist perspective. But it’s also true that China is more concerned about US trying to reenter Central Asia, and certainly China has questions about India’s base in Tajikistan, given the strategic competition we see between Beijing and New Delhi. That said, yesterday an Indian diplomat expressed his optimism to me following a positive encounter between the Indian EAM and Chinese officials on the sidelines in Astana. And I would say whatever tensions and strategic competitions exist between these Asian powers, which can play out in some bilateral ties, the SCO continues to provide a multilateral means for managing a difficult intersection of complex relationships in ways that support regional development and security for the greater good of Asia.

Countries with the most diplomatic posts abroad: 🇨🇳 China: 274 🇺🇸 USA: 271 🇹🇷 Turkey: 252 🇯🇵 Japan: 251 🇫🇷 France: 249 🇷🇺 Russia: 230 🇬🇧 UK: 225 🇩🇪 Germany: 217 🇮🇹 Italy: 206 🇧🇷 Brazil: 205 🇮🇳 India: 194