China’s foreign exchange (‘forex’) reserves and its holdings of U.S. government debt are two of the most frequently misunderstood issues in relations between the two countries. Recent events have underscored this problem. On September 18th, a car carrying Gary Locke, the U.S. Ambassador to China, was surrounded and partially attacked in a sideshow to an […]
China appears ever more willing to use its economic muscle to strategic ends. Japan is the most recent target, as tensions flare over a maritime territorial dispute. Customs processing has been delayed for some Japanese goods, and visas are somewhat less forthcoming. There are concerns about consumer boycotts, especially of Japanese cars. It’s reasonable to […]
Chinese streets were quiet today after anti-Japan protests, many of them violent, rocked more than a 100 cities last week. Large demonstrations continued through Tuesday, the 81st anniversary of Japan’s invasion of Manchuria. The disturbances, triggered by a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, are commonly described as the worst anti-Japan riots […]
China and Japan are beginning to show two-track tactics toward their latest territorial row over a group of islands in the East China Sea. On the one hand, China is taking a hard-line; a flotilla of 16 Chinese surveillance ships on Tuesday entered Japanese territorial waters off the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and […]
“Our generation is not wise enough to find a common language on this question,” Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said in 1978 about his country’s territorial dispute with Japan. “Our next generation will certainly be wiser. They will certainly find a solution acceptable to all. In the meantime, Deng proposed, the two sides should jointly develop the […]
The situation in East Asia is tense. Japan and China, two of the most powerful countries in the world, are locked in a bitter dispute over eight tiny, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. The volatility of the issue — compounded by the fact that the waters around the islands are rich in natural resources — is […]
In the latest step in its naval modernization and expansion, China recently announced that it is accelerating serial production of an advanced destroyer. This will tilt the regional balance of power at sea in its favor and put it in a stronger position to enforce its sovereignty claims over Taiwan and in the South and […]
Last month, Japanese activists planted their country’s flag on one of the Senkaku Islands (which the Chinese call the Diaoyu Islands), a chain claimed by China, Japan, and Taiwan. The move sparked protests in China and inspired headlines in the West, but the provocation was hardly surprising. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
looking beyond borders 