Uwe Hoering – China, Geopolitics, and the Global South

NATO on a risky course

Several military manoeuvres in the Asia Pacific region like Pacific Skies were a demonstration of the growing military cooperation between European NATO members, the US, and their allies in East Asia. Closer cooperation between the transatlantic alliance and partners in the Pacific region is seen by its proponents as a contribution to greater security through deterrence and mutual reinforcement, not only against China but also against North Korea and Russia. However, all the fanfare about NATO’s “Asia-Pacificisation” or Beijing’s insinuation of an „Asian NATO“ should not be taken too seriously, at least not for the time being.

Chinese investment in Latin America

In the past decade, Chinese investment into Latin America has so often been characterised by large infrastructure projects: roads, railways, dams and ports, among others, frequently backed by state finance, and in many countries arriving under the banner of the Belt and Road Initiative. But in recent years, the nature of this investment has begun to change.

While China continues to look to its Latin American partners for markets and key resources, it is now Chinese companies, rather than its lenders, that are the main protagonists of investment, with a focus on new technology sectors.

The next Fuse in the South China Sea

The situation in the South China Sea is serious, but not hopeless. Serious because the skirmishes between China and the Philippines are tinkering with a new fuse for an explosive device. But not hopeless, because nobody here can really have any interest in a military conflict. It would only become really serious if the governments allowed themselves to be drawn into another regional war as a spin-off of the broader conflict between China and the USA.

Newsletter 30/April 2024

Contents: Towards a Diasporically Grounded Global-China Analytic +++ ‚Bäumchen wechselt euch’ in der Mekong-Region +++ Pakistan: Leck geschlagenes Flaggschiff CPEC +++ Freie Bahn für Modernisierung der TAZARA ++++ Öffentliche Meinung in Südostasien: Advantage China +++ Readings: Global Civil Society and China +++ Blog Roll update: Latinoamérica Sustentable (LAS) +++ EJAtlas +++ Global China Map is back +++ Quote: China in Africa

Towards a Diasporically Grounded Global-China Analytic

The past decade has seen a swell of economic, political, and social commentary throughout academia and the media on the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Much of this discourse reifies and reduplicates existing geopolitical biases by describing the BRI as either an ideal model of South–South cooperation or a ‘debt trap’ intended to further the People’s Republic of China’s plan for economic and ideological supremacy. Yet the view from the ground often reveals a more nuanced impact, with benefits and drawbacks to local communities within the Global South.

Newsletter 29/March 2024

Contents: Guest post: Bringt China die Energiewende für den Globalen Süden? +++ Guest post: What price for Africa’s digital development? +++ ‚Immer mehr ‘Out of area’-Einsätze der Bundeswehr +++ Strategische Partnerschaft mit der Mongolei +++ Wechselnde Allianzen, wachsende Spannungen in Südasien +++ Readings: China’s development cooperation system +++ Update Blogroll: Elements in Global China +++ The Arctic Institute +++ Quote: Advantage USA?

What price for Africa’s digital development?

Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong learning, and enhance financial inclusion. But there are obstacles to realising these benefits. The backbone infrastructure needed to connect communities is missing in places. Technology and finance are lacking too.