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China

Will Xi play ball with Trump on Ukraine?

US president-elect Donald Trump has invited China’s president Xi Jinping to his inauguration on January 20 in a surprise move which appears to be part of a plan to involve Beijing in ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine.

More shadow than substance in bonhomie?

While Russia reaffirms its adherence to the One China policy regarding Taiwan, there is no specific mention of Ukraine. Both sides agreed to oppose attempts to undermine security and stability in their “common adjacent regions”, which can only mean central Asia.

Nation and state

For, as a recent paper based on an extensive survey by US academics Shelley Rigger, Lev Nachman, Chit Wai John Mok, Nathan Kar Ming Chan has brought out, research consistently throws up two findings relevant for politics in that country. First, how people identify ~ as Taiwanese, Chinese, or both – is of paramount importance to understand the Taiwanese notion of their nation and the profound impact it has on voting behaviour.

Cheer for sport is a cheer for CCP

China’s reputation worsened after the safety of tennis star Peng Shuai, an alleged sexual assault victim, became a matter of international concern. Domestically, however, the Olympics are portrayed as something that benefits the Chinese people – a way for Chinese athletes to achieve glory and to showcase the Communist Party’s ability to execute a worldclass sporting event. The underlying narrative glorifies the regime and legitimises the CCP’s institutions and practices.

Economic diplomacy

The ambitious CPEC is a 3,000- km-long route of infrastructure projects connecting the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Gwadar port in Pakistan’s western province of Balochistan. India has protested to China against the project not the least because it is being laid through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). As CPEC enters its second phase, it will be riveted to industrialisation and the development of economic zones in what appears to be a paradigm shift.