Overall, the EU-China Investment Agreement has been oversold and underpowered. Absent a coordinated front among China’s leading trade and investment partners, the agreement is stacked up against immense odds.
To succeed in Asia, President-elect Joe Biden will need an administration that whines less, competes more, and leverages American strengths in the Asia that actually exists, not the one of its wishes, dreams, and fantasies.
South Korea’s soft power reached new heights in 2020, driven by everything from its model pandemic response to cultural staples like chart-topping BTS albums. But Seoul must use this rising political capital wisely to build lasting influence beyond its borders.
China has achieved economic recovery in 2020 by prioritizing companies and production over market demand, boosting exports during a global trade recession, and abstaining from the various forms of quantitative easing that other industrialized countries have put in place.
The long-held European hope that China would become more like the West with the policy of “change through trade (Wandel durch Handel)” has been dispelled by China’s own moves.
As the transition from Donald Trump to Joe Biden proceeds in less than optimal fashion, the first order of business for America is regaining strength.
Widodo is repressing Indonesian student and labor protesters in ways reminiscent of past dictators like Suharto—with a new digital twist.
Despite China’s apparent enthusiasm, the “year of Sino-European friendship” has brought more challenges than successes, due to a mix of promise fatigue on the European side; growing Chinese assertiveness on the international stage; and increasing Chinese propaganda and controversies around the Covid-19 pandemic.
China’s rise was made possible by its integration into a rules-based international system. Competitive pressures and sensitivities, however, strained relations with many of its key trading partners.
What policy issues are still debated in today’s media in China?