China’s Debt Bomb Has a Slow Fuse
China’s local governments owe at least $12 trillion, a hole the property bust has widened and Beijing’s patches have not closed. The strain will shape Chinese exports, the technology race and America’s
Breaking China’s Grip, One Circuit Board at a Time
Ten million dollars will not build a refinery. By the standards of heavy industry, it is small change. Yet the pledge Washington made in Atlanta on Saturday, to fund facilities in India
Can Trump and Xi Keep the AI Race Under Control?
When Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Washington on Thursday, they will return to a familiar set of disputes that have defined relations between the world’s two largest economies: trade, technology
Why South Korea and India Waited This Long to Become Partners
For decades, Seoul and New Delhi maintained a cordial, technically respectable partnership that never quite rose to the level of strategic necessity. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s visit to India was overdue
China Is Testing the Boundaries of the Iran War
China is no longer merely a distant benefactor of Iran. If U.S. intelligence reports are correct, Beijing is edging into something much more dangerous: active enabling of Iran’s wartime rebuild. According to The
How China Weaponized Its Economy Against Japan
When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a straightforward observation in November last year—that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan’s own security—she inadvertently triggered what would become one of
China and Hormuz: The Vulnerability That Isn’t
The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most dangerous energy chokepoint: a 21-mile-wide slit between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20 million barrels of oil and significant volumes of liquefied natural
China’s Iran Strategy: Buy the Oil, Skip the Risk
When the Middle East teeters on the brink, commentators reflexively predict a Sino‑Iranian axis taking shape against the West. But that’s a mirage. For all the talk of “strategic partnership” and anti‑American
Transparency on Trial: How a Foreign‑Funding Scrutiny Could Reshape Higher Education
Donald Trump’s renewed push to scrutinize foreign funding of U.S. universities is framed as a transparency and national security move, but it also risks chilling global collaboration and complicating already fragile university
A Services-Led Resilience Story in Asia
At present, India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with robust projections indicating that it will surpass several peers in the coming decades. Yet, while China dominates global manufacturing, still accounting for
OBBBA One Year Later: What the Tax Breaks Really Mean for Filers
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, was hailed as a triumph for working Americans, a sweeping package delivering “no tax on
Opera Is Not Dead—It Needs a Netflix Moment
Every few years, the same dramatic proclamation echoes through cultural commentary: “Opera is dying.” Headlines cite slumping live attendance, aging audiences, and mounting financial pressures on companies. National surveys from organizations like
After the BRI Hangover: Why Kenya’s China Trade Deal Is Going Nowhere
Kenya’s much-hyped zero‑tariff trade deal with China has quietly slipped into limbo, exposing how Beijing’s promises now often move faster than its paperwork, and how African partners are warier after a decade
