China can neither allow Laos to default on huge debts nor let its small neighbor suffer too much. In the Western vernacular there’s a warning about tails wagging dogs. And the Buddhist adage dictates that when the sage points at the moon, only the fool looks at his finger. The point of both is not… Continue reading Has Laos ensnared China in a ‘creditor trap?’
The Kuomintang has nominated popular New Taipei City mayor Hou Yu-ih as its official candidate for the presidential elections in 2024. Who is he and what are his chances? On May 17th, the standing committee of the Kuomintang (KMT) announced its official candidate for the 2024 presidential race. It went to Hou Yu-ih, who just… Continue reading Popular mayors and presidential races in Taiwan: A portrait of KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih
V roku 2021 bolo do zoznamu svetového dedičstva UNESCO zapísané východočínske mesto Quanzhou. Hoci je toto mesto dnes na Slovensku prakticky neznáme, v stredoveku bolo významným centrom východoázijského námorného obchodu. A to tak veľké, že keď okolo roku 1292 mestom prechádzal aj taliansky cestovateľ Marco Polo, označil ho za najväčší prístav na svete a žasol nad jeho bohatstvom. Dnešné… Continue reading Quanzhou: zabudnuté obchodné centrum stredovekej východnej Ázie
Changes to election laws will give Prime Minister Hun Sen added room for maneuver as he prepares to hand power to his son, Hun Manet. On June 23, Cambodia’s National Assembly approved a hastily-drafted amendment to the country’s election law that will prohibit anyone who doesn’t vote in next month’s general election from running as a candidate… Continue reading Is Cambodia’s new election amendment actually about ‘pardoning’ exiled opposition leaders?
The fragmentation of production and emergence of global value chains provides authoritarian states like China with new avenues for exercising political coercion via indirect trade relations and final demand exposure to their markets. This paper provides a quantification of Baltic states’ final demand exposure to China and the potential risks of trade weaponization. The 2021… Continue reading Trade weaponization: Vulnerabilities in the Baltic exports to China
