China-Russia pipeline would be ‘shock’ to global LNG trade: analysts

By Kandy Wong The long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline between Russia and China would create a “structural shock” if it begins operations, analysts said, and cause “strategic and market challenges” for the United States, the world’s current largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. While President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stood […]

Read More

How Xi-Kim talks marked China’s ‘full-throated endorsement’ of North Korea on world stage

By Shi Jiangtao From a rare multilateral debut at Tiananmen Square to a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, followed by an exclusive banquet, Beijing’s privileged treatment of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was a calculated display of solidarity between the two communist neighbours, analysts said. In a subtle yet seismic shift, Beijing notably […]

Read More

Why Kim Jong-un’s military parade presence could signal a China-North Korea realignment

By Shi Jiangtao and Laura Zhou North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s coming visit to China – his first in over six years – for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II could reinvigorate Beijing-Pyongyang ties and signal a broader strategic realignment, according to observers. For the first time, […]

Read More

Australia pushes to ratify Nauru security treaty ahead of China investment

Australia will seek to ratify a landmark security and economic treaty with its tiny neighbour Nauru by next month, Australian officials said on Monday, amid concern a A$1 billion (US$648.85 million) Chinese investment proposal could breach its provisions. Nauru, with a population of 12,000, announced an investment deal with the little-known China Rural Revitalization and […]

Read More