Asia

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has departed for China, pushing through with a trip he had initially scrapped due to the weeklong protests that have rocked the Southeast Asian nation. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has departed for China, pushing through with a trip he had initially scrapped due to the weeklong protests that have rocked the Southeast Asian nation. Prabowo traveled to Beijing on Tuesday evening to attend a major military parade, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to showcase his nation’s growing diplomatic sway and military might. “To maintain good relations with the Chinese government, the President has decided to depart tonight and return to Indonesia the following evening,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said in a press briefing late

As I write this column from Boston, the biggest American newspapers have the Tianjin meeting of Prime Minister Modi, President Putin, and President Xi—all three smiling and shaking hands—as a leading news item. The sub-theme is also that President Trump’s policies are driving them closer, perhaps opening the door to an anti-US unity in international geopolitics. The talk of an anti-American unity is perhaps premature. At least two of the three nations, China and India, have significant ties with the US, which can be ruptured only at a very great cost. Despite the talk of a decline, the US is still the world’s largest economy. At the end of 2024, according to the World Bank, America’s GDP was $29.18 trillion, which amounted to 26.2 per cent of the world economy ($111.33 trillio

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in China on Sunday with the sting of Donald Trump's US tariffs still at the top of his mind. Since Wednesday, tariffs on Indian goods imported into the US, like diamonds and prawns, now stand at 50% – which the US president says is punishment for Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. Experts say the levies threaten to leave lasting bruises on India's vibrant export sector, and its ambitious growth targets. China's President Xi Jinping, too, is trying to revive a sluggish economy at a time when sky-high US tariffs threaten to derail his plans. Against this backdrop, the leaders of the world's two most populous countries may both be looking for a reset in their relationship, which has previously been marked by mistrust, in lar

Leaders from Russia, Belarus, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam are among those attending a summit billed as promoting peace and stability. China slammed “hegemonism and power politics” on Friday as it touted an upcoming summit it is hosting for more than 20 world leaders as promoting stability and peace. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit will be held in the northern city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, days before a huge military parade in the nearby capital Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II. China has long sought to present the SCO as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed for greater collaboration between its 10 members. More than 20 foreign leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Xi Jinping’s slow-motion nosedive from China’s throne is less a political drama than a masterclass in how to botch a nation. Beijing’s strongman, once hailed as the eternal helmsman, is now steering a ship that’s springing leaks faster than his censors can plug them. Economic wobbles, public grumbling, and a leadership drunk on its own myth expose the rot of hyper-centralised rule. But this isn’t just China’s circus—democracies, with their messy debates and fragile guardrails, can stumble into the same traps if they’re not vigilant. Picture a cautionary tale, served with a smirk and a shiver, as we unpack why China’s mess is a 900-word warning for every democracy to keep its house in order. Buckle up; the lessons are sharper than the Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army. China’