China
Asian utilities locked into coal as long-term contracts slow transition
Asia’s shift towards cleaner energy is being hampered by decades-long coal power agreements that continue to bind utilities to fossil-fuel generation, even at times when cheaper renewable supplies are readily available.
LONG READ: How oil price discounts became a barometer of the sanction’s effectiveness
When Russian troops crossed into Ukraine in February 2022, the country’s main crude export blend, Urals, was still trading in line with its traditional discount to Brent of $2. A month later Russia discounted it by $30 to find buyers.
Kyrgyz president says Chinese worker comments after mass brawl are pre-election provocation
Japarov warns there are groups trying “to stir things up”.
China blocks Japanese film releases in latest anti-Tokyo moves
China has postponed the release of at least two Japanese films as political tensions between Beijing and Tokyo intensify over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comments on Taiwan.
COMMENT: Head-to-head – China vs Japan. Who wins?
With the latest China – Japan spat having been blown up exponentially by Beijing in recent days, many in East Asia are asking what would happen if hostilities break out between Beijing and Tokyo.
China’s LNG tanker shadow fleet – reality or fiction?
China appears to be constructing a discreet fleet of LNG tankers capable of moving sanctioned Russian fuel in what is an emerging tactic that would allow Moscow to preserve export revenue while tightening the energy relationship between the two.
Bottleneck on the border, truckers baffled by major snarl-up on Kazakhstan-Russia frontier
Tens of thousands of goods vehicles stranded. Yet nobody is quite clear on what is going on.
Tokyo refuses to kowtow to China’s latest round of anti-Japanese bullying
China has once more escalated a minor diplomatic skirmish with Japan, by urging its citizens to avoid travelling to the country and hauling in Tokyo’s ambassador over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks about Taiwan.
China deploys an army of humanoid robots to car factories
It looks exactly like a scene out of the Hollywood movie iRobot, depicting the Isacc Asimov classic sci-fi novel: a warehouse filled with gleaming white robots standing in a precise military grid, moving in unison when ordered.
COMMENT: Trump was “sent by heaven”, Russia is a “God-given” neighbour, says Kazakhstan’s president. What's cooking?
With White House and Kremlin visits in the space of six days, pressure was on Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to pull off a masterclass in multi-vector foreign policy.
China’s emissions growth flat as emissions peak arrives
China’s carbon dioxide emissions remained flat in the third quarter of 2025 compared to a year earlier, extending a trend of stabilisation that began in March 2024.
China unveils world’s first thorium-powered container ship
China has launched the world’s first container ship powered by a thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR), marking a potential milestone in nuclear maritime propulsion and low-emission shipping technologies.
UNDP warns climate change will slash crop yields in low-income countries
A new United Nations dataset shows median national crop yields will decline by around 25-30% by the end of the century under very high emissions scenario.
EU accession policy fails to address Chinese engagement in Balkans
ECFR report warns the EU does not have a clear strategy for managing candidate countries’ engagement with China.
COP30: China holds back on Brazil forest fund
China has decided not to provide funding at this stage to Brazil’s new rainforest protection mechanism, citing the principle that wealthier nations should take the lead in climate finance.
COP30: Climate negotiators forge ahead despite loss of US delegation
Brazilian President Lula has urged nations to step up efforts as Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement for the second time, leaving 195 countries to tackle climate change.
COMMENT: Japan and Europe come together in support of Taiwan
Over the past week, two moves in East Asia and Europe clearly signal that the handling of the Taiwan question is entering a new phase - one in which neither Tokyo nor Brussels is prepared to abide by a Beijing-centric diplomatic equilibrium.
China’s green capital powers Indonesia’s 100-GW solar ambition
Indonesia’s vision to build 100 GW of solar energy is gathering real momentum, fuelled by growing Chinese investment under the Belt and Road Initiative.
PANNIER: Booming breadbasket Kazakhstan now shipping grain to three continents
Drought-stricken countries such as Iran thankful Kazakhs are enjoying bumper crops. Improving cargo routes helping to push up shipments.
Georgian prime minister deepens ties with China as relations with West worsen
Political and economic ties have expanded rapidly since 2023, reflecting the ruling Georgian Dream party's growing pivot toward Beijing.