china
The Uyghur militant threat: China cracks down and mulls policy changes
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. China, responding to United Nations criticism, academic and media reports, and an embarrassing court case in Kazakhstan, has come closer to admitting that it has brutally cracked down on the strategic north-western province of Xinjiang in what it asserts is a bid to prevent the kind of mayhem…
Trump’s Trade War with China: Undermining China’s Dependence on Neoliberalism
The unexpected ascension of Donald Trump to the US presidency caught the Chinese leadership off guard and his launching of a trade war against China is undermining its strategy for global dominance, argues Prof. Minqi Li
Saudi Arabia and Iran woo incoming Pakistani prime minister
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. An offer by a Saudi-backed bank to lend financially strapped Pakistan US$4 billion is likely intended to bolster Saudi influence when former international cricket player Imran Khan is sworn in in the coming week as the South Asian country’s next prime minister. The offer was most immediately related…
Can the US make Iran sanctions stick?
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. Recent Iranian trade figures suggest that the United Arab Emirates, a strong backer of US efforts to squeeze Iran economically, could emerge alongside China as the Islamic republic’s foremost lifeline in seeking to blunt the impact of harsh sanctions. Russia and Oman rather than Europe are emerging as…
Big power competition in the Eastern Mediterranean: Is Trump missing the point?
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. A Trump administration decision to sanction two key Turkish officials in retaliation for the continued detention of an American cleric coupled with unqualified support for Israel and the adoption of a backseat in Syria threatens to further undermine US influence in the Eastern Mediterranean, a key part of…
Despite concerns, China sees a potential ally in Pakistan’s Imran Khan
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. Pakistani prime minister-in waiting Imran Khan’s ability to chart his own course as well as his relationship with the country’s powerful military is likely to be tested the moment he walks into his new office. Pakistan’s most fundamental problems loom large and are likely to demand his immediate…
Imran Khan Breaks the Party Duopoly in Pakistan but Will he Differ in his Leadership?
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) wins the most seats of any single party in parliament, says Junaid Ahmad, Professor of Middle Eastern Politics at the University of Lahore
Saudi Oil Shipment Halt: A Potential Watershed in the Yemen War
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. A spike in oil prices as a result of a temporary halt in shipments through the strategic Bab el Mandeb strait may be short-lived, but the impact on Yemen’s three-year-old forgotten war is likely to put the devastating conflict on the front burner. The halt following a Saudi…
Saudis Buy Fmr UK Prime Minister Blair for $12 Million
Tony Blair, fmr Prime Minister of the UK and an architect of the Iraq War, is a mercenary that Saudi Arabia hired to present themselves as modernizers and cover for their invasion of Yemen, says Medea Benjamin, the author of Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection
Is Trump Implementing the ‘Bannon Strategy’ by Courting Russia?
Prof. Gerald Horne examines the Trump-Bannon objectives of forming an alliance with Russia to isolate China and Iran, while Democrats spin out of control in their attacks against Trump