Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 16: Their countries are more firmly aligned now than at any time since the 1950s. (Pool via Reuters)
Opinion

Growing China-Russia alignment signifies Biden policy failure

U.S. has pushed natural competitors into becoming strategic collaborators

31 May 2024
Young protesters at the parliament building in Tbilisi during the recent protests hold placards denouncing a contentious draft bill that opponents argue would hamper democracy. (Photo by Eiji Furukawa)
Politics

Georgia passes 'pro-Russian' bill amid monthlong youth protest

Ukraine war casts Moscow's long shadow over Eurasian region

29 May 2024
A Lenovo exhibit in Beijing in 2019. The PC maker has high hopes for artificial intelligence.
China tech

Lenovo 'optimistic' AI across product lineup will energize earnings

Chairman speaks freely yet dodges questions regarding business in Russia

23 May 2024
From left: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden. The rift between the Sino-Russia camp and Western democracies has widened to the point where many experts now worry relations might not improve for some time to come.
Comment

Sino-Russia feud with the West enters a new dimension

Reconciliation between the blocs might now be beyond hope

22 May 2024
Masato Kanda, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, spoke with Nikkei. (Photo by Tokuyuki Matsubuchi)
Interview

Japan top currency diplomat calls for stepping up structural reforms

Kanda sees G7 officials discussing Chinese overcapacity this week amid U.S. tariffs

22 May 2024
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, shakes hands with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 20. (Russian Foreign Ministry via Reuters)
International relations

China mounts diplomatic offensive as Taiwan's Lai takes office

FM Wang Yi affirms 'One China' principle with Russia, others in bid to isolate Taipei

22 May 2024
An Azerbaijani army officer shows weapons surrendered by Armenian forces retreating from Nagorno-Karabakh in October 2023. 
Opinion

India is stepping up as a security partner in the Caucasus

Former Russian client Armenia seeks new patron after military defeats

21 May 2024
Russian airstrikes destroyed houses in the Valyka Danylivka district of the city of Kharkiv on May 10. (Photo by Eiji Furukawa)
Ukraine war

Ukrainians in Kharkiv vow to stay despite Russia's advance

Russian troops go on offensive again in region

18 May 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchange bilateral documents during a meeting in Beijing on May 16. (Sputnik via Reuters)
International relations

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin agree to bolster trade amid 'storms'

Chinese and Russian leaders vow to enhance 'strategic cooperation' at Beijing meeting

16 May 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to the national anthem during his inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 7. (Pool via Reuters)
The Nikkei View

Democratic camp must unite to contain the 'Putin empire'

Russia cannot be allowed to change status quo by force

15 May 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow in March 2023, the first foreign trip of Xi's third term. Putin is now set to make China the first destination of his fifth term. (Sputnik via Reuters)
International relations

China set to host Putin as economic ties grow under Western pressure

Beijing expected to have 'shopping list' for Moscow amid sanctions heat

15 May 2024
Moscow has reportedly acquired sights for 3,000 tanks from China through Belarus since spring 2023, despite American and European sanctions.
Ukraine war

U.S. weighs sanctions on Chinese banks over Russia military support

Washington takes aim at workarounds seen shoring up Ukraine invasion

11 May 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits with his country's troops. North Korea has thanked Russia for vetoing the extension of the United Nations' sanctions-monitoring expert panel. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

End of U.N. North Korea panel creates gap in sanctions monitoring

After Russian veto, U.S. and allies seek ways to keep eye on Pyongyang

8 May 2024
"Not enough time, not enough support": Uzbekistan, a landlocked country slightly bigger than California, is facing the consequences of a history of poor irrigation, with rising salinity slashing the size of usable growing areas.
Asia Insight

Uzbek farmers battle to save cotton, wheat crops from mortal enemy: salt

Growing salinization crisis bites as cotton exports to Bangladesh skid 80% in 5 years

7 May 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in October.
Opinion

Russia has also become a lot more important to China

Image of dependence on Beijing overlooks role of geoeconomic strategy

3 May 2024
Unable to source key technological components from the West due to sanctions, Russia is acquiring civilian tech from Chinese online sellers and repurposing it for the battlefield in Ukraine. (Illustration by Yoshiko Kawano)
The Big Story

How China's ad-hoc tech pipeline fuels Russia's Ukraine war efforts

Civilian electronics, sourced from Chinese e-commerce sellers, find their way to the battlefield

1 May 2024
An HSBC branch in Hong Kong: The London-based lender reported that its pretax profit for the first quarter through March fell to $12.7 billion.
Finance

HSBC chief exec Noel Quinn to retire; Q1 profit narrowly beats estimate

Bank flags $100m hit on upcoming sale of Russia business

30 April 2024
Demonstrators wave an Iranian flag in Tehran on April 15, two days after Iran unleashed a drone-and-missile attack against Israel in retaliation for a presumed Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria on April 1.
Comment

How escalating tensions in Middle East threaten Asia's security

Risk of multifront conflict grows as 'axis of war' nations deepen military ties

28 April 2024
The 18th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, known as Auto China, opened to the media in the Chinese capital on April 25.
Automobiles

Beijing auto show welcomes world as China's carmakers aim to conquer it

Return of exhibition comes as brutal price war, export friction drive overseas production

25 April 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during a 2023 tour in Russia. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea leans on Russian ties to expand relations with Iran

Pyongyang officials visit Moscow-friendly nations in diplomatic blitz

25 April 2024
One of Myanmar's four Russian-made Su-30 jet fighters was on display at Myanmar's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw on March 27, 2023. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar regime sends Russian aircraft to bomb lost territory

MiG-29 jets and Mi-35 helicopter gunships operating along Thai border

19 April 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of five Central Asian countries who are increasingly worried that if Russia defeats Ukraine, it will start interfering in their internal affairs. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images)
Comment

The ghost of Soviet Union returns to haunt Central Asia, Caucasus

Fear of Russian political meddling grows as its troops regain footing in Ukraine

14 April 2024
Russian officials have been speaking with Taliban leaders and working to remove the group from its terrorist list. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)
13 April 2024
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, third from left, attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, in Beijing on April 9. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)
International relations

China counters closer U.S.-Japan-Philippines ties with diplomatic flurry

Beijing shows 'it also has friends' in North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, ex-Taiwan leader

12 April 2024
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, meets his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on April 9. (Russian Foreign Ministry via Reuters)
International relations

China and Russia hail 'profound' ties, vow to fight terrorism

Top diplomats Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov meet in Beijing, eye Eurasian security talks

9 April 2024