Politics

A port in the Kaliningrad region of Russia in October: China accounts for a significantly larger portion of Russia's trade than vice versa.
International relations

Ukraine crisis looms large as China-Russia trade tops record $140bn

Moscow relies more heavily on Beijing as it girds for new Western sanctions

22 January 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden holds a virtual summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Indo-Pacific

Biden and Kishida plan Quad summit in Japan in late spring

Leaders agree to launch 'economic 2-plus-2' at 1st full meeting

22 January 2022
Vladimir Putin attempts to shake hands with Xi Jinping during a meeting in Moscow in June 2019: autocracy's self-styled emperors are formalizing their lifelong reigns.
Opinion

Autocracy's bad boys are here to stay

Liberal world order is in desperate need of new champions

21 January 2022
President Joe Biden listens to a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 19.
Politics

Biden says he thinks Putin will 'move in' on Ukraine

China has not yet fulfilled 'phase one' commitments, president notes

20 January 2022
As Eastern Europe edges closer to war, the U.S. and Russia are squaring off as China watches the outcome.
The Big Story

Ukraine crisis highlights superpowers' quarrel over spheres of influence

As Russia and the U.S. focus on Eastern Europe, China is taking notes for Taiwan

19 January 2022
"The universe is an awfully big place," author Kurt Vonnegut wrote. "There is room enough for an awful lot of people to be right about things and still not agree."
Asia Insight

Space powers take aim at moon in quest for resources and glory

U.S. and China jostle for lead as Japan, South Korea and others carve niches

18 January 2022
Russian soldiers fold the national flag during a ceremony marking the beginning of the CSTO withdrawal from Kazakhstan in Almaty on Jan. 13.
International relations

Russian-led CSTO's Kazakhstan mission leaves lingering bootprints

Analysts see short deployment putting Moscow's security stamp on Central Asia

15 January 2022
Stream article image
Podcast

Asia Stream: Deconstructing the Kazakhstan Crisis

From mob violence to military intervention, we investigate the unrest in the Central Asian state

14 January 2022
Ukrainian soldiers build a bunker on the front line in Zolote on Dec. 12: it is clear that the West had no appetite to use its military capabilities to deter Russian aggression.
Opinion

Ukraine crisis a warning for Asian nations fearful of China's rise

The West may not be the reliable military partner that many hope

13 January 2022
Collective Security Treaty Organization peacekeepers guard an area in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Jan. 11. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
12 January 2022
A burned car is seen in front of the mayor's office building which was torched during protests triggered by fuel price increase in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Politics

Kazakhstan crisis reveals risk to autocrats from high fuel costs

Strongmen stretch fiscal limits to rein in domestic energy prices

8 January 2022
Russian servicemen board a military aircraft heading to Kazakhstan, at an airfield outside Moscow on Jan. 6.
Politics

Kazakhstan unrest rattles region as Russia steps in: What to know

CSTO intervention raises U.S. eyebrows; China calls turmoil 'domestic affairs'

7 January 2022
A demonstrator waves a NATO flag in front of the Georgian Parliament's building in Tbilisi in July 2019: bing part of the Western alliance was the best hope of defending the country's sovereignty.
Opinion

Putin's claim that NATO threatens Russia is a self-fulfilling prophecy

Moscow's actions have only solidified Ukraine's desire to join Western alliance

6 January 2022
Workers stand at the entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown in Xi'an, China, on Dec. 20. The government maintains a zero-tolerance approach to containing COVID-19.
Politics

China's zero-COVID policy tops risk list for 2022: Eurasia Group

Big tech companies' dominance, U.S. midterms also on consultancy's warning radar

4 January 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at an event in Brazil in 2019. Shared antagonism toward the U.S. is a big part of the relationship between Moscow and Beijing.
Comment

Russia and China won't be 'best friends forever'

Moscow's demands to NATO have been tough, but not coordinated with China

27 December 2021
Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Narendra Modi ahead of their meeting in New Delhi on Dec. 6: India is more interested in broadening its multilateral foreign policy vision rather than siding with particular groups.
Opinion

Putin's Indo-Pacific play rattles existing regional alliances

Recent military exercises with ASEAN a Russian foreign policy milestone

20 December 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a meeting in Moscow on Nov. 30.
Economy

Vietnam poised to resume nuclear project a decade after Fukushima

Hanoi greenlights building small research reactor, joining hands with Russia

19 December 2021
Part of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia gas pipeline to China: The likelihood of a sequel project appears to be growing.
International relations

China, Russia eye supercharged energy ties as shield against U.S.

Xi-Putin talks signal progress toward second gas pipeline from Siberia

18 December 2021
A giant screen in Beijing broadcasts news footage of a virtual meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 15.
International relations

Xi, Putin affirm plan to meet at Beijing Olympics in show of unity

Chinese president calls for more 'joint actions' against foreign interference

15 December 2021
Ukrainian soldiers walk past a destroyed house in Marinka, Ukraine, on Dec. 8. Ukraine cannot afford to become complacent.
Opinion

Russia's invading Ukraine will provoke a forcible response

Muscle flexing aside, Vladimir Putin is highly unlikely to launch a war

13 December 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two men spoke in a virtual summit on Dec. 7. (Source photos by AP)
9 December 2021
Technology has replaced journalists as gatekeepers of information, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa says.
International relations

Fake news exploding like 'atom bomb,' says Nobel winner Ressa

Blinken and Russian journalist Muratov also speak at democracy summit panel

9 December 2021
The summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may see the start of Indian production of Russian AK-203 assault rifles. (Nikkei montage/AP/Gettty Images)
International relations

India, Russia deepen defense ties with AK rifle production deal

Agreement signed on sidelines of Modi-Putin summit and 2-plus-2 talks

7 December 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. 
Your Week in Asia

Modi-Putin meeting, Summit for Democracy, China WTO anniversary

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

5 December 2021
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been in touch with other countries that the U.S. does not want at its democracy summit.
29 November 2021