Special to WorldTribune.com The Panama Papers have impacted officials at the top of China’s hierarchy which has spent the past year purging top rivals of President Xi Jinping on charges of corruption. At least three of the seven people on the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, the Chinese Communist Party’s most powerful committee, including Xi […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Iran seeks closer ties to China as it “never trusted the West,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Jan. 23. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Teheran on Jan. 23, Iran’s supreme leader said the United States was “not honest” in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East. “Iranians never trusted […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan. 21 pledged billions of dollars in aid to Egypt as Beijing moved to boost its influence in the Middle East. “China supports Egypt’s efforts to maintain stability, develop the economy and improve livelihoods, and … play an even greater role in international and regional affairs,” Xi […]
Special to WorldTribune.com As trade and investment are set to pour into Iran, and oil pours out, Saudi media are reporting on widespread unease within the Kingdom over the lifting of international sanctions on Teheran. The al-Jazirah daily’s cartoonist drew an incarnation of American capitalism in striped trousers and top hat carrying a bottle marked “sanctions,” from […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — People’s Republic of China president Xi Jinping went on a charm offensive in Southeast Asia, preening and posturing about the widening role Beijing plans to play in the business of this vital region. United States President Barack Obama was stuck back in Washington pouting and posturing over the partial […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Beijing has ratcheted up its rhetoric against alleged efforts by the United States to “interfere” in the political development of Hong Kong. The special administrative region (SAR) of Hong Kong is scheduled to hold general elections in 2017 to pick its chief executive (CE), whose status is equivalent […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com While the official Chinese media have claimed that the trial of former Politburo member Bo Xilai testifies to the Xi Jinping leadership’s commitment to fighting graft, it is unlikely that “tigers” among venal cadres will be nabbed any time soon. There is a well-known mutual protection clause” within […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey The dysfunctional U.S. Congress is dithering about passing the so-called “shield law”, designed to protect the American power system from electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) attack, despite the fact that the cost of the program would be about what the U.S. gives Pakistan every year, the political profit from which is […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Nothing illustrates better the conservative turn that Chinese politics and foreign policy have taken under the Xi Jinping administration than the way ministers and senior cadres are reviving the credos – and familiar sayings – of Chairman Mao Zedong. Consider the reaction of the new Chinese ambassador to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Parris H. Chang In diplomacy, an inch can be longer than a foot, and the weak can wield greater leverage over the strong. This is why North Korea, a rogue state, impoverished and vulnerable is able to irritate, bully and even threaten the two superpowers, the U.S. and China. For many […]
