Briefly - China and the Changing World Order no.3
Vietnam-China ties, China complains about EU tariffs on EVs, & China-Fiji relations
Hello and welcome back to What China Wants.
In this week’s Adarga Briefly newsletter we look at three important topics.
(You can read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ef3N3AEH)
Vietnam’s potential tightening of ties with China. Despite the two countries being communist, Hanoi has kept its distance from Beijing given the fractious history between the two (which goes back several thousand years). This distance has allowed the US and other Western countries to create solid ties, and many perceive it to be a “safer” alternative to China in manufacturing (although many of the inputs into Vietnamese manufacturing actually come from China, but that is another story.)
But things are different now, not least because of internal turmoil within the Vietnamese Communist Party that led to the sacking of the country’s President in March this year. There are indications that Vietnam is now moving more into the orbit of its northern neighbour – and if this is the case then there will be serious ramifications for the balance of power in Southeast Asia, not to mention the impact on global supply chain exposure.
China complaining about EU tariffs on its electric vehicles (EVs) and where things can go from here. Not surprisingly Beijing is not happy with the slapping of up to 38% tariffs on EV imports into Europe, and is mulling its options. This has to be considered in the context of more and more protective measures being placed on trade, such as the new restrictions placed by Beijing on the metal antimony, vital for semiconductors, nuclear weapons, and other applications. This is yet another nail in the coffin of globalisation as we knew it.
Fiji PM’s visit to China - the first since 2022. What is important to note is that Fiji, like other Pacific nations, is trying to find a balance between old allies (Australia, the US, the UK) and the new mammoth on the block. In terms of overall influence in these island countries, everything is still to play for.
Remember Briefly is created using our AI tech stack at Adarga – a real game changer in geopolitical analysis. Here are the stats for how we put this report together (and then added the analysis on top):
Articles & papers scanned: 5.5 million
Languages covered: 55
Including articles from: Australia, China, India, Japan, Vietnam United States
I’ll be back next week for more Briefly. I also have a list of longer articles coming soon on topics ranging from critical mineral supply chains to the vulnerability of UK military partnerships – watch this space.
In the meantime, if you want to sign up to Briefly direct from Adarga then you can do here: https://lnkd.in/gdYG3xpn
Best wishes
Sam