China
Nato has no plan for a joint Russia-China attack, its own strategists say
The scenario that keeps Western planners awake is easy to describe and, it turns out, almost entirely unstudied: Russia moves on a Nato member while China moves on Taiwan.
Ghana leapfrogs US to enter world's top six gold producers
Ghana produced a record 5.94mn ounces of gold in 2025. Small-scale mining accounted for 52.38% of total production, overtaking large-scale operations for the first time.
The strongest El Niño on record will hit food prices from Brazil to Indonesia
The Pacific is warming faster than at any point in the modern record, and central bankers have started writing it into their forecasts.
Washington may force Kazakhstan to choose between competing US, China AI alliances
Asked about leaked draft letter, Trump official says partners “can’t have it both ways”.
Jordan's king courts Beijing for investment as war strains economy, US ties fray
Jordan's King Abdullah II has arrived in China for his first visit since 2015, seeking Chinese investment as the Iran war strains the kingdom's economy
China's electric cars are displacing more oil than the war has taken off the market
The war in the Gulf was supposed to give the West leverage over China. It has mostly accelerated China's escape from the oil market altogether.
Poland leads the world on defence worry, Finland climbs fastest since 2019
Even in the country most alarmed by it, defence is a top national concern for fewer than one person in three, a Statista survey of 32 countries has found.
Iran and the Philippines offer Russia two very different farm-export bets
Russia's meat and feed exporters face a choice between two very different markets: Iran, slow and bureaucratic but predictable, and the Philippines, fast-growing but brutal on price.
The Black Sea war sends world wheat prices up
The US Department of Agriculture has cut its forecasts for Russian and Ukrainian grain exports because of the Black Sea shipping war. The prices of every rival exporter have gone up.
Europe’s petrochemical collapse: plants close as investment heads for China
The situation was already severe in July 2025, as high production costs, ageing plants and a surge in global capacity led by China were forcing European producers to shut facilities or reconsider their presence on the continent.
Russia swings 93% of its rail trade to friendly states as it maps corridors to the Indian Ocean
Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe towards Asia and the Global South.
China expanding scientific cooperation with Central Asia
China-Central Asia Monitor: July 31 – August 6.
India courts Myanmar’s rare earths as China tightens grip
International Energy Agency data shows that Myanmar and China together account for about 83% of global mined supply of heavy magnet rare earth elements.
China’s Africa investment surge shifts the contest from capital to value
Africa’s pipeline is expanding rapidly at a time when officially measured Chinese investment across the wider BRI is declining.
G7-linked tankers' share of Russian oil exports hits one-year high as Greece pushes back on sanctions
G7-linked tankers carried a one-year-high 36.2% share of Russia's crude exports in July, driven by Greek operators, even as Athens pushes back against EU sanctions rules and the shadow fleet faces tightening scrutiny.
China launches Arctic 'Ice Silk Road' container route to dodge Red Sea chokepoint
Chinese container line Sea Legend has launched a weekly Arctic shipping service between China and the UK, branded the "Ice Silk Road," as shippers increasingly look to bypass Red Sea chokepoints threatened by Houthi attacks.
How Pakistan keeps the world guessing — and talking
On the surface, China remains Pakistan’s most important strategic partner. Yet at the same time, Islamabad has maintained exceptionally close relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, even functioning relationships with the US and Iran.
Iran's war spills into Saudi Arabia and Libya even as Hormuz talks edge toward a deal
Three threads are currently running in parallel: a genuine, if heavily caveated, diplomatic opening over Hormuz; a US naval blockade that keeps tightening even as those talks proceed; and a regional military campaign against...
Saudi Arabia's new Nato-style pact with Turkey and Pakistan is tested within 48 hours
The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” treats an armed attack on any of the three Sunni-majority states as an attack on all three, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, and is “technically the same” as Nato's...
North Korea's sanctions-busting economy books a $22bn windfall since the Ukraine war began
North Korea has earned up to $22bn in foreign currency since 2022, new estimates show, driven by cyber theft, arms sales to Russia and easing isolation.