China-bashing occurs in the odd years, notes China analyst Arthur Kroeber in ChinaFile, because in the even years – election years – US politicians have to focus on problems American really care about. This week, in 2013, the US Senate scrutinized the Smithfield-Shuanghui pork deal, one of the more sillier problems in US-China relations, writes Kroeber.Read More →

China’s missiles, pointing at Taiwan, have been the basis of much military and political tension in the past. But and analysis of the 2013 Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat, which contains contributions from key US intelligence agencies, shows mainly a cut-and-paste report, based on old reports, writes defense analyst Wendell Minnick for Defense News.Read More →

Obama’s visit to Africa has made clear reporting needs a reset, former Africa and China correspondent Howard French tells in Amsterdamnews. French is the author of the upcoming book China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa. (May 2014)Read More →

US president Obama took along a larger number of business people on his trip to Africa, in an effort to outbid the Chinese success in the continent. Former China and Africa correspondent Howard French sees a positive sign as the US wants to do ready with Africa, but wonders in an interview with Valley Public Radio whether the US are ready for a different Africa.Read More →

The French luxury goods conglomerate Kering scored a major PR-success by returning two bronze statues, looted by foreign troops from the Beijing Summer Palace in 1860, to China, business analyst Shaun Rein tells in the Washington Post. The bronze heads of a rat and rabbit were given to China’s National Museum in Beijing.Read More →

China displayed for the first time its first unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), the Pterodactyl UAV, at the Paris Air Show last week. Defense analyst Wendell Minnick explains in Defense News how China’s new toys can change the power balance by circumventing current embargoes and other regulations.Read More →

Just before Xi Jinping and Barack Obama sat down for their California summit, the region’s military representatives sat down in Singapore for the 12th Shangri-la Dialogues. Our defense analyst Wendell Minnick saw a classic Shakespeare act deploying, although with less drama than in the past, he writes in Defense News.Read More →