East Asia
International relations

A brief history of the BRICS

Why Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as a group are no real counterweight to the US-led G7

Blog

Why Xi Jinping’s government is weaker than it seems

If you think China is the irresistibly rising world power, spare a thought for Oscar winner Chloé Zhao

Development finance

China is offering alternatives to IMF programmes

Why it may be a good thing that Chinese lending is reducing the clout of the IMF

CO2 emissions

Make Xi keep his climate promises

Environmental experts assess China’s CO2 emissions in report published by Heinrich Böll Foundation

Bilateral lending

Understanding Chinese development loans

Chinese agencies’ responsibilities are more transparent than generally assumed

Public finance

In the driver’s seat

African governments must make economies more productive, gear them to sustainability and ensure their own financial viability

Political systems

Fighting poverty

The comparison of India with China shows that formal democracy does not necessarily lead to more development-oriented governance

Asian giants

China is ahead of India

Statistics show that Communist China has been outperforming formally democratic India for decades

Fossil fuel industry
Retirement provisions

From the iron rice bowl to the filial piety law

China’s one-child policy is having catastrophic consequences for millions of pensioners

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Sustainability

The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to transform economies in an environmentally sound manner, leaving no one behind.