Global Economy
The geopolitics of Argentina’s lithium trade
Clean energy transition has emerged as a new frontier in the US-China strategic competition, broadening the scope of the ongoing “chip war” and casting global repercussions…
Southeast Asia's minerals: Opportunity knocks
Minerals produced in Southeast Asia play an important role in global supply and local manufacturing and infrastructure. The region is a large-scale producer of minerals required…
Economic statecraft with American characteristics
Once upon a time, trade policy was a bit dull and the preserve of pointy-headed specialists. Its ends were rarely scrutinised. Its means were obscure to the public and largely…
The regional realignment on display at COP28
The annual climate talks get underway this week in the United Arab Emirates, marking consecutive negotiations held in the Arab world after the conference hosted last year by Egypt…
Rise of the Redback
In August, Beijing threw a lifeline to Argentina, a serial defaulter in sovereign debt, by arranging to pay back in yuan half of a US$2.7 billion instalment of an emergency loan…
De-risking developing country debt
Climate change and debt present a toxic mix for many of the world’s most vulnerable developing countries. Disasters are becoming more frequent and severe. Yet many of the most…
Economic diplomacy: Hits and misses for Project Diversify
Trading places
Stabilisation has been word of the month in Australia’s international economic relations as the Albanese government has sought to unravel the remaining Chinese…
Why is Myanmar’s new deep-sea port such hot property?
In Myanmar’s westernmost state of Rakhine, the small fishing village of Kyaukphyu has become the focus of a US$7.3 billion deep-water port development by Chinese state-owned…
Albanese is right to reject fossil fuel phaseouts
Earlier this month, a group of 15 countries, known as the High Ambition Coalition, called on leaders at the COP28 Climate Summit to deliver an “urgent phaseout of coal-fired power…
The G20’s approach on debt has failed
A crisis that will set back many developing countries for decades has been brewing since the onset of the pandemic. The debt defaults began slowly in 2020 but are now speeding up;…