United States

China

Economics

Politics

U.S.-China Relations

At a summit with U.S. officials in Sweden, China's top trade negotiator said China and the United States had agreed to extend their 90-day tariff exemption period -- due to expire on Aug. 12 -- though he did not say by how long, Reuters reported on July 29. 

U.S., China: Sweden Talks Yield Extended Tariff Relief

Palau

Military & Security

The United States is upgrading key maritime infrastructure in the Pacific island nation of Palau, with which it has a Compact of Free Association, The Washington Post reported on July 29. 

Palau, U.S.: Washington Beefing Up Maritime Infrastructure in Pacific Islands

South Africa

Taiwan

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was considering restricting the sale of semiconductors to South Africa after the South African government unilaterally renamed the island's two representative offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg as "Taipen Commercial Offices," Focus Taiwan reported on July 29.

South Africa: Taiwan Mulls Semiconductor Restrictions Amid Renaming of Diplomatic Missions

Sub-Saharan Africa

Brazil

Cyber

The Chinese government will spearhead the creation of a body for countries to jointly develop artificial intelligence, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at China's World Artificial Intelligence Conference on July 26.

China: Beijing Pitches Global AI Cooperation Body

Europe

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said EU-China relations had reached an "inflection point" due to deepening trade imbalances following her meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, according to a July 24 European Commission statement. 

EU, China: Beijing's Summit Fails To Deliver Any Meaningful Breakthrough

India

India's Embassy in Beijing announced that it would resume issuing tourist visas for Chinese nationals beginning July 24 after a years-long suspension following the two sides' major 2020 border clash, Reuters reported on July 23.

India, China: India To Resume Issuing Tourist Visas to Chinese Nationals

Philippines

Vietnam

China and Vietnam will conduct their first-ever joint army training in China's Guangxi province in late July, focusing on coordinated border patrol operations, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Defense on July 19.

China, Vietnam: First-Ever Army Drill Points to Tactical Rapprochement, Strategic Hedge

U.S. bank Wells Fargo temporarily suspended all corporate travel to China after a company executive was hit with an exit ban, Reuters reported on July 18.

China, U.S.: Wells Fargo Suspends China Travel After Executive Hit With Exit Ban

Snapshots

A voter leaves a booth during voting for the recall election at a polling station in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 26, 2025. 

Its victory in the recall votes will embolden the opposition KMT to press on with controversial reforms and defense spending cuts, but it will also help prevent a near-term escalation of cross-strait tensions.

A Failed Recall Emboldens Taiwan's Opposition

Assessments

Canada

Mexico

Cambodia

Japan

South Korea

Thailand

A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck with a rocket launcher in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, which borders Thailand, on July 25, 2025. 

Global Trade

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. Tariff Deadline Passes, Thai-Cambodian Border Tensions Persist

Australia

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a luncheon at Parliament House in Canberra on June 17, 2024. 

The Australian prime minister's efforts to stabilize relations with Beijing will yield short-term economic benefits, but rising regional security concerns will ultimately limit long-term engagement.

The Challenges Facing Albanese's Bid to Reset China-Australia Relations

Egypt

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (center right) meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (center left) in Cairo on July 10, 2025.

In the coming years, Egypt will deepen its economic ties with China via increased trade and investment, while simultaneously maintaining its military alliance with the U.S. to address regional security concerns.

Egypt Navigates Its Needs for Chinese Investment and U.S. Military Support

A worker positions a robotic underwater vehicle that can be remotely operated to harvest mineral deposits in the deep ocean, after conducting tests in a lake in Collingwood, Ontario, on May 1, 2025.

Recent U.S. actions will likely accelerate commercial seabed mining operations in certain resource-rich waters around the world, despite international regulatory hurdles and ongoing environmental concerns.

Deep-Sea Mining: Opportunities, Risks and the Path to Commercial Extraction

 The European Union and China will hold a high-level leaders' summit July 24 in Beijing, marking the 50th anniversary of Chinese-EU diplomatic relations.

The Weekly Rundown: An EU-China Summit, South Africa's Budget Vote

Asia-Pacific

Russia

Diplomats attend the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 11, 2025. 

Chinese, Russian and U.S. participation in the summit shows that the Southeast Asian bloc will remain a key venue for diplomatic hedging and potential great power friction in the years ahead.

ASEAN Meeting Provides an Arena for Multipolar Competition

Germany

United Kingdom

Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump on April 24 in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. In an interview July 10, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he would "have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday," perhaps representing a shift in his administration's policy.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Trump Speaks on Ukraine, Sweeping EU Budget Reform

Leaders of eight political parties pose before a debate at the Japan National Press Club on July 2, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. From left to right are Sanseito Secretary General Sohei Kamiya, Japanese Communist Party Chairperson Tomoko Tamura, Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito, Constitutional Democratic Party President Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba, Governor of Osaka and Japan Innovation Party Co-Representative Hirofumi Yoshimura, Democratic Party for the People Representative Yuichiro Tamaki and Reiwa Shinsengumi President Taro Yamamoto.

Japan's upper house elections will determine whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will stay in power and -- if so -- how easily it will be able to pursue its key policy goals.

Japan's Election: Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Energy

Over the next decade, Gulf Arab states will increase oil and gas exports to emerging Asian markets, seeking alternatives to the U.S. amid tariff uncertainty. But the region's military and tech ties with the U.S. will remain strong.

Geopolitics of Trade: Gulf Arab States Balance Diversification With Enduring U.S. Ties

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang answers reporters' questions about the new Vietnam-U.S. trade deal during a press conference in Hanoi on July 3, 2025. 

The deal reduces planned U.S. tariffs on Vietnamese goods from 46% to 20%, but the lack of key details also introduces significant compliance uncertainty and investment risks that could ripple across Asian supply chains. 

The Vietnam-U.S. Trade Deal Reduces Tariffs, but the Devil Is in the Details

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near the Indian city of Dharamshala, on June 30, 2025. 

Social Issues

New clarity over the 90-year-old spiritual leader's succession plans threatens to reignite Western criticism of China's treatment of Tibetans and revive reputational risks for Western businesses active in China.

Dalai Lama's Succession Plan Revives Tibet Issue for China and the West

<p>China is situated on the eastern third of the Eurasian landmass, between Russia, mainland Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Its more than 9,000 mile-long coastline abuts the Yellow, East and South China Seas. China is a country of deep geographic divisions. Most fundamental is the split between its fertile eastern lowlands and the arid, sparsely populated highlands that enclose the lowlands like a shell. More than a billion people live in the ethnic Han Chinese core, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Traditionally, threats to China&#39;s Han core originated in the borderlands. To guard against overland invasion, successive Chinese rulers have sought to push the Core&#39;s borders outward &mdash;integrating these highlands as strategic &quot;buffer&quot; zones. These zones form a shield, protecting and containing the core. To be secure, China must control the buffer regions. But maintaining control of the regions, in turn, requires a strong and united core. And that means overcoming immense internal divisions &mdash; not only between northern and southern regions orbiting the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, but also between smaller regional units, each with their own geography, history, dialect and interests. Chinese history is defined by cycles of unity and fragmentation, from periods when a strong Han core captures and holds the surrounding buffers to those when a weak core breaks into its constituent parts, loses internal coherence and cedes control of the borderlands. This pattern, rooted in China&#39;s geography, has played out with remarkable consistency. By comparison, China&#39;s maritime interests have remained mostly limited to coastal waters. Today, however, growing international trade and rising Chinese reliance on overseas resources threaten to alter the pattern, adding a new maritime dimension to the struggle for buffer space &mdash; and potentially upending the long-standing dynamics of China&#39;s geographic challenge.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

U.S., China: Sweden Talks Yield Extended Tariff Relief

Palau, U.S.: Washington Beefing Up Maritime Infrastructure in Pacific Islands

South Africa: Taiwan Mulls Semiconductor Restrictions Amid Renaming of Diplomatic Missions

China: Beijing Pitches Global AI Cooperation Body

EU, China: Beijing's Summit Fails To Deliver Any Meaningful Breakthrough

India, China: India To Resume Issuing Tourist Visas to Chinese Nationals

China, Vietnam: First-Ever Army Drill Points to Tactical Rapprochement, Strategic Hedge

China, U.S.: Wells Fargo Suspends China Travel After Executive Hit With Exit Ban

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