China and Geopolitics Blog

Al jaren oefenen de Verenigde Staten stevige druk uit op Nederland om de export van chipmachines naar China te beperken. Onlangs namen de VS maatregelen die de exportmogelijkheden voor ASML naar China verder beknotten. Daarmee is duidelijk dat de besluiten over welke halfgeleidertechnologie vanuit Nederland aan China geleverd mag worden niet in Den...

On June 30, the Dutch government announced new restrictions on the export of semiconductor equipment. It is widely understood that these restrictions are aimed primarily at the relationship between ASML and its customers in China, even though the government claims its policy to be 'country-neutral'. According to Minister for Foreign Trade and...

Hoe moet Nederland zich opstellen ten opzichte van de militaire dreiging die China voor Taiwan vormt? De Chinese regering gebruikt haar militaire macht op drie verschillende manieren in relatie tot Taiwan. Om te beginnen dreigt China met militair ingrijpen als Taiwan zich afscheidt van het Chinese vasteland. De dreiging van ingrijpen wordt...

De strijd om het leiderschap van de vierde industriële revolutie neemt een volgende wending. Onlangs kondigde president Biden nieuwe regels aan waarmee Amerika de export van microchips - en apparatuur om deze te maken - naar China verder beperkt.

The EU-China summit on April 1 did not halt the ongoing deterioration of relations between the two actors. At the summit, the EU leaders talked primarily about the war in Ukraine, while their Chinese counterparts tried to avoid that topic. Afterwards, EU High Representative Josep Borrell expressed disappointment that Beijing refuses to name Russia...

On 27 March 2019, Prime Minister Bettel of Luxembourg was in Beijing to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on BRI cooperation. This took place only four days after Italy signed a similar document. The Italian move attracted widespread attention, was called a 'landmark accord' by Bloomberg, and was openly criticised by the United...

After Greece and Portugal, Italy could be the next Southern European country to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China on the Belt and Road Initiative. President Xi Jinping will visit Italy on March 22-24, and according to Reuters the two countries are negotiating the terms of a possible MoU. Although less sensitive than cooperation on...

In May 2018, just after being elected, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad stated that 'China has a long experience in dealing with unequal treaties and China resolved it by renegotiation. So, we feel we are entitled to study, and if necessary, renegotiate the terms'. He was referring to the terms of a Chinese loan for East Coast Rail Link...