Discussion of U.S.-China-Russia relations often focuses on how American policy is driving Moscow and Beijing closer together. This analysis, however, ignores important factors limiting cooperation between China and Russia and preventing the two countries from forming an alliance.
The Ministry of Public Security’s 2019 list of eligible PSUs does not include the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office functional hierarchy (or xitong). This makes a total of seven xitongs that are currently sponsoring foreign NGOs at some level, despite not being included on the 2019 eligible PSU list.
In late September, Pacific Island countries the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China. That month, a Beijing-based company signed a secretive deal granting it exclusive development rights for the strategic island of Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. (The Solomon government later called the deal “unlawful.”) Increased economic and political alignment with China, often at the expense of partnerships with countries like Taiwan and the United States, is often highly alluring to many developing countries in the region.
Natasha Kassam is a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute in the Diplomacy and Public Opinion Program, directing the annual Lowy Institute Poll and researching China’s domestic politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations. Prior to this appointment, she was a diplomat in the Australian Embassy in Beijing, reporting on human rights, law reform, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and she was a law and justice advisor to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). During her time at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she also assisted in drafting the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper. Kassam provides regular commentary to media outlets including The New York Times, CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, and The Guardian. Kassam holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and a Bachelor of International Studies from the University of Sydney and speaks Mandarin and Solomon Islands Pijin.
The Chinese government plans to sanction at least five U.S. NGOs for alleged misdeeds in Hong Kong, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson told reporters at a press conference on December 2. Hua Chunying described the move as a response to the U.S. president’s signing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law on November 27. Hua said that China’s government would impose sanctions on the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Republican Institute (IRI), Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House for their “vile behavior” during the recent “disturbance” in Hong Kong. Hua did not say what form such sanctions would take and provided no additional details on them when asked by a reporter.
