Geo-Strategic Trend - 31. page

According to Xinhua News Agency, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero reaffirmed Cuba’s unwavering resistance to U.S. sanctions during the July 26 commemoration of “National Rebellion Day.” He vowed that Cuba would overcome its current hardships and defend its national dignity at all costs.

In his address, Marrero condemned the U.S. government’s long-standing hostile policies toward Cuba, accusing it of imposing a severe blockade tantamount to a “wartime siege.” He argued that the blockade seeks to economically strangle the nation and stir despair and discontent among the Cuban people. Despite facing unprecedented challenges, Marrero said the Cuban people remain resilient and optimistic, just as they were during the revolutionary era. “Cuba will not surrender, will not yield, and will never kneel to anyone,” he declared.

Source: Xinhua, July 27, 2025
http://www.xinhuanet.com/20250727/3892c9dad76a4c37a0734ebbb432d91a/c.html

The BRICS Media and Think Tank High-Level Forum was held on July 16 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with over 250 representatives from nearly 150 media, think tanks, government agencies, and enterprises across the 36 BRICS member states and partner countries attending.

Themed “Co-Creating the Future of BRICS, Writing a New Chapter for the Global South,” the forum was jointly hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the Brazilian Communications Company. It marked the seventh plenary meeting under the BRICS media and think tank mechanism and the first since BRICS’ historic expansion. The forum released a report titled “BRICS Cooperation Promotes United Progress for the Global South” and launched initiatives to strengthen media and think tank cooperation as well as the content co-creation project “Knocking on BRICS, Listening to the South.”

Participants highlighted that BRICS is increasingly a key channel for Global South solidarity and global governance reform. The BRICS media and think tanks provide a solid platform for the “common voice of the Global South”: creating synergy in the international public opinion arena, consolidating the “BRICS Consensus,” amplifying the “Voice of the South,” and contributing wisdom to the growth of the “Great BRICS” and the Global South.

Source:
1. Xinhua, July 17, 2025
http://www.news.cn/world/20250717/33ed4400fb834e95a99865ab93e62206/c.html
2. Xinhua, July 17, 2025
http://www.news.cn/world/20250717/1f4fb1cb3bbf4ed0938c1b2b87e6954e/c.html

Huanqiu Times published an editorial on Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s visit to China on July 15 for attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Tianjin and also making an official visit to China on the sidelines. It called it the first visit to China by an Indian foreign minister in five years, signaling that China–India relations are “starting to improve.”

The article listed several “practical issues between China and India” to be resolved:

• The border issue continues to be the most sensitive and complex aspect of bilateral relations. Establishing a stable and effective border trust mechanism, restoring strategic dialogue platforms, and enhancing multi-level security cooperation are essential steps for moving China–India relations toward maturity.
• Concrete, tangible improvements can help foster mutual trust at the societal level, including promoting the resumption of direct flights, restarting cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and strengthening academic and think tank interactions.
• Cooperation on multilateral platforms such as SCO and BRICS could be improved.

The article also warned that improving China–India relations will not happen overnight. Strategic mutual trust cannot be built through a single meeting or a single joint statement. Instead, it must be accumulated through long-term, continuous, and measurable engagement. What it requires is sustained political will, pragmatic consultation mechanisms, and – most importantly – mutual respect for each other’s core concerns.

Source: Huanqiu Times, July 14, 2025
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/4NUoO9YeyXA

Japan-China diplomatic relations have encountered fresh complications following the sentencing of a Japanese employee from Astellas Pharma, casting shadows over what had been signs of improving bilateral ties.

The conviction has emerged as a significant obstacle to improving public sentiment between the two nations, according to Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi, who attended the court proceedings in Beijing. This development comes despite recent positive diplomatic momentum, including the first summit meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2024.

Following that meeting, China had shown responsiveness to Japanese concerns by resuming visa-free short-term entry for Japanese citizens and announcing the restoration of Japanese seafood imports, which had been suspended due to the Fukushima nuclear plant’s treated water discharge. Beijing also began preparations for Japanese beef exports to China this month.

The timing of the sentencing during Japan’s crucial Upper House election period has raised questions among Japanese government officials. The Astellas employee received a 3.5-year prison term for alleged espionage activities, which some observers considered shorter than expected, possibly reflecting China’s consideration of bilateral relations. However, another Japanese man detained on similar charges received a 12-year sentence in May.

The case highlights the tension between China’s economic outreach to Japan, particularly as Beijing faces trade conflicts with the Trump administration, and Xi Jinping’s emphasis on national security. In February, Xi reiterated the paramount importance of defending national political security, signaling that such priorities may override diplomatic considerations with Japan.

Despite efforts to maintain diplomatic harmony, China has increased military pressure on Japan. Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong conducted joint exercises near Japanese waters for the first time, while Chinese military aircraft have repeatedly approached Japanese Self-Defense Force planes. China has defended these activities as legitimate, urging Japan to view them “objectively and rationally.”

Adding to the pressure, China is preparing commemorative activities related to the Second Sino-Japanese War, including a military parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the Anti-Japanese War, contributing to what Japanese officials describe as growing pressure from Beijing.

Source: Kyodo News, July 17, 2025
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2025/07/826cb3ab3453–.html

The number of Japanese residents living in China for business, study, and other purposes continues to decrease as incidents involving Japanese nationals detained on espionage charges and violent crimes targeting Japanese citizens persist.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japanese expatriate population in China (those residing for three months or longer, as of October) totaled 97,538 in 2024, down 4,248 from the previous year. This marks the first time in twenty years that the figure has fallen below 100,000.

China had maintained its position as the second-largest destination for Japanese overseas residents since 2003, trailing only the United States. However, in 2024, Australia surpassed China, pushing it to third place.

The Japanese population in China had grown steadily during China’s rapid economic development, particularly around the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 Shanghai World Expo, as Japanese companies accelerated their expansion into the market. The expatriate population peaked at over 150,000 in 2012 before beginning a continuous decline. That same year, large-scale anti-Japanese protests erupted across China, severely damaging bilateral relations and halting personnel exchanges.

Beijing, where an Astellas Pharma employee was recently convicted on espionage charges, saw its Japanese population drop to 4,914 in 2024—falling below 5,000 for the first time since 2000. This figure is now lower than Japanese populations in Taipei, Manila, and Hanoi. Between 2005 and 2012, over 10,000 Japanese residents lived in Beijing.

Previously, information gathering through exchanges with central government agencies and major corporations concentrated in the capital was highly valued. However, with frequent detentions of Japanese nationals on espionage suspicions, stationed personnel have become cautious, fearing that “exchanges might be interpreted as espionage activities.” This has made Japanese companies increasingly hesitant about employee assignments.

Shanghai, which had the largest Japanese population among Chinese cities with over 50,000 residents in the 2010s, recorded 34,681 Japanese residents in 2024, a decrease of more than 2,000 from the previous year. The decline is also attributed to Japanese companies increasingly pursuing “localization” strategies by hiring Chinese staff locally to reduce costs.

Source: Kyodo News, July 17, 2025
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2025/07/89646ac11964–10.html