No one can ignore China
Why Merkel and Xi made a trade deal certain to aggravate Biden
By Claire Berlinski and Vivek Y. Kelkar
The wheels of history
On December 11, 2020, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony of the “Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations in 2020.” The event was co-hosted by the China Institute of International Studies and the China Foundation for International Studies, and Yi delivered the keynote address: “China’s diplomacy in the midst of once-in-a-century changes and pandemic: Being responsible to the country and doing its part for the world.”
The speech warranted more attention in the global media than it received. There are no truly independent think tanks in China; the China Institute of International Studies is administered by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A policy memorandum funded by the European Union—but perhaps not read by those who funded it—advises foreign observers to pay scrupulous attention to China’s think tanks, where one may gain “unique” access to th…
