Yang Xiaotong

Yang Xiaotong is a researcher at the Horizon Insights Centre, an independent think tank based in China, specialising in China-MENA relations.

Will China help Trump find an off-ramp over Iran?

US President Donald Trump had wanted to conclude his war against Iran before touching down in China, having already postponed the trip once, but more…

14 May 2026

Why a cornered Iran is also a problem for China

The world breathed a sigh of relief when US President Donald Trump extended the two-week Iran-US ceasefire, despite no peace agreement having been…

05 May 2026

US-Iran ceasefire unlikely to hold

Although Iran and the US have agreed to a two-week ceasefire—just hours before US President Donald Trump’s deadline to eradicate the Persian…

08 April 2026

China's approach to 'the new Syria' is one of cautious optimism

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani’s November visit to China marks the first visit by a senior Syrian official since former Syrian President…

06 December 2025

Pivot to China? Gulf states mull options after Doha strike

Israel’s unprecedented attack on Qatar could significantly alter the China-US stalemate in the Gulf. Before the 9 September attack, even as …

13 September 2025

Editor's Pick

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Libyan National Army Deputy Commander Saddam Haftar, and Trump advisor Massad Boulos in Washington on 29 June, 2026.

@US_SrAdvisorAF/X

Politics

US plan for Libya: unification or management of division?

26 June 2026

A US envoy wants the institutions of western Libya to accommodate the son of an eastern warlord as Libyan president. Is this another doomed effort to unite the feuding factions, or could it work?

Areig Elhag

Dave Murray

Science & Technology

More than a game: a look inside the mind of a football fan

30 June 2026

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 shows, identity, belonging, and tension combine to make football fandom unlike any other sport. So, what is going on in fans' brains?

Alaa Emara

A fighter loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan holds up a weapon backdropped by the minaret of a mosque, during a graduation ceremony in the southeastern Gedaref state on 27 May 2024.

AFP

Politics

The quiet push to finally end Sudan's civil war

29 June 2026

External actors and some domestic parties are believed to be working behind the scenes towards a settlement. Why now?

Shawgi Abdelazim

Chinese President Xi Jinping stands in the centre of the hall during the China-Africa forum at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, on 5 September 2024.

AFP

Business & Economy

China doubles down on Africa with its zero-tariff policy

01 July 2026

Beijing's duty-free access for African exports promises mutual economic gains, but more importantly, it deepens its strategic influence across the continent

Rabia Abdul Salam