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Behind the smiles
There has been an unusual burst of diplomatic activity between Beijing and Pyongyang in recent months, capped by Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang in June. As Xi prepares for talks with Donald Trump again in September, Howard Zhang questions why Beijing is redefining its relationship with North Korea and how that plays into the wider US-China competition for influence over the peninsula.
Small things, utmost happiness and not letting it be – the writing...
Arundhati Roy is an Indian Booker Prize-winning writer and public intellectual, a former architect and filmmaker living in New Delhi. Her novels are The God of Small Things (1997) and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017); her most recent book, the memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me (2025), turns to her own life. She has also written essays of political analysis, some of which call out the need for justice, human rights and freedoms in modern India. Her writing is reviewed here by Elaine Furniss.
Bisinomics
Saudi ArabiaAs the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enters its 95th year of existence, the buzz in the country continues to be about ‘Vision 2030’. Around 1938, the sandy state discovered oil. This made it incrementally wealthy in the 20th century and the affluence spilled over into the new millennium.It is a decade since the transformation document was launched. Its primary goals were to prepare for a post-oil economy and society, which meant lower dependence on fossil fuel income, diversification of its economy and modernisation of its society, including enabling more home ownership for Saudi nationals. The project outlined a better quality of life and modern amenities for its citizens and visitors, a preservation and highlighting of its heritage, including rendering these into international tourist attractions.On the economic front, the aim was privatisation, non-oil GDP growth and foreign investment. It kick-started efforts to make government efficient and transparent and develop a local talent pool. The Vision is driven by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has also been the country’s prime minister since 2022. It is undoubtedly wide-ranging in its concept. NEOM’s ambitious developments are among the most prominent symbols of Vision 2030, although investment pressures have forced Saudi Arabia to scale back some of its original plans. Map illustration: The Economist The scheme involved: the creation of a US$500 billion high-tech city named Neom – boasting a 170-kilometre long mirrored skyscraper urbanisation, sustained wholly by renewable energy; a tourist destination on the Red Sea spanning an archipelago of more than 90 untouched islands; Qiddiya City, a mammoth sports and cultural metropolis, where Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup; and a US$62 billion restoration of Diriyah, the ancestral home of the Saudi royal family, into a heritage hub.The Vision relaxed hitherto rigid religious rules which commanded Saudi society. Women are now able to drive motor vehicles unaccompanied by a man. Those above 21 can travel abroad without needing consent from a father, husband or male guardian. Commercial cinema halls reopened in 2018 after a 35-year ban. Music festivals are now allowed to feature non-Muslim performers. Foreign female visitors are no longer required to wear the abaya, a traditional Arab-style loose robe, though modest dressing in public is still expected. Unmarried foreign couples are allowed to share hotel rooms; and gender segregation in public places is no longer mandatory.Saudi women have gained greater freedom to drive, travel and participate in public and economic life as the kingdom implements the social reforms of Vision 2030. CNBC reported that non-oil enterprise now contributes over 50% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP. Tourism, tech and manufacturing bolster this progress. Unemployment has dropped from 12% in 2016 to just above 7%, according to Eric Kimberling, chief executive of Third Stage Consulting, who said digital change has conjured this. But there are challenges. The flow of investment funds has not met up to expectation, which has forced a paring down of the Neom dream. The Saudi economy and therefore financial capability remain vulnerable to global oil price stability. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, highlight worker safety at construction sites and the forced eviction of tribes during land clearance.Incidentally, Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ is not the first of its kind in the Gulf. There was previously the United Arab Emirates’ ‘Vision 2021’; and concurrently there is Kuwait’s ‘Vision 2035’.ChinaEurasia Business News flagged Asian stock markets and economic metrics show mixed trends, supported by cooling US inflation and AI tech demand, but pressured by ongoing oil volatility, sliding domestic consumption in China and escalating trade tensions. Nikkei Asia indicated that in July China’s bank loans experienced a record contraction due to weak domestic credit demand. Unconnected to that, Beijing introduced new offshore tax policies. CNBC reported that ‘while the rules ended decades of regulatory ambiguity about the vehicles, they have also created fresh confusion over implementation’. China’s economy is showing mixed signals, with technology demand providing support while weak domestic credit and consumption weigh on growth. Photo: CFAIn August, Zhu Rongji, a former Chinese premier who helped turn China into a trading giant, died at the age of 97. BBC said he ‘played a leading role in securing [China’s] entry into the World Trade Organisation, opening Chinese factories to the international market and drawing foreign investment’.JapanMeanwhile, the media in general noted Japanese markets tracked global tech gains, though the yen’s movement sparked debate regarding potential currency interventions; and megabanks intensified a push into ultra-wealth management.Japan Today reported that Japan’s summer tourism season saw a shift from China-driven demand. It said ‘The number of Chinese visitors to Japan in the first six months of this year dived 56.4 percent from a year earlier, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s contentious remarks in parliament last year over how Japan might respond to a crisis over Taiwan. China, angered by the remarks, advised its citizens not to travel to Japan and ramped up economic pressure.’ However, Japan National Tourism Organisation data reported that a steady increase in visitors from South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States helped offset the decline.IndiaIndia’s trade deficit in goods and services has been ballooning. Its foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$700 billion on strong financial inflows. Reuters reported that this occurred ‘under policy measures to strengthen India’s balance of payments’. It added ‘the swap facilities drew flows worth over US$40 billion’. Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s decision not to seek another term at Tata has put the conglomerate’s strategy, including its costly Air India turnaround, under renewed scrutiny. Photo: News Bytes In the corporate sector, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, surprisingly announced that he would not seek reelection as CEO of India’s largest conglomerate, Tata. The news was widely reported given the group’s international presence, especially in Britain where it owns Jaguar Land Rover and several other companies across sectors. Under his nine-year stewardship, most Tata companies significantly enhanced their turnovers and profits. But not Air India, which returned to its stable from Indian government control in 2022. Tata’s attempt to turn around the airline has resulted in heavy losses not only for Tata but its partner in the venture, Singapore Airlines. The Hindu headlined, ‘Chandrasekaran’s exit puts Tata’s Air India bet under fresh scrutiny.’ Southeast AsiaMalaysia’s central bank disclosed second quarter GDP growth beating expectations, while Indonesia faced structural and energy exposure linked to elevated global oil benchmarks.Malaysia’s stronger-than-expected growth contrasts with Indonesia’s exposure to elevated global energy prices, highlighting divergent economic pressures across Southeast Asia. Photo: Firdaus Latif
Tata family back in control
A boardroom battle between N. Chandrasekaran, who has been the executive chairman of Tata Sons, for the past ten years, and Noel Tata, the chairman of Tata Trusts, that has a 66% controlling interest, has left the affairs of India’s biggest conglomerate in disarray following the unprecedented postponement of the company’s annual general meeting. John Elliott reports.
The miracle island that is Taiwan
The AI boom is supercharging Taiwan’s economy, putting the world’s biggest semiconductor supplier at the centre of the latest tech revolution, while also renewing fears about the intricate links between its national security and the global supply chain. Helen Davidson reports.
Uzbekistan and the new ‘Great Game’
In the summer of 1842, two senior British officers were led from their dungeon to the executioner's sword in Bukhara. Their crime? Seeking to thwart Russia's advance into Central Asia. Their deaths became one of the defining episodes of the nineteenth-century Great Game between the British and Russian Empires. Lijia Zhang knows the country well.
Gen Z’s Asian awakening
From India’s Cockroach Janta Party to uprisings in Bangladesh and Nepal, digitally networked movements are learning to disrupt and hold accountable political authority. Turning disruption into durable democratic change will be harder, reports Madhavi Ravikumar.
Living and dying in Shiraz during the January uprising
The war between Iran and the US and closure of the Strait of Hormuz have deflected attention from the political situation within Iran. The international conflict followed anti-regime protests in January across the country focussed on the high cost of living, which led to a ruthless crackdown by the Islamic regime. Several thousand protestors were killed when the security forces turned their guns on their own people, according to human rights organisations, and at least 26 of those detained have subsequently been executed. Others charged with offences such as ‘waging war against God’ and ‘speeding corruption on earth’ have been sentenced to death, including some in the south western city of Shiraz. Amir Golestani, who was in Shiraz to mourn and bury his father at the time, was an eye witness to street protests in Shiraz.
The shrinking dragon: China's population crisis
Three years ago, China lost its status as the world's most populous nation to India, a crossover driven as much by India's continued growth as by China's population shrinkage. Rahul Jaywant Bhise examines measures Beijing is using to fight a demographic decline that is alarming the country's leaders.
Japan’s chrysanthemum paradox
Japan stands at a historic crossroads. Deep within the stone walls of the Imperial Palace, an existential crisis is unfolding that pits 1,500 years of tradition against the demographic realities of the 21st century. At the heart of this controversial debate is an increasingly urgent question: should women be allowed to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne? From Tokyo, Yoshiteru Uramoto reports.
The Indus Treaty’s suspension: whose water is it anyway?
The Indus Waters Treaty was designed to divide a shared river system between two countries. Putting it in abeyance has intensified a legal and political confrontation with downstream Pakistan, where the Indus system is bound up with food and water security. But it has also exposed another layer of river politics within India. Water expert Udisha Saklani reports
The South China Sea: Beijing’s victory without war
It is ten years since the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague delivered what appeared to be a landmark victory for international law. In a sweeping judgment, the court rejected China's claims to almost the entire South China Sea ruling that Beijing’s so-called ‘nine-dash line’ had no legal basis. The Philippines, which brought the case, had won – or so it seemed at the time. Now it seems less clear cut, as Humphrey Hawksley reports.
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