Niger

Turkey

China

France

Russia

Economics

Energy

Nigerien authorities announced that they would nationalize uranium mining company SOMAIR, a subsidiary of France's state-owned Orano that owns the country's only operating uranium mine, Reuters reported on June 20. 

Niger: Junta To Nationalize Subsidiary of France's Orano 

Europe

Politics

The European Union will restrict Chinese access to public procurement contracts for medical devices valued above 5 million euros ($5.7 million) starting June 30, the European Commission said in a June 20 press release.

EU, China: Brussels Limits Chinese Access to Public Medical Device Contracts

North Korea

Military & Security

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had pledged to supply 1,000 troops for mine sweeping and 5,000 military workers for infrastructure reconstruction efforts in Russia's Kursk region, AP reported on June 18, citing Russia's TASS state media outlet.

North Korea, Russia: North Koreans To Provide Mine Sweepers, Military Construction Labor to Kursk

New Zealand

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arrived in China for a four-day visit, his first to the country since assuming office in late 2023, The New Zealand Herald reported on June 17.

New Zealand, China: Luxon Walks Tightrope on Trade and Security in First China Visit

The European Union decided not to convene its EU-China High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue ahead of the leaders' summit in Beijing on July 24-25, citing a lack of progress on key trade disputes, the Financial Times reported on June 17, referencing internal EU sources.

EU, China: Brussels Calls Off Economic Dialogue With China Ahead of July Summit

Kenya

Sudan

United Arab Emirates

The Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, found crates of ammunition and mortar bombs ordered by the Kenyan Ministry of Defense and dated from 2023 and 2024 in recaptured weapon depots belonging to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, Daily Nation and Bellingcat reported on June 15.

Sudan: Nairobi To Face Global Scrutiny as Kenyan Weapons Found in RSF Depot 

United States

Vietnam

The White House is intensifying pressure on Vietnam to reduce Chinese high-tech content in its manufacturing sector ahead of the United States' July 8 tariff negotiation deadline, with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam penciled in to visit Washington in late June, Reuters reported on June 16.

Vietnam: U.S. Trade Pressure Deepens as Hanoi Becomes BRICS 'Partner'

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

At the U.S.-China trade talks in London from June 9-10, the Chinese delegation made no commitments to easing curbs on exports of rare earths crucial to the production of U.S. fighter jets and missile systems, but appeared to link Chinese concessions on such rare earths to the reduction of U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductors to China, according to Reuters sources on June 15. 

U.S., China: Beijing Links Rare Earths to U.S. Chip Curbs, Extension of 90-Day Tariff Reprieve Discussed

Assessments

Canada

Australia

United Kingdom

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary John Healey sit together for the AUKUS Defense Ministers Meeting at Old Royal Naval College on Sept. 26, 2024, in London, England.

Despite growing U.S. skepticism, strong imperatives to counter China's maritime presence will likely lead Washington to see a revised version of the AUKUS defense pact through.

U.S. Review of AUKUS Pillar I Puts Pact on Shaky Ground

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

The Geopolitics of Trade

Global Trade

The impending full implementation of sweeping U.S. tariffs threatens to significantly disrupt export-driven ASEAN economies, which is driving countries to seek alternative trade partners.

The Geopolitics of Trade: U.S. Tariffs Give Impetus to ASEAN Trade Diversification

Argentina

Belize

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela

(L-R) Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina attend a plenary session of the China-CELAC ministerial meeting at the Great Hall of the People on May 13, 2025, in Beijing, China. 

Latin America and the Caribbean will welcome China's increased engagement, but strong ties to the West and China's economic slowdown will limit Beijing's influence in the region.

Despite Stronger Trade Ties, China's Influence in Latin America Will Remain Limited

Snapshots

Cargo shipping containers are seen stacked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California, on April 15, 2025. 

U.S.-China Relations

Regardless of any short-term concessions, the U.S. will likely eventually expand the scope of its technology restrictions against China, likely prompting Beijing to retaliate by once again restricting exports of rare earths or other critical raw materials.

U.S.-China Framework To Implement Trade Deal Will Only Temporarily Ease Tensions

A stock image showing industrial magnet parts.

China will likely continue to wield export restrictions on rare earth elements and related magnets in response to future U.S. restrictions, sustaining a high risk of supply chain disruptions, particularly for automakers.

In Trade War With U.S., China Finds a Pressure Point With Magnet Restrictions

South Africa

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Poland

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A U.S. Tariff Ruling, Israel's Opposition Seeks To Dissolve the Knesset

Taiwan

Taiwanese lawmakers prepare to vote on reconsidering controversial bills in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 21, 2024. 

Political infighting since the president's inauguration has impeded Taiwan's efforts to bolster military spending and has prompted Chinese military and economic retaliation, which could eventually imperil U.S. trade and arms deals.

After One Year Under Lai, Taiwan's Political Dysfunction Shows Little Sign of Easing

India

Pakistan

Turkey's export strategy necessitates trade partnerships with countries in many different spheres of influence, portending both risks and opportunities as Ankara attempts to maintain its neutral middle-power status.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Turkey's Export Strategy Hinges on Neutrality

Japan

South Korea

A U.S. courthouse facade with columns in lower Manhattan, New York.

The court ruling nullifies most -- though not all -- of the Trump administration's tariffs, giving U.S. trading partners temporary breathing room in negotiations while the White House searches for alternative trade measures.

The White House's Tariff Ambitions Bend -- But Do Not Break -- Under the Weight of a Court Ruling

The ASEAN logo May 15 in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia will host the first of the two annual summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on May 26.

The Weekly Rundown: Trans-Atlantic Trade Talks Intensify, Malaysia Hosts Two Summits

Columns

On Geopolitics

A digital illustration of a Chinese flag.

The apparent ineffectiveness of consumer subsidies in raising retail sales, paired with the government's continued resistance to stimulus, suggests that China's post-COVID consumer activity will remain depressed for the foreseeable future.

Gauging the Success of China's Consumer Subsidies Program, One Year Later

Visitors walk down the inclined shaft at Steenkampskraal rare-earth mine on July 29, 2019, about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Vanrhynsdorp, a town in Western Cape province, South Africa.

U.S.-China trade tensions are increasing the risk of supply chain disruptions for critical raw materials, but companies can take steps to mitigate this danger.

Corporate America Comes to Grips With Supply Chain Risks to Critical Raw Materials

<p>China is situated on the eastern third of the Eurasian landmass, between Russia, mainland Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Its more than 9,000 mile-long coastline abuts the Yellow, East and South China Seas. China is a country of deep geographic divisions. Most fundamental is the split between its fertile eastern lowlands and the arid, sparsely populated highlands that enclose the lowlands like a shell. More than a billion people live in the ethnic Han Chinese core, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Traditionally, threats to China&#39;s Han core originated in the borderlands. To guard against overland invasion, successive Chinese rulers have sought to push the Core&#39;s borders outward &mdash;integrating these highlands as strategic &quot;buffer&quot; zones. These zones form a shield, protecting and containing the core. To be secure, China must control the buffer regions. But maintaining control of the regions, in turn, requires a strong and united core. And that means overcoming immense internal divisions &mdash; not only between northern and southern regions orbiting the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, but also between smaller regional units, each with their own geography, history, dialect and interests. Chinese history is defined by cycles of unity and fragmentation, from periods when a strong Han core captures and holds the surrounding buffers to those when a weak core breaks into its constituent parts, loses internal coherence and cedes control of the borderlands. This pattern, rooted in China&#39;s geography, has played out with remarkable consistency. By comparison, China&#39;s maritime interests have remained mostly limited to coastal waters. Today, however, growing international trade and rising Chinese reliance on overseas resources threaten to alter the pattern, adding a new maritime dimension to the struggle for buffer space &mdash; and potentially upending the long-standing dynamics of China&#39;s geographic challenge.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

Niger: Junta To Nationalize Subsidiary of France's Orano

EU, China: Brussels Limits Chinese Access to Public Medical Device Contracts

North Korea, Russia: North Koreans To Provide Mine Sweepers, Military Construction Labor to Kursk

New Zealand, China: Luxon Walks Tightrope on Trade and Security in First China Visit

EU, China: Brussels Calls Off Economic Dialogue With China Ahead of July Summit

Sudan: Nairobi To Face Global Scrutiny as Kenyan Weapons Found in RSF Depot

Vietnam: U.S. Trade Pressure Deepens as Hanoi Becomes BRICS 'Partner'

U.S., China: Beijing Links Rare Earths to U.S. Chip Curbs, Extension of 90-Day Tariff Reprieve Discussed

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