Posts From Kiana Mendoza

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Asia Pacific Politics

Security or progress? The Australian experiment

China’s growing influence has given rise to a dilemma for its partners, between preserving national security and maintaining access to China’s economic and technological progress. The long-term consequences of how Australia resolves this dilemma may provide insights for the rest of the world.

Asia Pacific Politics

What’s the deal with ZTE?

The new ZTE deal could ease bilateral tensions and prevent a global economic crisis, but it has also revealed Trump’s malleability, the growing rift within the US government, and ignored larger security threats.

Asia Pacific Economics

Buying friends through dollar diplomacy

Despite its successful self-governance, the Chinese-claimed territory struggles to maintain international support and acknowledgement as an independent country. Beijing’s ‘dollar diplomacy’ will continue to chip away at Taipei’s legitimacy, leveraging smaller impoverished nations in an effort to solidify and justify its influence over the Taiwan Strait.

Asia Pacific Economics

Death of a salesman – China attacks private debt

As China’s transitions from prioritizing economic growth to maintaining economic stability, the government has begun levying steep penalties on high-debt private companies for “economic crimes.” Kiana Mendoza looks at several recent examples of these trials, and examines what this could mean for the future.

Asia Pacific Security

Trump vs Kim: The art of the nuclear deal

The US and North Korea are likely to attempt diplomacy for a few months, but impossible expectations and intentionally vague promises could frustrate both sides. If this causes the deal to fall through, bilateral tensions could boil over once again.