The article was originally published by @lseideas.bsky.social

@mariehiliquin.bsky.social explores China’s sophisticated "dual-track" strategy in the EU. Beijing simultaneously engages:
🫀EU’s regulatory heart in Brussels
🦵its national limbs across Europe
Read how this challenges the EU 🔗 chinaobservers.eu/the-heart-an...

⚖️ Rather than emphasizing liberal #HumanRights, Beijing advances a “people-centered” model prioritizing #Development, stability, and state authority.
📖 chinaobservers.eu/addressing-g...

👉 Through initiatives like the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), #China promotes “reform” while strengthening its influence inside the#UN system. 🌍 By mobilizing the #GlobalSouth, it aims to build a durable voting majority and shift the balance of power in its favor.

China is positioning itself as a defender of global governance, but is it really offering an alternative world order?🌍
@emma-belmonte.bsky.social writes that Beijing’s vision is less about replacing the system and more about reshaping it from within. 🔗 chinaobservers.eu/addressing-g...

Dragon Stars Above Us: Chinese Space Cooperation and Diplomacy in CEE – chinaobservers The current decade brought about a series of high-profile news about China's progress in space. This development raises several questions regarding innovation f

Read the article: chinaobservers.eu/dragon-stars...

🌍 CEE is becoming a key arena of this rivalry. Serbia and Belarus are moving closer to China, while Czechia remain anchored in the Euro Atlantic space. Hungary continues balancing between both.

👉 Initiatives like the International Lunar Research Station, developed with #Russia, illustrate growing competition with Western frameworks.

🚀 #China is rapidly emerging as a major #space power, expanding its ambitions even to CEE. As Krzysztof Karwowski shows, space cooperation is no longer just about science, it is increasingly tied to #Security ,#Infrastructure, and #Data. 🔗 chinaobservers.eu/dragon-stars...

Orbán or the Opposition? Hungary’s Election and the Future of Its China–Taiwan Calculus – chinaobservers This article is part of an exclusive series from CHOICE devoted to China as a topic in elections across Central and Eastern Europe. Hungary’s election this Sund

📖 A must-read ahead of election day! chinaobservers.eu/orban-or-the...

💡This would not necessarily mean a fundamental break with Hungary’s existing China policy, but it could foresee a more transparent and conventionally pragmatic version of it.

💡Tisza has indicated a more alliance-centered foreign policy, a departure from Orbán’s balancing approach.

💡 While #Hungary has maintained close ties with Beijing, it has also quietly deepened economic cooperation with Taiwan. The key question now: will this pragmatic balancing continue, or shift toward a more EU-aligned stance?

🗳️ Hungarians caste their votes on Sunday, and you are wondering how the outcome could reshape Hungary’s approach to #China and #Taiwan? Our special #election monitor edition by Réka Koleszár answers all your questions👇
🔗 chinaobservers.eu/orban-or-the...

The Chinese Era: How Young People’s Views of China Changed – chinaobservers A twenty-something-year-old man with blonde hair and a Harvard University hoodie finds himself in quite an unusual setting: an outdoor gym of a Chinese housing

The big question: Is this the start of a deeper shift in perception—or just a passing trend? 🤔
Read the article: chinaobservers.eu/the-chinese-...
#China #GenZ #SocialMediaTrends #Geopolitics #SoftPower

🙌At the same time, China is benefiting from this organic exposure in a way traditional state messaging never achieved.

🌎But the trend says as much about the West as it does about China: disillusionment, economic uncertainty and the fading “American dream” are pushing young people to look elsewhere for inspiration.

🤳Influencers from the West are doing "Chinese" things: wearing slippers, drinking Chinese beer and working out in parks like the Chinese elderly.

Or are you asking what is a Chinese era?🤔 Our new article by Paulína Ovečková dives into this latest social media trend called #Chinamaxxing, where China is surprisingly having a viral moment.
Find out all about it👉🔗 chinaobservers.eu/the-chinese-...

🌍 This model may increasingly spread to regions like #Africa, expanding influence and challenging the West.

🤝 At the same time, Russia and China are deepening cooperation in #Cyberspace, including projects like Molniya. This reflects a shared push for #DigitalSovereignty and #StateControl.

👉Much like WeChat, MAX combines messaging, payments, and state services. This raises concerns about #Surveillance, #Censorship, and data access.

🫸Restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram, alongside the launch of MAX, signal a broader effort to reshape the digital environment.

📱Stephanie Niedenhoff writes that recent developments in Russia point to a shift toward a more controlled, state-centric digital ecosystem with similarities to China's digital space. Read the full article 👉 chinaobservers.eu/the-chinese-...

📩Subscribe to CHOICE newsletter and get insights on the evolving CEE-China policy by regional experts in your email tomorrow! Subscribe here👇 amo.ecomailapp.cz/public/form/...

⚖️The same tools that enable connection and integration also extend #surveillance and censorship beyond China.
📖 Part of the RESONANT Project, this series shows how digital technologies reshape migration.

🍃What happens when distance between home and abroad disappears?
In the second part of our #CHOICELongReads series, Chu Yang shows how WeChat📲 shapes everyday life of the #ChineseDiaspora across #Europe. 🔗Read the personal experience of Chu Yang 👇 chinaobservers.eu/homeland-in-...

China’s Major-Country Diplomacy Leaves No Room for European Characteristics – chinaobservers Europe is battered from all sides and personalism in international relations is on the rise. It is not clear if the EU institutions are equipped for this situat

👤This creates a structural challenge for the #EU. With shared authority and multiple leaders, Brussels is not perceived in Beijing as a partner able to

⚙️What can be done? Read the full article to learn the answers! chinaobservers.eu/chinas-major...

📜Today's article examines how Beijing’s vision of “major country diplomacy”, built on strong leadership & direct relations of leaders, reflects a growing confidence in shaping the international order on its own terms.

🤔Sense brings deep expertise on how China’s Leninist party-state shapes Beijing’s role in global affairs.
👨‍🎓He holds a PhD in Comparative Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore and previously worked as a lecturer and research fellow.
👋If you're ever in Brussels, be sure to say hello!