On May 6 and 7, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to France, his first to Europe since 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic. Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping will celebrate Franco-Chinese friendship and the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between their two countries. It comes at a time when the bilateral relationship is officially perceived as positive on both sides, especially after the French President’s visit to China in April 2023.

Indonesia is a country that is booming economically and demographically. This not only matters for regional, political, and energy security, but also increasingly, for the world’s energy transitions, due to Indonesia’s large metal reserves, as well as its equally important coal consumption in industry and for power generation.

Over the last 20 years, Indonesia’s economy has been characterized by very dynamic growth, massive increases in its electricity demand, and coal consumption and exports. Hence, its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are on a steady growth trajectory, although the country has committed to lowering them by 32% (unconditional) or 41% (conditional) by 2030.

With its Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) membership application, occurring in the context of global energy transition requirements and geopolitical confrontations, Indonesia is today at a crossroads.

Germany is dependent on its ports for the smooth running of its open economic model and has benefited from globalization in recent decades when the internationalization of its value chains strengthened its competitiveness. Yet, with today’s hardening geopolitics, the vulnerabilities of Europe’s leading economic power are becoming apparent. 

While solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are booming in Europe (and in other parts of the world), the local industry is closing down. Over the past two years, the European installed solar PV capacity has been multiplied by two. On the other hand, the remaining European manufacturers of solar PV panels are dying.

Transport, energy, water and telecommunications infrastructures are vital for economic development. These infrastructures are also fundamental for the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have suffered a setback notably due to the Covid-19 pandemic, wars, and weak economic performance. Based on the Global Infrastructure Outlook, the world needs 97 trillion dollars ($) in infrastructure investments (energy, water, airports, ports, rail, road, and telecommunications) over 2016-2040, and based on the current investment trends ($79 trillion over the given period), the cumulative global infrastructure investment gap amounts to $18 trillion.

Condemnations of French politics have gained momentum in recent years in French-speaking Africa. The grievances are multiple: military interventions, the persistence of the regional currency inherited from colonial time (CFA franc), development aid policy, restrictive visa policy, etc. However, the reasoned criticism against the French policy in Africa has turned into an anti-French diatribe on social networks and in the simplistic rhetoric of neo-Pan-Africanists.

Voter turnout for Nigeria's presidential elections in February-March 2023 has never been so low since the country's return to democracy in 1999. Nigeria's new president, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, must now reassure voters that Africa's leading economy is capable of putting the lie to a persistent image of a country in decline.

While the May 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections looked as a difficult test for the flagging Islamo-conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), they eventually held on to power, demonstrating their remarkable foothold in the Turkish context. The party notably recorded one of its highest scores in Konya, confirming the massive and uninterrupted support of this two-million inhabitants central Anatolian city for Turkish political Islam.