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AsiaCentre

Founded in 2005, Asia Centre is an independent research institute that holds debates and issues publications on matters relating to international, strategic, economic relations, as well as the political and social transformations underway in the Asia-Pacific region. At the crossroads of university research as well as public and private decision-making, Asia Centre researchers identify critical regional issues and analyse them in-depth, taking into consideration both local and global dimensions. Asia Centre’s programs are developed with a vast network of partners, companies and major specialist centres in Europe, North America and Asia. The Centre carries out joint operations with these groups, for a better interpretation of ideas and issues. The conclusions of these meetings, such as the results of the work carried out using original sources by our researchers, are widely distributed through the Centre’s publications as well as through international journals, books and media.

Other analyses

Taiwan cooking oil scandal: Why Isn’t Beijing Adding Fuel to the Fire? • Isabelle Feng

31 July 2026 No Comments

In this new piece, Isabelle Feng looks back at the tainted cooking oil scandal that has affected Taiwan for several weeks, and at Beijing’s measured response to the affair. She examines the protests held in Taipei on 25 July, the coverage of the event by Chinese state media, and reactions observed on Chinese social media. She puts this episode in perspective alongside the history of food safety scandals in mainland China and the question of freedom to protest on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

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Memo – Wu Wei (Do Nothing): China and the Syrian crisis

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Roundtable n°6 of the China Observatory, 23 Novembre, 2015, with Pr. Yitzhak Shichor (University of Haifa)
“China and the Syrian crisis” could appear as a relatively narrow research topic. However, it has profound ramifications for China’s foreign policy, particularly in terms of relations between China and the Middle East, but also in terms of Chinese perceptions of Asia and the Middle East. Not only is China’s policy towards these two regions connected, hence not exclusive, but it relies more on continuity than change.
China’s management of the Syrian crisis could be best summarized by the Chinese proverb “do nothing and yet do everything» (道 常 无为 而 无不 为), meaning China is trying to do as little as possible but yet trying to gain as much as possible. Another key concept to describe China’s behavior is «active passivity», also expressed by the proverb “distant water cannot put out a nearby fire” (远水救不了近火).
Pr. Shichor’s main argument made during his presentation is that China’s Syria policy is not about Syria, but about the Middle East and key diplomatic principles.

  • China’s four stages crisis management
    • Stage 1: Local Level
    • Stage 2: Regional Level
    • Stage 3 : UN level
    • Stage 4: Unilateral Level
  • Impact on China’s bilateral relations
    • China-Russia
    • China-United States
    • China-Arab countries
    • China-Turkey
  • The Syrian crisis as an open laboratory for China
  • Q&A
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