Sense Hofstede
banner
sensehofstede.nl
Sense Hofstede
@sensehofstede.nl
Researcher and teacher of the Indo-Pacific. Studies China, Singapore, and Taiwan; nationalism, party-state & international relations. | 何森璱
https://sensehofstede.nl/
Prime Minister Li Qiang will attend his second G20 leaders’ summit, the 20th G20 Summit in South Africa. He also represented China at the 18th in India in 2023.
All other G20 summits were attended by China’s presidents. www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xw/wsrc/...
November 13, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Felipe already went to China in 2006 as Crown Prince. Five of Spain’s eighteen visits to China under Hu and Xi have been since 2023. In the other direction, Spain benefited from ‘technical stops’ (技术经停) on the Canary Islands by travelling Chinese leaders.
November 11, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Cheers!
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim speaking live inside the European Parliament in Brussels for an IPAC event: x.com/ipacglobal/s...
November 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM
US defence minister Hegseth says he spoke again, with Chinese counterpart Dong Jun. Hegseth agrees with Trump that ‘the relationship between the United States and China has never been better’ and also refers to a ‘history “G2 meeting”’ between Trump and Xi.
November 2, 2025 at 8:55 AM
This is Li Qiang’s first UNGA. His predecessor Li Keqiang only attended UNGA once.
Normally, Foreign Minister Wang Yi goes. President Xi Jinping attended in 2015 and spoke virtually during the pandemic in 2021. Exceptionally, Vice President Han Zheng attended in 2021.
September 19, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Taiwanese foreign minister Lin explains Taiwan’s contributions to defending democracy in the world in a Dutch opinion piece on a radical-right news website full of inflammatory disinformation:
nieuwrechts.nl/106243-hoe-c...
Didn’t stop PRC embassy responding angrily:
mp.weixin.qq.com/s/wMGeqltiF_...
September 11, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Do Chinese officials always visit Pakistan when they visit India? Not necessarily when it comes to the President, but PM visits always come in twos and not infrequently there is a kind of balace to FM visits too.
August 19, 2025 at 3:45 PM
China’s exports of rare earth products extend their recovery, months after Beijing threatened a disruptive global shortage by crimping supplies – Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
August 18, 2025 at 7:38 AM
August 15, 2025 at 11:04 AM
My database shows only the Chinese Prime Minister always attended the China-ASEAN Summits, apart from the 1st (1997: President Jiang Zemin) and the 2nd (1998: Vice President Hu Jintao).
August 9, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Hungary’s Orbán used his tweet on his meeting with China’s Zhao to attack the EU’s approach to Beijing:
July 29, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Municipal building of Dantumadiel flying the Canadian flag on the day the northern Dutch municipality I grew up in was liberated by Canada 80 years ago:
April 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Not an exceptionally late but also not an early start to the diplomatic year for Xi Jinping:
April 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM
China’s State Council Information Office releases white paper on China-US economic and trade relations – Xinhua
April 9, 2025 at 8:39 AM
What stands out most to me with these Chinese military exercises around Taiwan is the propaganda cartoon: bilingual, calling President Lai a parasite, and using DPP and KMT party colours while directly invoking the same issues the opposition uses to attack the government.
www.news.cn/tw/20250401/...
April 1, 2025 at 7:36 AM
The 1990s floating banner on the Taiwan Affairs Office website is back, pointing to the reporting email address jubao@suremail.cn . Looks like this time Chinese threats are more aimed at civic society and public figures.
“台独”打手、帮凶迫害台湾同胞恶劣行径举报专栏 – 中共中央台办、国务院台办
March 26, 2025 at 10:08 AM
解放军和武警部队代表团新闻发言人吴谦接:“解放军一向是打‘独’促统的行动派,近年来绕岛巡航、军事慑压已成常态。‘台独’分子闹得越欢,脖子上的绳索就会勒得越紧,头顶上的利剑就会愈加锋利。我们正告民进党当局:悬崖勒马回头是岸,执迷不悟死路一条。”
March 9, 2025 at 10:37 AM
From the Bedok Public Library:
March 7, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Spotted it today in Singapore’s Ngee Ann City Kinokuniya!
February 14, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Family business expanded into Singapore?
January 23, 2025 at 10:13 AM
The Africa year openers of the Chinese foreign minister going back to 2004 in my database. They even continued during the pandemic. Nigeria leads with 5, followed by Ethiopia with 4.
However, I cannot find announcements for Yang Jiechi going in 2013. Anyone knows what happened?
January 5, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Bloomberg has complied with the POFMA correction order by Singapore’s government:
December 24, 2024 at 9:27 AM
Het meer volledige Chinese artikel over economie-vergadering van Politburo noemt tien ‘moeten’ (要), de eerste omvat „more proactive fiscal policy”/„moderately loose monetary policy”. Afgekort tot kernwoorden vertaal ik ze hieronder, openend met de mooie contradictie-synthese van de eerste:
December 9, 2024 at 12:34 PM
The 1576-1796 records of the Dutch Republic’s parliament, the Estates-General, have been digitised.
On Friday 11 October 1624, the lords receive a report that the ‘King of China’ has directed the Dutch East Indies Company from the Pescadores to Taiwan. app.goetgevonden.nl/detail/urn:r...
December 9, 2024 at 9:05 AM