China and Russia maintain a strategic partnership rooted in shared opposition to the U.S. and liberal democracies, but their relationship is shaped more by pragmatism than trust.

As the intensification of geopolitical competition points toward increased global fragmentation, the definition of technical standards for future markets and industries will play an important role in determining just how deep the fissures will run. 

The risks inherent to the unregulated use of AI, a key technology and vector of profound transformations within societies underline the pressing need to harmonize governance efforts at the international level. The Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence to be held in Paris in mid-February could be an unprecedented timely occasion to agree on a global governance framework of AI for the public good.

Technological competition is at the heart of the renewed great-power competition that has characterized relations between the USA and China since the 2010s. The role of technological innovation in the evolution of power relations is already recognized in the literature of international relations. However, developments in US technology policy under the last two administrations raise the reverse question: how does the perception of changing power relations (in this case, Chinese technological catch-up perceived as a threat to US leadership) transform policies granting or denying access to technological innovation?

A data-based analysis shows that widespread geoeconomic fragmentation of world trade is not visible, at least so far. In contrast, the geopolitically-motivated challenges to international coordination are striking, notably in relation with China's surging surplus in manufactured goods trade.

Following the dramatic floods in Valencia, and as COP29 opens in Baku, climate change is forcing us to closely reexamine the pace—and the stumbling blocks—of the energy transition.

China is decoupling from, not flooding, the global mature-node semiconductor market. As China increasingly pursues industrial policies encouraging domestic chip production, its own growing chip demand will prevent a direct flood of cheap Chinese chips on foreign shores. However, as Beijing achieves its goal of decreasing the reliance of domestic downstream manufacturers on foreign chips, European and American mature-node semiconductor companies will feel the ripple effects of an increasingly “involuted” Chinese chip ecosystem.

Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.