Aug 04,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 4

In mid-2020, US policy took a decidedly more negative turn toward China, driven by leaders whose foreign policy judgment was highly suspect. While there was bipartisan consensus on what was objectionable in Chinese foreign and domestic policies and on the necessity of a more robust pushback by the US and its allies, the specifics and […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , Hong Kong , the Quad , US-China rivalry , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

Jun 24,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: China (June 2020)

In the spring of 2020, Chinese analysts began to grapple with the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the future world order, Sino–US relations, and China’s relations with South Korea and Japan. They also continued to assess China’s global governance approach by examining its relationship to China’s national identity, exploring its connection to China’s overarching […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

"Belt and Road" Initiative , 2008 Financial Crisis , AIIB , COVID-19 , Japan-South Korea relations

Jun 06,2020 Special Forum

Hedging in Post-Pandemic Asia: What, How, and Why?

As the US-China rivalry intensifies amid the COVID-19 crisis, more observers have opined that the “hedging” by smaller states—widely interpreted as a “middle position” between being fully aligned with the US camp and fully bandwagoning with China—is irrelevant, irresponsible, and even dangerous. I engage this debate from a Southeast Asian perspective, addressing the what, how, […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Balancing , Bandwagoning , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , hedging , Trans-Pacific Partnership

Jun 01,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2020)

The spring of 2020 saw a downturn in Sino-Japanese relations, which were now embroiled in the pandemic war of words, with little else on the foreign policy radar. Some warnings about North Korea and Russia were heard, while wishful thinking about South Korea also appeared. Some raised the puzzle of why Abe’s poll numbers were […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , COVID-19 , Northern Territories , Senkaku Islands , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

May 25,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (May 2020)

One message stood apart in Russian coverage of international relations in the Indo-Pacific in the early spring of 2020: what is the impact of the pandemic on China and on Sino-US relations? In the background is the question: what will be the impact on Russian foreign policy? As for China, numerous questions are raised about […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , COVID-19 , Eurasian Economic Union , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

Apr 22,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: China (April 2020)

As 2020 began, Chinese authors were busy not only summing up the far-reaching results of 2019 but also putting them in broad analytical perspective. China’s other bilateral relations had slipped as a focus, secondary to the telling impact of the transformative core of the international order—the Sino-US nexus. Sino-Russian relations paled in significance. Relations with […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , community of common destiny , COVID-19 , Six-Party Talks , Xi Jinping

Apr 06,2020 National Commentaries

A Chinese Perspective on India

Xi Jinping’s “Neighborhood Diplomacy” since 2018 is a response to Donald Trump and a recalibration of how to move toward Sinocentrism in light of difficulties with BRI and past policies toward regional great and middle powers. Varied approaches have been taken to US allies and members of the aspirational Quad. To Japan, an about-face has […]

Gilbert Rozman

"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , Indo-Pacific strategy , Narendra Modi , RCEP , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Xi Jinping

Mar 30,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (March 2020)

Russians agree that this is a period of transformation, but there are differences regarding the nature of the changes. Essentially, three schools of thought can be discerned in recent articles. The variables differentiating them are not always fully apparent, but we can assume that three matter most: 1) attitudes toward the authoritarian and censorship drift […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

"Belt and Road" Initiative , community of common destiny , Coronavirus , COVID-19 , Eurasian Economic Union , Vladimir Putin , Xi Jinping

Mar 19,2020 Special Forum

Putin and Xi Eye the Soviet Collapse

When commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in the months ahead, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will find it difficult to recapture the spirit exhibited in 2015 when they stood together in Red Square and then in Tiananmen to proclaim shared support for a world order they insisted was established […]

Sergey Radchenko

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , COVID-19 , European Economic Union , Socialism with Chinese Characteristics , Vladmir Putin , WWII , Xi Jinping

Mar 02,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 1

The coronavirus originating in Wuhan cast a dark shadow on efforts to look ahead in East Asia. It kept China at the center of attention, while only reinforcing the tendency to analyze events through the prism of Sino-US relations. While some kept their sights on Russia and India in this context—embracing a forward-looking great power […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Coronavirus , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , THAAD , Tokyo Olympics