China and the United States recently issued a joint declaration on climate action, bringing hope for one of humanity’s most pressing problems and adding momentum to the global low-carbon transition.

The country’s self-sufficiency rate has stayed at around 80 percent, but as it transitions to lower carbon, issues affecting energy security are becoming more prominent. Underlying these are structural problems, starting with high dependence on overseas energy.

I don’t know if it’s by accident or design but the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, and the G-20 Summit that preceded it in Rome, were scheduled around Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Most governments seem afraid to face the existential challenge of climate change and are more spooked by an army of highly-paid lobbyists than by an infinitely more powerful Mother Nature. At the same time, however, promising innovations coming from NGOs and a core of socially responsible companies offer a slim glimmer of sunshine amidst the gloom.

The United States has begun to consolidate a Western consensus in many respects, but its competitive perspective on global issues will eventually cost it credibility and appeal in the field of climate governance.

Modern eco-civilization based on harmony between humanity and nature is the way of survival — the way for humankind to effectively cope with the climate crisis and achieve climate security in the 21st century.

The new Taliban regime in Kabul is faced with the responsibility of governing an impoverished, underdeveloped nation recovering from decades of destruction. Their biggest asset is the nation’s massive mineral deposits, which neighboring China will likely assist in extracting.

The planet is heating up – and so are global geopolitics. With less than two months until the crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the United States and China must commit to cooperate on the existential challenge global warming represents. But bilateral relations remain burdened by mistrust, antagonism, and even warmongering.

The U.S. intelligence community’s effort will not help prevent a future pandemic. Many countries will be deeply skeptical of America’s intentions and will be wary that it’s only looking for an excuse to steal biological information.

Scholars from China and around Southeast Asia respond to questions about how the region views the second push by the United States to identify the origins of the coronavirus.

For the United States, the Nord Stream 2 gas project is a reminder of its waning global hegemony. Its ability to control its allies has declined. Bilateral relations have deteriorated. Attempts to block construction have failed. America has become a shadow of its former self.