A closer look at the Maritime Silk Road plan suggests that materializing the ambitious initiative is facing several challenges due to grievances with some stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific. If China wants to materialize the initiative, it has to return to its so-called “Peaceful Rise.”

Despite the current rash of nationalism and protectionism around the world, there is every reason to believe that the next high tide of globalization – thanks to the joint efforts of the international community – will bring greater and more inclusive fortune and felicity to humankind.

Zimbabwe’s Central Mashonaland province once produced abundant quantities of high-quality tobacco. Production then dropped heavily when Zimbabwean politicians took control of the farms and neglected the lands. But this may change, as Mugabe recently leased five large farms in the area to Chinese entrepreneurs. This development may increase tobacco production and help uplift the local economy.

Uniting and representing a great number of developing countries, BRICS will continue to be a major dialogue partner of the G7 on the G20 platform. BRICS is eager for international peace and stability, and it calls for a fairer and more reasonable international order and its due say in international affairs.

Economic and trade cooperation plays a prominent role in the global economic governance system. With both countries facing new economic environments and opportunities, it’s extremely importance to deepen cooperation for their own benefits and for overall global prosperity.

The decline in global oil prices means China pays less for its Venezuelan oil, but on the other hand, the situation has made it harder for Venezuela to pay its other debts. The country is having a terrible time acquiring badly-needed foreign imports, such as medicine and food. The fault lies less with China’s loans, credits and investments, but the failure to use such resources in establishing a functioning, and far more dynamic, economy.

While Chinese challenges abound, no one should denigrate the remarkable progress the country has made in recent history. Failure will not be an option for China. The world needs China’s leaders to work at rebalancing their own economy. This will require building better social safety nets and managing the Chinese people’s expectations, hopes and “Chinese Dreams.”

Claims that the recovery is an illusion are demonstrably false, but there are pitfalls ahead that the new president and Congress must recognize, including a decline in productivity, the unconventional monetary policy and political paralysis in Washington.

Greatly due to the slowdown of the Chinese economy, economic growth in the commodity-driven economies of Latin America has fallen off about half from its high point. Although the situation is not yet dire, unless these countries find a new market, their commodity-driven economies are in for a prolonged period of slower growth.

China’s ties with the two US allies continue to evolve, as Beijing develops new consensus with Seoul but finds accommodation with Tokyo more challenging. Domestic politics in the US and Japan may cast a shadow on future progress in China’s bilateral relations with both South Korea and Japan.