Every time there is a change of administration in either the United States or China, the international media is suddenly filled with speculation over how the interpersonal relations between individual leaders might affect relations between the world’s two most important countries. Such myopic gossip, however, ignores the larger structural, historical, and domestic political forces that ultimately play the leading roles in shaping the dynamics of US-China relations.

In his first 100 days in office, Trump created more problems than achievements. The challenges and stakes ahead are abundant: Trump needs a breakthrough on his major reforms as soon as possible to gain some traction and rekindle confidence in his supporters and his party.

Despite China’s best efforts as an intermediary, Pyongyang has obviously stood on the wrong side of history, against the will of the rest of the world by refusing peaceful engagement. But the six-party talks platform has not been built easily, and it remains the key to meaningful progress.

The Korean nuclear issue is the most complicated and uncertain factor for Northeast Asian security. It has now become the focus of attention in the Asia Pacific and even the world at large. Now, as the issue continues to heat up, one frequently raised question is: Why can’t China take greater responsibility and make North Korea stop its nuclear weapons program?

The current crisis is not an isolate event, but the result of 60 years of failed attempts to resolve the conflict. Relations among regional players have a key role, and improving strategic trust between China and the US would be a first step toward establishing enough trust to begin talks between the US and the DPRK.

The US policy of “maximum pressure” without seeking regime change gives both sides more room to negotiate, but China’s “dual-track approach” still offers more hope for a win-win resolution.

China’s new satellite tracking and space telemetry station is situated deep in the Patagonian region of Argentina. Argentinians have complained about the facility and widely believe that secret monies may have passed to secure approval for the facility. China says that the purpose of the ground station in Argentina is solely to support deep space exploration and a lunar mission that China may mount later this year.

ASEAN’s commitment to regional consensus and to global inclusiveness has been one of the world’s most successful diplomatic initiatives of the past fifty years. While nationalists in China and Vietnam as well as global media remain fixated on sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea, faster growth of the developing world than the developed world is the tectonic trend in the world political economy.

The tendency to retreat into the comfort that the past provides will only be reinforced when the President and the Prime Minister meet on May 4 aboard a U.S. warship docked in New York Harbour to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. On the one hand, the symbolism is powerful: two close, longstanding allies marking a pivotal moment in which the threat of Japanese imperialism was turned back. On the other, it projects a view of the relationship that is literally moored to memory, failing to engage in the more difficult conversations about what the American posture in Asia will look like in the years ahead, and what that means for Australia.

The Philippines is often portrayed as an American ally on the verge of defecting to Eastern powers, with Duterte firmly overseeing this strategic shift. Yet, a closer look reveals that the tough-talking Filipino leader doesn’t have the requisite power to unilaterally reshape his country’s foreign policy, nor is he interested in fully severing ties with the Philippines’ century-old ally, America.