Washington’s hawkish posturing is not likely to induce Beijing to incur the risks of greatly increasing its pressure on the North Korean regime. The first step would be to meet Beijing’s longstanding call for Washington to engage Pyongyang in serious, bilateral negotiations.

Recent nationalistic trends suggest not that globalization is dead but that it has entered a new phase. It is overly simplistic to define the momentum for change as “anti-globalization”. China now needs to work harder than ever in order to optimize and even lead globalization.

Trump’s softening stance toward China shows the U.S. is considering a new framework to guide the bilateral relationship, which the previous administration failed to do. However, “results-oriented” is too vague to guide such complex ties, and the leaders’ meeting could define the relationship in a more clear-cut concept.

The U.S. needs China a great deal more than it does Russia in order to minimize the security threats from the unstable and threatening North Korean regime and to maintain regional stability in Asia.

The swarm approach – by hitting Beijing on multiple issues in at once in a flurry – seems to be calculated upon Trump’s own business approach. This projects that Trump’s “leverage” over Beijing would compel painful concessions from China on core issues because of its fear over Washington’s scorn and threats.

When Abe tries to contain China to relive the dream of the “great Japanese empire”, he is running against the times. Peace, development and win-win cooperation are now the themes in East Asia and the world as a whole.

Numerous reports in recent weeks speculate that a grand reconciliation between the Chinese authorities and the Catholic Church is in the works. However, the question of reconciliation is no doubt as contentious among the Chinese authorities as it is in the Church.

The reported fatal poisoning of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport represents a major setback for China. Beijing valued Kim Jong Nam — a faded playboy with residences in Macau and Beijing — as a key asset against the North Korean dictator. China’s strongest action against North Korea to date — the recently imposed suspension of coal imports — can be ascribed to the “Trump effect.” U.S. President Donald Trump’s less predictable line, reflected in his wavering on the one-China policy and his tougher stance on Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, has prompted Beijing to take this action to blunt U.S. criticism that it is not doing enough to implement United Nations sanctions.

Common strategic interests of both countries require the U.S. and China to contribute to a new security framework in Asia-Pacific, by working together towards a better security arrangement for the region. Over-reliance on military alliances targeting third parties cannot replace efforts to provide adequate security for all.

America’s biggest enemy today is neither China nor Russia, but its own identity crisis. Resorting to out-of-date thinking to seek a new “balancing” strategy of realigned alliances makes no sense in today’s economically interdependent world. Turning potential friends into foes, on the other hand, could lead the country in a terrible direction.