Reflecting on the recent joint naval exercises between Iran and China, Michal Meidan explores how the strategic relationship between the two nations involves more than just oil and discusses how US-led sanctions against Iran continue to complicate geopolitics.

Is China disposing of its hard-line policies towards regional neighbors and embracing a more conciliatory approach? Recent diplomatic gestures and the upgrading of relations with Vietnam and South Korea suggest Beijing is undertaking a new charm offensive in the Asia Pacific.

The United States, India and China are all important players in Asia. It is unlikely that any two countries can unite and exclude a third party. Compatibility, rather than competition, is in the interest of all the three countries, writes Su Xiaohui.

Analyzing the recent travels of Chinese President Xi Jingping, Chen Xiangyang examines the “new normal” of periphery diplomacy in China’s foreign policy and explains how it will continue to strengthen relations with regional nations.

While many believe that the China-US relationship is passing through a rocky period and has dropped to a low point, Wu Jianmin suggests that the foundation of the relationship remains strong.

Responding to a recent opinion editorial in The Washington Post, Stephen Harner writes that now is the time for U.S. leaders to join with disruptors of history, like Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, to proactively promote change in U.S.-China relations.

How have different foreign policy approaches changed U.S. relations with Russia and China? As Zheng Yu explains, these differing policies and perspectives have become clearer as a result of the Ukraine Crisis and U.S.-led sanctions against Russia.

Only by getting to know China in an entirely new light, can the US formulate a sensible China policy and produce a win-win situation for both China and the US in the South China Sea, writes Wu Zurong.

Are electoral politics and the upcoming midterm elections distracting the Obama administration from its foreign policy priorities? Zhang Zhixin examines the political polarization impeding the U.S. Congress and questions the ability of the Obama administration to continue its rebalance to the Asia-Pacific in such a conflicted environment.

China’s rising power and capabilities make PRC actions in the South China Sea more consequential and unsettling than those of others, so they deserve particular attention but need to be evaluated in the broader context of the motives and actions of others as well.