All eyes are on the Central Committee’s Third Plenum scheduled to open in Beijing on November 9 for details about China’s economic reforms. As attention focuses on domestic economic development, however, Chinese foreign policy also deserves notice.

As China and the United States still have several high-level meetings scheduled before the end of the year, Xie Feng explains why many analysts are hoping for more positive relations between the two countries.

American officials have criticized rightly China’s surveillance tactics but the US is fast losing all credibility to criticize China for any of its domestic and international surveillance activities, writes Steven Hill.

Washington has made it a point to handle arms sales to Taiwan as delicately as possible. However, following a recent visit by Senator James Inhofe and other developments, the Obama administration is finding it more challenging to walk the diplomatic tightrope.

The sanctions by Washington are undermining the very goals that it would like to achieve with Iran, while dividing the old U.S. allies and strengthening China’s clout in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia refused to accept the UN Security Council seat as a non-permanent member. Wu Sike argues the decision reflects the growing dissatisfaction of the Middle East countries with the Obama administration’s current foreign policy and proposes China-US cooperation to resolve the conflicts in the region.

Over June 7–8, 2013, U.S. president Barack Obama hosted Chinese president Xi Jinping for a summit at Sunnylands, the serene Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, California. The Xi-Obama summit, an informal, shirt-sleeve event that took place early on in the two leaders’ new administrations, was unprecedented in both its style and timing, and indeed was a rare occurrence in U.S.-China relations in the three decades since normalization. By shrugging off diplomatic formalities, the Xi-Obama summit demonstrated the maturity of the U.S.-China relationship.

The U.S. has relentlessly worked on improving its foreign policies in order to safeguard its global hegemony. Chen Jimin analyzes the framework of the Obama administration’s global strategy.

As China shifts its focus away from low-end labor-intensive manufacturing due to the rising production costs, it is inevitable for Chinese firms to relocate their operations to lesser-cost developing economy destinations, including Africa. Dr. Martyn Davies articulates how China-Africa relationship would change from attracting state capital to more private investment as a result of China’s economic reforms.

As Japanese Prime Minister Abe seems to have discarded his nationalist talking points in favor of a more populist platform, many wonder how China will be affected?