Sixteen years after China closed its embassy in São Tomé and Principle, two tiny African islands located in a resource rich area off of the Atlantic Coast of Gabon. Now China hopes to renew relations by bringing promise of modern infrastructure to the island in hope of returning with a stake in potential oil discovery.

In the past year, China’s new administration has taken steps to improve regional ties in Asia by perusing an active peripheral diplomatic strategy. The multiple visits by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang demonstrate this. Chen Jimin explains three reasons why China is choosing to explore this strategy.

China hopes that Kerry’s recent Middle East visit will herald a new diplomatic approach from the US, and will play a positive and significant role in promoting regional peace in the Middle East, writes Wu Sike.

A November 1 article written by the Wall Street Journal has been the cause of some concern for those who follow US-China-Japan relations. While the US has maintained its position of “neutrality,” China is concerned about its own security as well as that of the region as Japan’s nationalistic leaders continue to pursue more active military and foreign policies.

The conference on diplomacy with neighboring countries signaled a new era for proactive interaction between China and its neighbors, writes Chen Xiangyang.

The US rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific has unsettled relations with China, and distrust between the two countries has deepened since the United States started relocating its massive military assets to the region.

United States allies in the Asia-Pacific nervously await Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to China, Japan and South Korea in early December, as they look for indications the Obama administration will continue its pivot to Asia. However, as Benjamin Friedman of the Cato Institute points out, the pivot is more symbolic than substantive.

China’s rapid rise to power has caught the attention of the world. China’s new diplomatic strategy of extending “olive branches” has some states worried and others intrigued. Can a balance be found between China’s national interests, the US pivot to Asia and the interests of regional actors such as ASEAN or Japan?

Japan is making provocative statements on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands and questioning the Chinese position, writes Xue Junying.

Xi Jinping has launched a new era of periphery diplomacy and will make for better political and economic relations with neighboring countries, closer security cooperation and stronger people-to-people contact.