China and the U.S. are among the major powers with great influence in the Middle East, and the interactions between the two are highly relevant to the prospect of peace, stability and prosperity of the region. Now, that they both adhere to reactive policies in the Middle East, Jin Liangxiang argues the two countries should collaborate in the region.

Following the “2+2” meeting between Japan’s foreign and defense ministers and their Russian counterparts, Stephen Harner examines the substance of the meeting and compares it to the recent “2+2” meeting between Japan and the US, noting the US-Japan defense alliance is fueling an arms race and nurturing militarism in the Asia-Pacific.

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.