American democracy boasts of universal representation of social segments, but in reality it is money that talks. Neither the Republican Party nor the Democrats can claim that to have served the interests of the working class well, resulting in a crisis of political institutions that need major surgery to survive.

It’s dangerous to assume that globalization and economic exchanges can override rivalry in the field of security, and China needs to accept and handle that rivalry while maintaining a medium-to-high rate of economic growth during the economic “new normal” stage. Without a robust economy, China will not be able to unite its people to win competition among big nations.

How might a Chinese intelligence analyst explain the United States’ obsession with firearms? Franz-Stefan Gady begins by analyzing its historical origin tied to a national myth. High-profile mass-shootings, paired with a growing discontent with the ruling elite, and the continuous exploitation of American history by powerful civil liberty interest groups, will induce a knee-jerk reaction among Americans that it will be the gun rather than the law that will ultimately protect them from harm.

The rise in populism and nationalism could well undermine Clinton's dream to be America’s first woman president, but in this surprising year those forces provide no guarantees for Trump, either.

The entire democratic system in the U.S. has been set up with the goal of defending minority rights. But in China, most people don’t see minority and majority interests as inherently in conflict, nor a need for minorities to separate themselves from the larger group.

There is no such thing as a universal formula for economic and political success. China’s way of pragmatic governance with an authoritarian market economy that doesn’t call for democracy has been widely debated and increasingly recognized as having merits that could enrich the philosophy of global governance.

In 2014, more than 300,000 Chinese students are enrolled in colleges and universities in the U.S., while only 25,000 American college students studied in China that same year. The US-China Strong Foundation is expanding its mission to increase the number and diversity of U.S. students studying in China and learning Chinese so that future generations manage the bilateral relationship smartly and effectively.

The global war on terror, now almost a generation old, will never be won with treacherous allies, such as jihadist rebels and Islamist rulers. Rather, stemming the spread of the Islamist ideology, which has fostered “jihad factories” and threatens the security of countries as diverse as the U.S. and China, holds the key to containing terrorism.

Sport may emerge as one of those solutions that foster inter-cultural understanding between China and Central Asian states without being vigorously criticized for hidden political agendas. Sport has the potential to transcend socially constructed borders and divisions because it embodies a universal medium of communication.

In the wake of the deadly shooting in an Orlando gay club, nearly 200 Chinese LGBT groups issued an unforeseen joint statement as a tribute to the victims, a expression of grief, and to send a strong message to the general public in China on LGBT violence. Despite enormous progress in the past two decades, LGBT groups still face discrimination, and are fighting to push legislation to give individuals more protection under the law.