The release of China’s Arctic White Paper in late January brought broad attention to China’s somewhat nascent but rapidly expanding role and interests in the Arctic region. Even though most of the information in the White Paper is not new, initiatives such as the Polar Silk Road could indicate a coming surge in China’s political and economic endeavors in the Arctic.

The future and history of the world is being shaped increasingly by China and America. Going forward, all major global issues will intersect at the corner of Washington D.C. and Beijing. How our current leaders and future generations manage this relationship will not only impact the people of China and America; but all of humanity. As 2017 comes to an end and a new year begins, we will see how the Chinese leaders and millennials are poised to re-shape their — and our — world.

In the past decade, China has increasingly been perceived in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as a country which could bring economic benefits to the region through developing trade relations, growing inflow of Chinese investment and recently also through infrastructure projects.

For a country seeking to promote its own development, enacting a successful long-term development plan is key, regardless of the economic system. Benefiting from its long-term plans, China is gradually growing into a global power.

Today, the specter of a destabilizing power imbalance looms large in the world’s most dynamic region. In this light, close strategic collaboration among the major democracies can help institute power stability in the Indo-Pacific region and contain the challenges that threaten to disrupt stability and impede economic growth.

A reasonable progression could be from a “neighborhood community with a shared destiny” to “an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future”, to a “community with a shared future for mankind”.

At the 19th Party Congress, President Xi announced that China had “taken a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change.” But as much as Beijing has done to get its own house in order domestically, it has hasn’t always let concern over climate change inform its trade policy or diplomacy. And while China is becoming a cleaner, lower-emissions country at a national level, it has done so by "outsourcing" emissions, both internally and overseas.

Peng Liyuan has captured the hearts of the Chinese domestic audience as an artist and as a political figure. She is crucial to strengthening the positive image of the Chinese government. But China needs more than just another fashion icon. When conducted by a charismatic figure like Peng Liyuan, promoting female political participation would further elevate China’s soft power.

Mr. XI Jinping was elected the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Eighteenth Party Congress in November 2012. In the five years between the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth Party Congress, Mr. XI has accomplished a great deal.

Many people find China’s secrecy regarding foreign aid perplexing. To understand Chinese foreign aid policy requires understanding of the complex goals China tries to achieve with aid and of the complex intended, or unintended, effects after aid is distributed. Foreign aid has always been a thorny issue between the Chinese general public and the government, because of the clash between China’s identity as a developing country and its desire for international recognition.