Responding to a recent opinion editorial in The Washington Post, Stephen Harner writes that now is the time for U.S. leaders to join with disruptors of history, like Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, to proactively promote change in U.S.-China relations.

China is promoting economic transition and innovation to seize the new opportunities and it is willing to work with others in the region.

The SCO should focus its efforts on intra-cooperation in security, politics and the economy. By doing so, the regional organization will enhance its ability to cope with regional challenges, and win respect from the rest of the world.

Are electoral politics and the upcoming midterm elections distracting the Obama administration from its foreign policy priorities? Zhang Zhixin examines the political polarization impeding the U.S. Congress and questions the ability of the Obama administration to continue its rebalance to the Asia-Pacific in such a conflicted environment.

China’s rising power and capabilities make PRC actions in the South China Sea more consequential and unsettling than those of others, so they deserve particular attention but need to be evaluated in the broader context of the motives and actions of others as well.

While China’s entry into Latin America continues to gain international attention, a push by Japan to increase its influence in the region is receiving far less coverage. As Eric Farnsworth explains, Japan has maintained long-term interests in the region that it is only now seeking to strengthen.

As the rivalry between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific continues, Taiwan will play an ever-increasing role in the Obama administration’s rebalance or pivot to the region. Robert Sutter explains recent congressional interest in Taiwan and lays out three reasons why existing U.S. policies will continue.

On the chessboard of the South China Sea, spectators have turned into players and the game is expanding, writes Zhai Kun.

What does the release of Japan’s 2014 Defense White Paper say about the future of Sino-US-Japanese trilateral relations? Stephen Harner warns that Abe’s vision, as laid out in the White Paper, is not a path towards stability in the Asia-Pacific.

When the US strategy of rebalancing was initiated, the US said that it did not target China. However, the new US-Australia military agreement is intended to check China’s rise, writes Tao Wenzhao.