More than 60 countries and institutions have embraced President Xi Jinping’s call for connectivity programs both within Asia and between Asia and Europe, both by land and by the sea, to strengthen traditional infrastructure and build highways of trade, finance, and cultural exchange.

It’s my great pleasure to be invited to speak at the Singapore-China Business Forum. Let me commend the organizers for taking this timely and important theme.

The upcoming 2016 Philippine Presidential election will have significant bearing on the future of infrastructure development and relations in the South China Sea. The next Philippines president may push closer to the U.S., while some want greater economic and humanitarian aid from China.

The new AIIB reflects China’s opportunity to assist the developing world, but how China cooperates with India, and U.S. interests in the Asia Pacific, will determine the effectiveness of the new Bank.

The key legal framework for the China-initiated regional multilateral institution – the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) – was inked by representatives of the bank’s 57 founding members in Beijing last Monday. For China and the U.S., the AIIB is not about win-lose. A win-win result can be achieved if both sides are more open-minded.

Win-win cooperation has replaced wars and national self-interest, and that approach will make Asia economically stronger and benefit the entire globe.

The US DOD’s 15th report on China’s military, pushing China again into the rank of potential adversaries. Indeed, only the four militaries of the former Soviet Union, China, Iran, and North Korea have enjoyed the “privilege” of US DOD’s annual scrutiny. In addition to the monotonous description of the latest developments in Chinese armed forces, this year’s report has some new features.

Comparing the world’s two largest economies by “who’s on top” analysis is the wrong way view U.S. and Chinese leadership, and can even be a barrier to sensible policy, like IMF quota reform. The rules of the game now require a larger and more equal share in the governance of the international institutions.

AIIB is redefining global relationships in finance, in an attempt to break through the profit-driven nature of capital and meet more needs for infrastructure investment, writes Zhang Monan.

Under Xi, China has moved to a proactive posture to shape its external security environment, using trade and investment to expand its sphere of strategic influence while simultaneously asserting territorial and maritime claims against its neighbors. The Maritime Silk Road project is driven by his belief that the maritime domain holds the key to China achieving preeminence in Asia.