The French president has no intention of rushing troops into Ukraine without first getting his country’s allies to buy in. However, his rhetoric has be alarming, leading to serious discussions about escalation. It’s a very dangerous development.

The war in Ukraine has provided the Biden administration with a chance to realize America’s geopolitical ambitions. Courting the nations of Central Asia could become a major Western success story. But it’s just as likely to end in catastrophe.

Differences over the rules for world affairs will not be resolved easily and won’t be resolved in favor the U.S. Countries are interdependent, and a divided world serves no one’s best interests.

The Russia-Ukraine War is driving global change in both the economic and security domains. China and the United States will face a different world than existed before the Russian military operation that began on February 24.

China has gifted security technology to a number of foreign nations, stretching from Ecuador in South America to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. Whether such technologies are part of China’s BRI efforts to construct ‘a community of common destiny’ or are backed by some other ulterior motive is unclear.

Free of value-based conditions or demands for political reform, Chinese investment in the Balkans is simultaneously opening European markets and securing like-minded political allies.

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.