The end of ‘zero-COVID’ policies may have produced some private sector optimism about the country’s growth trajectory but certain indicators reveal a weakness in the system. Policymakers and investors remain skittish on China, increasingly looking to Southeast Asia as a haven of financial promise and stability.

Hosting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was the opening act for China’s diplomatic efforts this 2023. As the Lunar New Year dawns, it is worth reflecting on what the visit meant for both countries.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to China set the tone for stronger Philippine-China relations in the upcoming years. However, the future of this bilateral relationship might encounter tensions in the face of developments in the Philippine-U.S. relationship and defense cooperation.

Recent headlines have broadcasted the Gulf Cooperation Council’s new deal with China, with tens of billions of dollars. Some may see it as a signal of a coming divorce with the West, but careful analysis reveals that the GCC can balance relations to both sides.

The race of geopolitical strategies based on infrastructural development abroad is a part of the new great powers rivalry. The so-called geo-economics contest (Luttwak) is the new global battle, a competition through commerce for getting economic advantages at the intersection of investments and loans, contracts opportunities, conquest of more worldwide market share and improvement of own supply chains, with the declared noble aim of contributing to global development.

Can a region as complex and fast-changing as Asia devise and implement a comprehensive development plan? The Jakarta-based Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, which just released its third “Comprehensive Asia Development Plan” (CADP), thinks so.

The European Union will see sanctions through regardless of cost. Meanwhile, it is feeling the backlash. As pressure continues to advance, the trouble will ferment, eroding their resolve. Will the EU be able to tough it out? That’s anything but certain.

The IPEF - a U.S.-initiated trade and development partnership - is poised to bring in enthusiastic participation from several nations in the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, Southeast Asian states are well represented among members, giving the U.S. considerable influence right in China’s backyard.

Globalization is at a crossroads. Compounded by U.S. geopolitics and the cost of economic development, de-globalization has huge economic and human damages.

Marine protected areas are crucial for conserving blue carbon resources in coastal and deep-sea ecosystems, and these conservation efforts can play a crucial role in reaching multilateral treaties and mitigating conflict in areas such as the South China Sea.