Following the first year of the new Chinese leadership’s time in power, Zhai Kun examines why tensions in the Asia-Pacific continue to increase and what can be done to promote regional stability and development without endangering the current US-China relationship.

With the commanding in power of China’s new leadership in the March, China has unfolded its ambitious new diplomacy with amity, accommodation and principle, writes Shen Dingli.

The reform measures set forth at China’s recent Third Plenum will push the country’s leadership to pursue bilateral trade agreements and hard power capabilities will continue to be a top priority as consolidation of the foreign-policy making process is causing a polarization in China’s classification of “friends” and “enemies”.

While nations in the international community, especially Japan, Australia, and the United States, rushed to provide generous relief aid to the Philippines in the aftermath of devastating Typhoon Haiyan, China’s response has been noticeably different.

In the past year, China’s new administration has taken steps to improve regional ties in Asia by perusing an active peripheral diplomatic strategy. The multiple visits by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang demonstrate this. Chen Jimin explains three reasons why China is choosing to explore this strategy.

The conference on diplomacy with neighboring countries signaled a new era for proactive interaction between China and its neighbors, writes Chen Xiangyang.

China’s rapid rise to power has caught the attention of the world. China’s new diplomatic strategy of extending “olive branches” has some states worried and others intrigued. Can a balance be found between China’s national interests, the US pivot to Asia and the interests of regional actors such as ASEAN or Japan?

Xi Jinping has launched a new era of periphery diplomacy and will make for better political and economic relations with neighboring countries, closer security cooperation and stronger people-to-people contact.

All eyes are on the Central Committee’s Third Plenum scheduled to open in Beijing on November 9 for details about China’s economic reforms. As attention focuses on domestic economic development, however, Chinese foreign policy also deserves notice.

The victory of Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) – Pakistan is likely to be more focused on economic development in the future, thanks to the transformative campaign of Imran Khan and his Tehrik-e-Insat (PTI) party. That, in turn, has substantial implications over U.S. and Chinese interests in South Asia.