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.

As China’s economy slows and major U.S. corporations increasingly are moving operations to other parts of Asia, despite the geopolitical risks in other emerging economies. U.S. investment in Southeast Asia surpasses its investment in Brazil, Russia, India and China combined. Curtis China and Jose Collazo discuss the best practices for diversifying Asian investment.

Andrew Small’s new book on China-Pakistan relations is a very significant new revelation on a relationship that has been primarily strategic and military-based since its beginnings. The Karakoram Highway, which connects the two countries, has very little economic value and increasingly “Talibinization” has become a concern for Beijing, which may see its ally as a strategic counter to India’s eminence.

Despite a rebalancing of the United States and China, Bangladesh’s ever-modernizing economy is anxious about the future.

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.