The unexpected coronavirus outbreak in 2020 has been a major test of governance capabilities, exposing many countries’ weaknesses in domestic governance and international coordination and revealing that the global order is far from perfect in the face of 21st century realities.

Does a stronger China need a sphere of influence? I asked myself this question when I came across the article, “The New Spheres of Influence”, in Foreign Affairs by Harvard professor Graham Allison. Allison argues that, after the Cold War, the entire world became a de facto American sphere. But now the unipolarity is over. The United States must share its spheres of influence with other great powers such as China and Russia.

The biggest challenge confronting the world today is to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevail over the pandemic and overcome its impacts, countries need to strengthen their domestic public health management, as well as joining hands to improve global governance. However, what we have seen is unsatisfactory coordination in response to the global crisis. Moreover, politicians of some countries are attempting to politicize the pandemic and there is no hope to see improvement in the coordinating efficiency in international institutions.

A new round of turbulence has emerged in the South China Sea since the second half of 2019. And against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, some claimants and countries outside the region have become more and more anxious, with increased military, diplomatic and economic moves, leading to greater tension. Major media are even talking about an upcoming war in the South China Sea between China and the United States. What are the factors influencing the situation in the South China Sea? What are the most likely future developments? A sober assessment is needed.

The U.S. general election of 2020 is an election that caters to ordinary people. On the surface, it’s a referendum on whether to re-elect Donald Trump as the president, but in fact the election is a choice between nationalism and the U.S. continuing to be a globalist nation. Should Trump be re-elected, the United States will take the path of a nationalist power, provoking more confrontations, exacerbating cold wars and withdrawing further from the world community, which will have a far-reaching impact on U.S. global dominance in both hard and soft power.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the release of the Sept.19, 2005, Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks on the Korea nuclear issue. Despite all the changes on and surrounding the Korean Peninsula over the past 15 years, the goal, principles and ideas the Joint Statement established still remain a profound source of inspiration.

As the United Nations General Assembly celebrates its 75th anniversary on September 21, the question for the septuagenarian is not how to survive, but how to thrive. The UN’s importance is firstly psychological. It is older than many people and mostly taken for granted. The largest intergovernmental organisation born out of the ashes of World War II looks like a big family where things are discussed peacefully among its 193 members. This gives a feeling of assurance and protection.

In February 2020, some Chinese scholars and I participated in the 56th Munich Security Conference in Germany. The theme of the conference was "Westlessness," which, from a European perspective, dwelt on whether "the West" was declining as the most important geopolitical center after the end of the First World War. This theoretical issue with a historical depth triggered heated discussions among the participants, but still, it was overshadowed by the existing contradictions between China and the United States .

The relationship between China and the US is in freefall. That is dangerous. US defense secretary Mark Esper has said he wants to visit China this year, which shows the Pentagon is worried. That Wei Fenghe, China’s defense minister, spokeat length with Mr. Esper in August shows that Beijing is worried too. Both men have agreed to keep communications open and to work to reduce risks as they arise.

Editor's note: Zhou Bo is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University, and a China Forum expert. The article was first published by The Strait Times on August 5, 2020. The article does not necessarily reflect the views of CGTN.

On June 1, 2018, I was invited by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the organiser of the Shangri-La Dialogue, to speak at a special session entitled Competition And Cooperation In China-India Relations, right before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s keynote speech. The other panelist was Mr Ram Madhav, the national general secretary of the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party.

Has China’s foreign policy restraint ended? This is the question raised by Kurt M. Campbell and Mira Rapp-Hooper in their essay “China is done biding its time” in Foreign Affairs. They argue that since the pandemic first engulfed the world, China’s government has engaged in an unprecedented diplomatic offensive, taking advantage of the ensuing chaos and the global power vacuum left by a no-show US administration.

Political thinking and economic logics are both serve as important driving forces for Eurasian integration, but sometimes they contradict each other, which restricts the Eurasian integration from going forward quickly. This is also one of

China-US relations have been through a spiral downward cycle, witnessing the most difficult time since the establishment of their diplomatic relations more than four decades ago. The trend of the political motivation in the United States since 2019 has been aimed at forming a consensus in the country on the issue of competition with China. The outbreak of COVID-19 has further increased the tensions, and what's worse, we may not have seen the bottom yet.

Observing the policy evolution of the United States, one must not ignore the opposing dynamics that have characterized Chinese and U.S. national policy orientations since the Cold War. Grasping peaceful development as the theme of the times, China has adhered to reform and opening-up and concentrated on economic progress. Now in the second decade of the 21st century, China has become the world’s second-largest economy and begun to participate more — and exert more influence — in international affairs.

The heat of summer has come, and so has the fever in relations between China and the United States.

Since the novel coronavirus raged, China-US relations have continued to decline. The successive China-related policies and bills introduced by the US government and the US Congress have seriously damaged bilateral relations. The US officials are also increasingly vocal in their attacks on China. Some commentators in both the US and China noted that bilateral relations are in "free fall." World public opinion is worried that once China-US relations get out of control, it will be more difficult for the global economy to recover in the post-COVID-19 era. Arms races and geopolitical conflicts will surely intensify, the world order will become more chaotic, and some unexpected disasters will be on the way. This is by no means alarmist.

U.S., China Should Pursue Peace, Not Military Brinkmanship

While the world hoped this pandemic might lead to more cooperation between these two great powers, American and Chinese leaders instead fell into a blame game and allowed their increasing suspicions to guide their decision-making.

In fighting the novel coronavirus, China looks like anything but a developing country. It has reportedly provided all kinds of medical supplies to over 140 countries and international organisations and sent 14 medical expert teams to 12 countries. According to Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, by April 29, China had provided 14 masks for every American on average.

THE TRADITIONAL Chinese festival of Qingming, or tomb-sweeping, on April 4th, is a day to remember loved ones who have passed. This year Chinese across the country mourned lives lost to the covid-19 pandemic.