From November 13-15, the 8th Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate took place in Abu Dhabi. Organized by the Emirates Policy Center, the conference this year was themed “The Post-Pandemic World,” focusing on regional and international environments in the post-COVID era. The three-day event convened more than 100 participants from across the global academia to discuss topics such as “The State of the World: Where Are We Heading?” “Emerging Security Threats: Pandemics and Climate Change,” “Technology, Cybersecurity, and the Future of Global Politics,” “Digitalization and the Future of Global Economy,” and “The Future of Peace in the Middle East.”

ZHOU Bo, a fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy and a China Forum expert, spoke via video link in one of the panel discussions themed “The United States and China: Is the War Inevitable?” A war between the two powers is not inevitable, he said, but adding that China must defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

In addition, Zhou noted that what the two countries both need is cooperation rather than competition, as attested by the US-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action unveiled at COP26. Taking about the Indo-Pacific, he suggested that neither AUKUS nor the QUAD has worked as the US had expected, and that the American democracy has been losing its magic, even more so in the aftermath of the Capitol attack.

The Emirates Policy Center is an independent think tank based in Abu Dhabi. Established on September 1, 2013, the EPC has seven research units that focus on thematic research on countries and regional organizations such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Egypt, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.