Despite the benevolent ambitions of building a “community of common destiny,” the question remains open to what extent it is an attainable goal or rather a utopian objective. China shares border with 14 states all of which are very different: in geographic size, economic development, socio-political cohesion and degree of influence in the international arena.

A spectre was haunting Davos, and its name was Donald Trump.

He Yafei, a former top Chinese diplomat, dissects globalism under attack and China's pursuit of a growing leadership role in global governance. Mr. He also offers his insights on what China can do to manage its ties with the Uwith the Trump administration.

China and the U.S. are so different in political system, cultural tradition and history, it is no easy job to find areas of governance in which the two countries can share experiences and lessons. But Trump’s wish to give power back to the people is a golden opportunity to try.

In the long term, institutional guarantees that offer multilateral mechanisms for cooperation, development, mutual benefit and win-win, are essential for countries develop a sustainable community with a shared future, thus laying down a solid foundation for peace and development. That should be China’s message to the world, despite challenges from Trump’s expected protectionism, the weight of US national debt and anti-globalization movements.

Since his election in mid-2016, the Philippines’ tough-talking mayor-turned-president, Rodrigo Duterte, has lavished Russia with praise. Moscow’s rapprochement with Manila is part of a broader effort by the Eurasian powerhouse to assert its long-diminished strategic presence in the Far East and the Western Pacific, including in the South China Sea.

The new president plans to combine the power of his country and his personal unpredictability to produce fear and anxiety, which he believes will lead to U.S. benefits and gains. This tactic could win in some cases in the short run, but it’s almost doomed strategically. It will not make the U.S. great again.

What we are witnessing today is not “the toss out of globalization” or “de-globalization”, but rather a new era or phase of globalization or “re-globalization” wherein greater and more complicated challenges become the order of the day. Therefore we need concerted efforts more than ever before to ascertain the big trends as well as individual difficulties and work out consensus and solutions for collective actions to “make globalization great again”. China has no option but to be in the fore front of globalization and global governance.

Enter the Rooster, exit the Monkey. As 2017 begins, Curtis S. Chin and Jose B. Collazo take look at who’s in, and who’s out in Asia—from an outgoing U.S. president and a pivot and partnership that were not to be to a tough-talking leader.

The outgoing president gets a mixed score, but a legacy for his successor to draw upon. Being a leader of multilateralism and globalization efforts has been a success that deserves emulation, but the ambivalent use of force diminished its stature as the defender of peace and stability.