No country is willing to accept an international judicial judgment or arbitration award against its unwillingness, especially when such judgment is related to a major political issue that concerns the state. Thus, China is correct in its decision of non-acceptance in allowing a third party mechanism to determine a territorial dispute and maritime delimitation.

A new Penguin Special book attempts to recast China’s rise using eight “imperfect analogies.” Jared McKinney reviews the effort and reflects on the use of analogies in American political discourse, arguing that China’s rise broadly conceived still shares the most similarities with that of another contemporary great power: America.

Security Advisor Susan E. Rice met with senior Chinese officials in Beijing, China on July 25 to prepare for President Obama’s visit to China in early September and to discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest. This was Ambassador Rice’s fourth visit to China as National Security Advisor.

There is an apparent risk that the US and China will each believe that they promote a win-win international order while suspecting the other of “power politics.” However, the real issue is not a simple choice between mutually beneficial interactions and realpolitik. What is really at stake is the question of which rules will govern a post-realpolitik order, and what kinds of power structures are necessary to support it. Here the US and China have much work to do in order to find converging paths.

ASEAN and countries that make claims against China similar to the Philippines must pay more attention to the stability of the South China Sea, work closely with China, and avoid being fraudulently manipulated by third parties with their own political agendas.

China’s advocacy of win-win cooperation marks the extension of its development philosophy to the rest of the world. Returning good for good and making concerted efforts to overcome difficulties are the spiritual mainstays of win-win cooperation and the soul of the new type of international relationship.

China wishes both the EU and the UK prosperity and success in the future. With Brexit having little relevance in China-EU relations, it should not become a distraction in developing and improving ties.

Last week, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) issued a sweeping repudiation of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. The ruling’s significance will soon be tested at the July ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting. The positive potential of the decision lies in its capacity to align the incentives of the various claimants and facilitate more genuine multilateral talks on a thoroughly multilateral feud.

China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea and adjacent waters is a reasonable, legitimate historical fact that can’t be denied by any party, any means. It is utterly groundless to accuse China of violating international law, and the US-inspired tribunal merely increases tension to no purpose.

Though The Hague ruling pertains to the Philippines-China dispute, it will bolster similar claims by other states against China’s nine-dash line; it will increase pressure on China to seek a negotiated resolution to the overlapping claims; and it will circumscribe China’s SCS claims. In response, China must assure the ASEAN states of its benign intentions, dispelling impressions of hegemonic intentions.