The apparent use of chemical weapons in Syria’s civil war has produced shrill calls for launching air strikes on the regime of Bashar al Assad. Furthermore, proponents of a strike are using the 1999 NATO campaign as a precedent. However, what does this approach mean for Washington’s ties with Beijing and Moscow?

Given her family's history in diplomacy and government, it is no surprise that high hopes have been set for Caroline Kennedy, nominated to be the US Ambassador to Japan. As tensions between the United States, China and Japan continue to heighten, Dr. Jin Ying analyzes the high expectations set for Kennedy's new position.

Political dysfunction and distraction in Washington continues to threaten the prominence of the United States abroad. As David Rothkopf, CEO and editor at large of Foreign Policy, explains America must learn from Asia or get used to following it.

As long as there is sufficient political will and wisdom in Northeast Asia, the prospects for regional cooperation is encouraging, writes Chen Jimin.

Although the recent S&ED and SSD discussions and the Xi-Obama summit highlighted many points of agreement between the U.S. and China, the coming months will focus on some of the more difficult issues in the relationship such as military-to-military exchanges and trade disputes.

China may view Ms. Kennedy’s appointment as a show of favoritism shown to Japan, but the move should still be welcomed in Beijing. An Ambassador Kennedy would not only be an asset in improving US - Japan relations, but would also be invaluable in bringing Japan to the table to resolve conflicts with its neighbors.

Congressional involvement in foreign policy can cause difficulties for any U.S. administration. Recent resolutions passed regarding the South and East China Seas and their territorial disputes, although seemingly harmless, carry a deep undertone and may be thrusting the U.S. government further into a regional issue that it cares to be involved.

It will depend on the US whether Iran-US relations will enter a stage of normalization, writes Jin Liangxiang. The US may not be ready for such a process, though some senior diplomats are once again calling for reviewing US-Iran relations.

At the Sunnyland summit, Chinese president Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama pledged to establish a “new type of relationship between the major powers” and to upgrade the military relationship to a new level, writes Zhou Bo.

Wu Sike, China’s special envoy to the Middle East, describes the new Chinese leadership’s role in creating an international atmosphere capable of encouraging and mediating peace talks between Palestine and Israel.