The visions of Xi Jinping and Joe Biden clearly spell out two trajectories - one of ascendance and the other fighting to retain fading power and influence.

Cambodia’s close relationship with China has become a model for what it can look like when a nation stays in Beijing’s good graces. Now, its Prime Minister is ascending to lead ASEAN in 2022, setting the stage for a potentially dramatic turn of events in the region, whose members diverge on their feelings towards China’s influence.

Unlike the warmth it showed China during the 2008 Summer Olympics, the United States has adopted a chilly mindset for the 2022 Winter Games. In fact, relations seem headed for an extended ice age.

American anxiety about China shows that China has become a “near-peer” competitor to the United States. But the process of competition will not be dictated by the U.S. alone. The impact will only be revealed through interaction over time and the handling of key issues.

China and Russia presented a united front and said their partnership has "no limits."

The United States and its allies need to make a strategic shift in their Asian strategy, away from their highly militarized mindset and toward thinking about what countries in the region want.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will assume leadership of ASEAN this year, and bring with him a positive attitude towards China and a recent history of disengagement with the West. Observers expect that the regional organization’s agenda will turn away from topics that will directly challenge China’s influence over Southeast Asia.

The United States seems to always have a choice jab ready for China, despite weathering an election insurrection a year ago and simmering tensions over COVID-19 responses within its own borders.

The RCEP is the largest free trade agreement in global history - but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing for China and its partners in Southeast Asia.

China’s economic rise and active investment sector has grown its influence in Central Asia - but money alone is not enough to change the complex realities in the region’s domestic politics.