China’s CCTV released an AI-generated anti-war animation that portrays the U.S.-Iran conflict as a moral allegory of hegemonic overreach and resilient resistance, emphasizing the futility of escalation. The film highlights how global trade actors may bypass both conflict and the U.S. dollar, while China remains deliberately in the background, projecting itself as a restrained, alternative voice.

Despite intensifying U.S.-China competition in AI, both countries share a strong interest in cooperating on AI safety, as advanced and potentially misaligned AI systems could pose existential risks to humanity. Joint risk assessment, coordination against malicious AI actors, and expanded academic collaboration could help reduce these threats and improve global AI governance.

Ai Weiwei returned to China in December 2025 for the first time since 2015, drawing attention through interviews in which he contrasted the ease of life in China with what he described as bureaucratic, restrictive conditions in Europe. These remarks, widely covered in Western media, have fueled controversy by signaling a sharp tonal shift from his long-standing dissident stance and have reshaped perceptions of his public and symbolic role in debates about China, the West, and global influence.

U.S. restrictions on visas and growing uncertainty for international students and skilled workers, contrasted with China’s rollout of more permissive talent visas, are reshaping global education and career decisions and making the United States a less attractive destination for emerging and established talent. As competition for innovation increasingly mirrors economic decoupling, sustained limits on mobility and collaboration risk undermining cross-border knowledge exchange, even as long-term scientific and technological progress continues to depend on international talent flows and institutional cooperation.

The “Tengchong Resist Japan Museum” in western Yunnan, China, commemorates the 1944 battle to retake Tengchong while highlighting the sacrifices and cooperation between Chinese and U.S. forces. A famous photograph of a Chinese civilian and an American soldier sharing a cigarette symbolizes the enduring human connection and solidarity forged through wartime collaboration.

Donald Trump and his supporters have neglected the historical role of science as the primary productive force behind America’s economic and military hegemony — an oversight that could put the United States at a disadvantage in the new round of global technological competition.

Shenzhou 13: Blue Planet Outside the Window stands out amid China’s wave of war films as a visually stunning space documentary centered on astronaut Wang Yaping, the first Chinese woman to conduct a spacewalk. While national pride runs through the film, its breathtaking imagery and human focus elevate it beyond propaganda, offering a universal message about shared humanity and life on Earth.

Chinese tourists dominate temple-centered travel in Asia, with Thailand seeing a sharp drop due to safety and infrastructure issues, while Japan faces overcrowded destinations like Kyoto and Nara. Visitor patterns reveal regional tourism, commerce, and cultural trends, leading into Part Two’s focus on China’s domestic travel.

China introduced the K-visa on October 1, 2025, for young foreign STEM professionals, offering longer stays, multiple entries, and broader benefits. The program seeks to boost innovation and international collaboration amid slowing population growth, but faces public concerns over job competition and talent retention.

The international community looks to the United States to be a champion of partnership, not to reduce global health to a mere tool of geopolitical competition. The choice Washington makes now will echo for generations.