Ghulam Ali, Deputy Director, Hong Kong Research Center for Asian Studies
Mar 04, 2025
The Asia-Pacific region began to exhibit signs of easing major geopolitical tensions in late 2024, but has started to heat up again following President Trump’s return to power in the White House. During the ‘easing’ period, although low-level disputes persisted in the vast region, in the South China Sea, and in cross-strait relations, the risk of a conflict involving regional heavyweights was not imminent.
Chen Jimin, Guest Researcher, Center for Peace and Development Studies, China Association for International Friendly Contact
Feb 21, 2025
It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend may be fatal. For both, reassessing the conventional perception of U.S. diplomacy to explore the inner logic of Trump 2.0 foreign policy is a thorny task under the unpredictable new president.
Zhang Yun, Professor, School of International Relations, Nanjing University
Feb 21, 2025
U.S. allies in the long run are expected to pursue greater strategic autonomy, which means defining their national interests outside of American influence. Their policies toward China are therefore likely to continue evolving in a pragmatic and nuanced direction.
Stephen Roach, Senior Fellow, Yale University
Feb 13, 2025
It’s impossible to predict the outcome of a random experiment. Yet that is the task that awaits us as we try to make sense of another Donald Trump era.
Carla Norrlöf, Professor of Political Science at University of Toronto, non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council
Feb 13, 2025
In a dramatic escalation of trade tensions, US President Donald Trump has imposed an across-the-board 10% tariff on goods from China, threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and vowed similar measures against the European Union. His stated objective is to secure deals to halt the flow of drugs and unauthorized immigration into the United States, suggesting that tariffs will now be an instrument of border security. But trade barriers on this scale could destabilize global markets, drive up prices for American consumers, and potentially drag the US – and the world – into recession. In betting that the potential economic fallout is worth the gains in border security, Trump is gambling with America’s long-term influence and prosperity.
Warwick Powell, Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology, Senior Fellow at Beijing Taihe Institute
Feb 13, 2025
In a social media post on January 30, 2025, US President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on BRICs countries unless they committed to “neither create
Nong Hong, Senior Fellow, National Institute for the South China Sea Studies
Feb 07, 2025
The incoming U.S. administration poses significant challenges, with repercussions extending beyond bilateral relations with China. Finding the proper balance between international exchanges and national security will unlock the door to scientific progress and the greater good of humanity.
Sujit Kumar Datta, Former Chairman of Department of International Relations, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh
Feb 07, 2025
Despite their differences, both China and the United States benefit from constructive connections and suffer from continued antagonism. The next few years will determine whether relations will develop into a new cold war or move toward a more equitable form of coexistence.
Mallie Prytherch, Researcher at Centre on Contemporary China and the World, University of Hong Kong
Feb 07, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently stated that multipolarity is not only the preference, but the norm in the Trump administration—a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy. But unlike China’s globally engaged model, Rubio’s approach prioritizes U.S. interests, reflecting a more transactional and less globally engaged stance.
Dan Steinbock, Founder, Difference Group
Feb 07, 2025
By trying to weaponize the U.S. tariffs on America's big trade partners against China, President Trump is basing bad economics on worse geopolitics. It could prove a costly prelude to a global downturn.