In April 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping conducted a five-day diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia, visiting Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia from April 14 to 18. The strategically timed visit, Xi’s first overseas trip of the year, occurred amid escalating trade tensions driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on over 70 countries, including China and the three nations Xi visited. The tour aimed to reinforce China’s economic and diplomatic influence in the region, counter U.S. trade policies, and solidify partnerships within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Quad has evolved into a coalition with increasing military cooperation and shared concerns over China’s rising power, though India’s reluctance to fully engage in a military alliance limits the group's effectiveness in countering China's influence in the Asia-Pacific.

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.

The latest moves by Trump’s administration are a sharp pivot into new, seemingly accommodating foreign policy. Would less U.S. presence around the world embolden China to make aggressive moves into contested spaces?

The election of Donald Trump to a second term signals that the United States will temporarily step back from the next wave of globalization. As a consequence, Japan’s future security will lie in its deep integration into the processes of globalization and regional integration. This raises an opportunity for improving China-Japan relations.

China and Russia have grown closer, but not just because they want to support one another in the face of Western pressure. Their relations have a long-standing momentum of their own. Guided by their heads of state, the comprehensive strategic partnership will only grow stronger.

There is an urgent need for China and India to prioritize dialogue, establish baseline agreements, and avoid inflammatory rhetoric to prevent further deterioration in bilateral relations.

Confrontations over the South China Sea are startling events that bring up the potential for heated conflict, but disagreements in troubled waters have ripple effects that lead to economic problems as well.

China-Vietnam relations saw a strategic shift after President Xi Jinping's significant visit to Hanoi, resulting in 36 cooperation agreements. Vietnam's approach balances economic development, military modernization, and diplomatic ties with the U.S., Japan, and the EU, emphasizing managing relations with China from a position of strength for long-term stability and development.

China’s recent update to its foreign policy guidelines will be a major turning point in the ongoing tug-of-war between East and West for global trade hegemony.