In the face of rounds of full-scale offensives launched by Washington against Beijing, some voices think China's countermeasures are not robust enough. But the fact is that when Beijing takes countermeasures, these measures must be proper responses. Tense issues relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and TikTok have recently been worsened by Washington. These are a combination of re-election tactics and profound changes in US policy toward China. Obviously, when Beijing responds to Washington, Beijing needs comprehensive considerations that blend its short-term and long-term interests.
There are not many reasons to be optimistic about China-US relations, which some people say have entered their darkest phase. But what is the real picture like? Graham Allison, a political scientist and professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, has used the term "Thucydides trap" to describe the confrontation between the United States, as the dominant power, and China, as the rising power. According to the "Thucydides trap", a rising power challenges the dominance of an established power, but in reality it is the United States that is provoking a new Cold War against China, and has even described its differences with China as a "clash of civilizations".
The way in which President Donald Trump messed up the US during his four-year presidency has clearly shocked the entire world. If we take a closer look at the current qualitative changes that the US is going through, we might find that there are deeper reasons why the country's social, economic and political systems have become dysfunctional, and why nothing can be done now to repair Trump's crazy acts.
Unlike Trump's obstruction, Biden may play a more significant role in boosting the revival of the WTO and could engage in constructive talks for a feasible solution on thorny issues such as the suspension of the Appellate Body, He Weiwen, a former senior trade official and a senior fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
On December 6, the Venezuelan people will vote for a new National Assembly. Ordinarily, there is nothing unusual about this, nor would this be newsworthy outside Venezuela. Ever since the election of Hugo Chávez to the presidency in 1998, the Venezuelan people have been used to more than one national election each year (this legislative election is the 25th in 21 years); these have been the presidential elections, the legislative elections, and the referendums to strengthen the 1999 Constitution. On the surface, this is just another one of these elections that has served to deepen the meaning of democracy in Venezuela.
China's plan to build a large hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo River has raised concerns in India over "potential political and ecological threats" as the river intersects Southwest China, India and Bangladesh.