Sino-Japanese relations have seen ups and downs through the years. However, events which transpired through 2012 froze relations when Japan decided to "nationalize" China's Diaoyu Islands. The trust deficit on the part of Japan increased exponentially. It was also observed that Japan had been making efforts to revise its anti-war Constitution in an attempt to furnish a regular military. It can be inferred that such measures stemmed from the growing trust deficit as Japanese leaders mistook China as a threat to their country, thus further complicating the relations.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the high-level economic dialogue between China and Japan in Tokyo, Japan, on April 16, 2018.[Photo: Xinhua]

After dealing with strained ties for the past 6 years, its finally appears bilateral are starting to progress towards normalcy. This comes at a unique time. 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China, the 20th anniversary of the China-Japan Joint Declaration and the 10th anniversary of China-Japan Joint Statement on All-round Promotion of Strategic Relationship of Mutual Benefit. 2018 is so far playing out to be an ice breaking year for the world's 2nd largest and 3rd largest economies. Earlier this year, Taro Kono, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, made his first state visit to Beijing in January. Now that gesture has been reciprocated by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Japan from April 15 to April 17.

The visit by China's top diplomat holds a lot of importance, owing to the rocky past few years two countries have dealt with. But on top of restoring bilateral ties, the meeting will also set the tone for some upcoming significant events, such as an inter-Korea summit this month, as well as a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has also been pushing to host Chinese premier Li Keqiang in May for a trilateral summit with South Korean president Moon Jae-in. China has played a significant role in making these events possible. This is the reason why China's Japan specialist, Wang Yi, accepted the Japanese invitation. On the bilateral front, one important outcome of the visit is that both sides have agreed to go forward with mutual visits by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which will be a major step towards normalizing relations.

During his time in Tokyo, Wang Yi also co-chaired the fourth China-Japan High-level Economic Dialogue with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono. The meeting is the first in eight years. The mechanism was first launched in 2007, with subsequent economic exchanges takign place in 2009 and 2010. The resumpion of these talks is a signal that both sides understand there is tremendous room for economic cooperation between the two countries. As the 2nd and 3rd largest economies in the world, as well as one-two in Asia, an economic convergence between China and Japan will surely create win-win scenarios for both sides, and the region at large. This has been witnessed by Sino-Japanese trade through 2017 appreciating by over 10% compared to 2016 to reach $300 billion US dollars. In 2017, Japanese companies invested around $3.2 billion in China, which is 5.3% higher than the previous year. Wang Yi highlighted at the High-Level Economic Dialogue that China and Japan need to enhance "cooperation in areas such as energy conservation and environmental protection, science and technology innovation, high-end manufacturing, finance and banking, sharing economy, medical care and elderly care industries. The two sides should jointly push for outcomes of cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and make them new highlights of bilateral cooperation" Taro Kono, for his part, said "Japan attaches high importance to the important messages sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018, and in face of rising protectionism, the free trade system centered on the World Trade Organization (WTO) should be safeguarded."

During the visit, Wang Yi also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his residence on Monday, with oth sides agreeing that improving bilateral relations is vital, with both suggesting further high level exchanges will help bridge the gaps. They also agreed that the rising tide of protectionism is sabotaging the global free trade system and is detrimental globalization. This suggestion holds significant interest, given that Shinzo Abe is scheduled to meet with Donald Trump this week.

Wang Yi, a seasoned diplomat, has served as the Chinese government's point-man on Japan for numerous years. Through his experience, and through the guidance of President Xi Jinping, Wang Yi's time in Tokyo this week has helped mend ties with Japan. The trip is being hailed as a major success by both sides. "Japan attaches high importance to its relationship with China. It is willing to take the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship to promote comprehensive improvement of bilateral ties, to realize high-level exchanges, and to expand cooperation under the framework of strategic relationship of mutual benefit," said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following his session with Wang Yi.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By  Shafei Moiz Hali

The role of any nation's navy is to project force beyond the nation's shores for various reasons, may it be to protect sea lanes from miscreants like pirates, to ferry military equipment and personnel, or to safeguard national interests beyond the shores of the nation. If one takes a peak at history, one is sure to notice that most countries which have prospered have had one thing in common: strong navies. The ancient Persian Empire had a very strong navy, the ancient Greeks prospered because of a strong navy and ancient China during the 15th century could easily be tagged as the strongest navy in the world led by Admiral Zheng He. This is the reason why during the time of the Ming dynasty, the Chinese economy grew in leaps and bounds. The ship building techniques employed by China at the time were far superior to all others. The British Empire expanded to such lengths that it was said at the time that "the sun never sets on the British Empire." This was possible only because the Royal Navy was the strongest at the time.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviews the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018.[Photo: Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping has set China on a course for achieving the "Chinese Dream," thus making it paramount for China to have a strong and modern navy. This is because having a strong navy doesn't simply serve the purpose of protecting ones shores, but also to protect one's interests beyond those shores. 90% of the world's trade is carried by sea and it is, by far, the most cost-effective way to move goods and raw materials around the world. This is why President Xi reviewed the People's Liberation Army's Navy at South China Sea on April 12, 2018.

The Naval review made by President Xi was a spectacular show of Chinese naval prowess. The President showed up in military gear which suited the occasion and complemented the high morale of naval crews. The President was on board the CNS Changsha destroyer. The remarkable parade involved more than 10,000 Navy personnel, 48 ships and submarines, and the CNS Liaoning aircraft carrier. The vessels were mainly combat ships such as Type 052D guided missile destroyers, Type 054A guided-missile frigates and Type 056 corvettes. Support vessels like the Type 901 supply ship and Type 920 hospital ship also participated in the drills, which were the largest of their kind in China since 1949. President Xi has been endeavoring to strengthen, reform, and modernize the PLA ever since taking office. As part of these endeavors under his leadership, three new regulations have been issued governing the military's interior order, code of conduct and military formation, respectively. President Xi made an important speech on board the CNS Changsha and said, "A mighty navy is an important pillar of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," and he said the Party and the Chinese people are proud of the PLA Navy (PLAN).

President Xi ordered that "the Navy should continue to focus on combat training and remain on high alert to safeguard national interests and make more contributions to the peace and stability of the region and the world." Following the review, the PLA Navy is scheduled for a live fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of Fujian province, on April 18, 2018 between 8 a.m. and midnight.

China's navy has been taking on responsible roles around the world in terms of keeping maritime trade lanes safe from piracy. Such gestures made by the navy have been welcomed by the international community. Just recently the 29th fleet from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy left Zhoushan for the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia to escort civilian ships. The navy started participating in anti-piracy missions in 2008 and has escorted 6,400 Chinese and foreign vessels and warned away more than 3,000 suspected pirate ships under the mandate of the UN Security Council.

The Naval review parade serves as a motivating force for not only the military but also for the entire nation. The important aspect of this review parade was that more than half of the ships and submarines involved in the parade had been delivered to the Navy since late 2012, when the 18th CPC National Congress was held, according to the military. The Navy has commissioned around 100 ships, mostly large combat vessels, and an unknown number of submarines since then, augmenting the notion that the PLA Navy is a modern force and shows that President Xi's orders prescribing that the Navy should "race against time and make all-out efforts to become a world-class force" are not merely words but are translating in the "Chinese Dream" sooner than later.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

The precursor of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was the Shanghai Five. It was established in 1996 and included China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan joined the forum in 2001 and the Shanghai-5 became the SCO.  

The SCO was created to boost cooperation in security, economy, education, politics, trade, research, technology, culture, energy, tourism, transport and environmental protection among the member countries. Over time, and especially after 9/11, the threat of terrorism emerged and became a major concern for SCO members. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojidin Aslov, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Rashid Alimov and director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Executive Committee Yevgeniy Sysoyev in Beijing, capital of China, April 23, 2018. The officials are in Beijing to attend the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled for Tuesday. [Photo: Xinhua]

Last year, during the meeting in Astana, India and Pakistan were granted permanent member status within the SCO. The upcoming meeting in June, which is going to be hosted in Qingdao, will be the first of its kind after the membership expansion last year. The SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as full members.

In preparation for the upcoming June SCO Heads of State Council, the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers will convene in Beijing on Tuesday, April 24th 2018. Along with the foreign ministers of the member nations, SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov and director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Executive Committee Yevgeniy Sysoyev will be there. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. 

Earlier in the year, Wang stated that, "We welcome the SCO back to China, and expect it to embark on a new journey in Qingdao." In order to streamline and bring everyone on the same page before the Qingdao SCO summit, the foreign ministers will put on their thinking caps and discuss the state and developments made after the June 7 – 10, 2017 SCO Heads of Government Council which took place in Astana, Kazakhstan. 

During the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers it is expected that the ministers will approve the draft of the Qingdao Declaration and will also agree upon a communiqué reflecting the organization's short-term approaches and goals. The participants of the meeting will also discuss measures to make the organization more cohesive, effective and influential.

It is true that the SCO is becoming a strong regional platform and more and more countries are exhibiting a desire to participate. Already the SCO has become the world's largest regional platform in terms of representation, especially after the inclusion of Pakistan, with the world's 6th largest population, and India, with the 2nd largest, as promoting regional connectivity is an important aspect of the SCO. It is expected that talks about promoting this aspect will be a significant area. Expressly, because China is making tremendous progress in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China-Nepal-India economic corridor (CNIEC), the 7th proposed corridor of the BRI will also gain traction.   

The SCO has been busy recently, with new developments taking place. From April 9-10, 2018 in Xian, the 1st SCO People's Forum was launched, which was founded at the initiative of the Chinese NGO Association for International Exchanges. The plenary sessions in the programme focused on the activities of NGOs, and scientific research and education centers and other humanitarian organizations that play an active part in the social life of their countries.

A media training program was launched in Beijing earlier in April 2018, which aims to draw countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization closer. The inaugural media exchange program of the SCO branch of the China Center for International News Exchange was hosted by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and Beijing Foreign Studies University. It offers a 3 month training program interested and seasoned journalists. For the first program, 12 reporters from the five SCO member countries began training.

Most definitely the world of today is faced with many challenges; environmental, economic, security, stability and much more. The UN alone cannot tackle all these problems, which is why strong regional organizations like the SCO are the need of the hour to complement the efforts of the UN and to promote cooperation and stability. This is why the SCO is gaining prominence. But this also raises the bar of responsibility on China and other SCO members to fulfill the SCO's goals and aims of taking a clearer stand on major international and regional issues, and of playing a more active role in regional cooperation and global economic governance.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.

By Shafei Moiz Hali

The annual political season in China kicked off in March with the first session of the 13th National People's Congress and the Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. At the opening session Premier Li Keqiang presented the Government Work Report which covered most of the economic achievements of the past five years and the targets for 2018. But the report didn't much highlight China's diplomatic achievements in the past five years. Ever since China entered the new era, all eyes have been on China, which makes it all the more significant to elaborate China's diplomatic agenda. That is why Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday morning held a press conference on the sidelines of the 13th National People's Congress.

Wang answered quite a number of questions from local and international media and covered the wide diplomatic spectrum of China. Wang talked about a number of issues like the Diplomatic agenda for 2018, the head of state's role in diplomacy, and the Belt and Road initiative, as well as China's relations with Russia, the US, the EU, Japan, ASEAN, India, Africa, and Latin America. He also addressed the South China Sea issue, the Korean Peninsula issue, and many others.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policies and foreign relations at a press conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2018.[Photo: Xinhua]

The FM highlighted President Xi's assertiveness, and his achievements in foreign policy. Wang Yi said, "President Xi's leadership and charisma has earned him and his country many good friends, among foreign leaders who represent a diverse range of cultures and social systems." This is why during the first term of President Xi he has been able to visit 57 countries and welcome 110 heads of state from across the world.

Despite China's recent standoff with India at Doklam, Wang still noted the development of trust between the two countries and he said "mutual trust" is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently" between China and India. He said "with political trust, not even the Himalayas can stop us from friendly exchanges. Without it, not even level land can bring us together." Since China and India are both fast developing nations and each has a population of over 1 billion people there is great room for the development of a middle class and enhancement of trade between the two.

Wang also touched on the topic of the South China Sea dispute and expressed happiness because of the fact that, "The situation in the South China Sea is turning better, China and ASEAN countries have reached a consensus on maintaining the hard-won tranquility through making the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea."

Relations with Japan have always been up and down, but during the past couple of months Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his intent in patching things with China. The Japanese foreign minister also visited China recently to open up lines of communication between the top leadership of China and Japan. Wang Yi said, "that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the China Japan Peace Treaty" and he expressed that "China is willing to work with Japan to restore the relationship to healthy and steady growth, as long as Japan "does not prevaricate, flip-flop or backpedal and instead accepts and welcomes China's development."

Mr. Wang also highlighted the One-China policy and revealed that many countries have broken their relations with Taiwan. He said, "There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. This has been the consensus of the international community for decades. Adhering to the one-China principle and not having official ties with Taiwan has become a generally observed norm in international relations."

Overall, Wang Yi's press conference came at a very important juncture in time as China has entered the new era and this year's political season in China is ushering in change, thus making it important to showcase the country's foreign policy. It can be seen that no drastic measures have been taken and this phenomenon is best explained in Vladimir Zhirinovsky's words "the matter of international relations is very subtle and exquisite."

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali 

The annual sessions of China's top legislative and advisory bodies kicked off in early March. This year's sessions hold extra importance owing to the CPC's endeavors for realizing the Chinese dream for its people, and because China has officially entered into a new era under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.

The Two Sessions comprise of sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), and that of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which opened on March 5 and March 3, respectively. Ever since President Xi took office, the leadership of China has embarked upon a path of restructuring China to cope with the changing global environment, while implementing a sustainable economic growth model focusing on quality growth and shared prosperity with harmony. At the end of the first five years of President Xi in office, the results of his efforts have started to bear fruit with the entry of China into a new era. President Xi has time and again reiterated that these small successes are stepping stones for greater success and a lot more needs to be done. The NPC and CPPCC recognize this fact and that is why for China to successfully navigate through the new era, three key steps are required: firstly, the leadership needs to be strengthened; secondly, the Constitution needs strengthening; and thirdly, Supervisory Commissions are paramount to oil the cogs of the government apparatus at all levels and to rid the system of corruption.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers a government work report at the opening meeting of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2018.[Photo: Xinhua]

At the opening session of the 13th National People's Congress, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang presented the government work report in which he sketched the achievements made over the past five years and emphasized the targets for this year. He started with the presentation regarding the economic health of the country and the facts presented were encouraging. All vital signs of the world's second largest economy showed positive results; China's gross domestic product (GDP) has risen at an annual rate of more than 7%, more than 68 million people have been lifted out of poverty; personal income has increased by an annual average of 7.4 percent, outpacing economic growth and creating the world's largest middle-income group. More than 66 million new urban jobs have been added, and the country, with its population of over 1.3 billion, has achieved relatively full employment. The release of major pollutants has been consistently declining, and the number of days of heavy air pollution in key cities has fallen 50 percent.

Building upon the achievements, new targets have been set for 2018. There are numerous targets but three aspects were most stressed upon. "Neutralizing major risks" especially associated with the implementation of the supply side reforms and aggressively combating poverty as well as pollution. The rest of the targets include GDP growth of 6.5%, a practicable and steady increment of 3% in the consumer price index, the creation of 11 million new urban jobs, achievement and maintenance of parity between income growth and economic growth, targets for steady rises in both imports and exports while maintaining the BOP, A drop of at least 3 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP, Utilitarian progress in supply-side structural reform, and methodical and effective prevention and control of risk.

The government work report also highlighted key plans of the government, which included the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a road map for China's future as an open country as well as an endeavor to promote shared prosperity at the global level. Premier Li reiterated its significance and stated that "China is set to continue work on building major international corridors in cooperation with other countries."

Under the leadership of President Xi, a framework of policies has been set to promote technological innovations which will help China attain quality and sustainable economic growth. Premier Li during his address stated that this policy framework in support of innovations will be further strengthened. Within the government work report he announced the launch of a state financing guaranty fund for the innovation sector along with support provisions for leading innovative enterprises in their bid to go public. He also announced pilot preferential tax policies for venture capitalists and nationwide angel investment schemes.

Premier Li also talked about the country's armed forces and mentioned that the goal of reducing the armed forces by 300,000 troops has been successfully achieved. But he said, "more effective measures must be taken to support the reform and development of China's national defense and armed forces." According Xinhua, military spending is planned to be increased by 8.1 percent translating in to a defense budget in tune of 1.11 trillion yuan (175 billion US dollars).

The premier also mentioned that all aspects of governance are set to be improved as on March 11 the NPC deputies will vote on amendments to 21 items in China's Constitution and this marks China's entry into the new era. Steady constitutional amendments help steer the country through change, and these proposed amendments come after 14 years. The new amendments consist of the inclusion of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the inclusion of a "united front" to promote national rejuvenation, "harmonious socialist relations among ethnic groups," "community with a shared future for humanity," and "core socialist values" to be included with civic virtues of love of the motherland, of the people, of labour, of science and of socialism. The amendments also propose the inclusion of an "Oath of allegiance" to the constitution to be taken by all officials assuming office. The proposed amendments include elevation of the office of President and Vice-President as equal in the terms as that of the National People's Congress. The proposed amendments also include "ecological advancement" as a new function and power of the State Council. It is also proposed that Chinese cities with subordinate districts would be granted the power to make local laws and regulations.

Ever since President Xi assumed the office of President he has been striving to curb corruption and streamline administrative problems and he has had major successes so far. And to further these successes, constitutional amendments are being proposed to set up Supervisory commissions. President Xi during a speech at the 7th plenary session of the CCDI in June 2017 said, "In a socialist country ruled by the communist party of China, all the power belongs to the people, and political power must not be distributed according to social status, wealth or connections." The People's Congress system of China derives its power from the people of China and thus, setting up of these supervisory commissions will give power to the people to keep a check on the government. Patrick Henry once stated, "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

The leadership of both China and the US has worked extremely hard to not only maintain but flourish ties between the two countries and the cornerstone of the relationship is the recognition and adherence of the One-China Policy. After decades of friendly ties between the US and People's Republic of China, President Donald Trump is playing the part of Brutus and staining Sino-US relations by signing the Taiwan Travel Act. 

US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable talks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, in Washington, Tuesday, March 20, 2018.[Photo: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta]

The relationship between the US and China was founded upon cooperation, trade, and most importantly the agreement of the One-China Policy. The three communiqués marked the advent of friendly ties between the two countries. The first joint communiqué also known as the Shanghai communiqué was issued on February 28th, 1972. President Richard Nixon of the United States of America visited the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Communiqué was issued. Within the communiqué both sides agreed to respect each other's national sovereignty and territorial integrity and the official text of the communiqué regarding the One-China Policy states: the "United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China."  

The second joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations was issued on January 1st 1979. Within this communiqué both countries formally recognized one another, and this communiqué paved the way for normal ties. The United States formally recognized the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and this meant formal recognition of the One-China Policy with termination of formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. 

The third joint communiqué was issued on August 17th, 1982 and this communiqué is also known as the August 17th Communiqué. This joint communiqué reaffirmed commitments made within the previous two communiqués, bolstering the commitment to honor the One-China Policy.

It has been more than a year since Trump assumed the American presidency and it has so far been a rollercoaster ride full of stormy rhetoric, floundering on immigration and his itchy thumbs on Twitter. This is what his critics say about him in general but on the matters pertaining to Sino-US relations the story hasn't been any different. During his campaign days he frequently lashed out at China to score brownie points, which the Chinese Foreign Ministry discredited as harmless campaign rants and not official policy, but after becoming President Elect he welcomed the Taiwan leader's congratulatory phone call which rang alarm bells and Trump immediately took corrective measures. During his official state visit to China he was deeply moved by Chinese hospitality and he stated, "The United States government upholds and sticks to the One-China Policy." However, as time passed after the visit, he is again treading towards the path of straining Sino-US ties by proposing and imposing tariffs on Chinese goods, and now the signing of the Taiwan Travel Act that encourages the United States to send officials "of all levels" to Taiwan to meet their "counterparts" on the island, and vice versa. This is a violation of the One-China Policy and the three joint communiqués.

Some observers believe that the signing of the "Taiwan Travel Act" is "nonbinding" in nature and might not have a lasting direct impact, but these observers fail to see the indirect repercussions of the act. It could trigger the emboldening of the leadership in Taiwan towards declaration of full independence which would likely translate into a tragedy; China's Anti-Secession Law which was passed in 2005 necessitates the use of "non-peaceful means" if developments towards Taiwan's secession from China should transpire.

This is the reason why the Foreign Ministry of China is not taking the matter lightly and this is why strong statements are echoing from the offices of the Foreign Ministry of China, like; "The relevant clauses of the 'Taiwan Travel Act' severely violate the One-China principle, the political foundation of the China-US relationship, and the three joint communiqués between China and the United States. We urge the US side to adhere to the One-China Policy and stop pursuing any official ties with Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any substantive way." 

It has to be noted that Sino-US relations were built upon cooperation and US adherence to the One China Policy and under President Trump both pillars of the relationship seem to be receiving blows, as the hard work of previous leaders of the US and China is unraveling. The US administration has always been practical in the past while dealing with China, as the benefits of keeping good relations with China have always outweighed that of supporting Taiwan, but Mr. Trump and his administration don't seem to understand the precarious situation their actions can create. He seems to be taking lessons from Shakespeare's plays which often portray intense and complicated friendships. Rather, he needs to pay heed to words of wisdom from Confucius which the previous US administrations seemed to have followed more closely; "Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant."

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

Chinese explorers have been renowned since ancient times and have greatly complimented the Chinese ancient dynasties. One of the famous sea explorers is mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral Zheng He. Zheng went on seven major expeditions to explore the world for the Chinese emperor and to establish Chinese trade in new areas over 600 years ago. Zheng He's fleet comprised of 317 ships whose sails impaired the view of the horizon. His fleet included several enormous, football field-sized vessels which were big enough to fit 65 of Columbus' ships end-to-end. Modern China of today under the leadership of President Xi Jinping is setting out to revive the glory of China and creating prosperity through interconnectedness and most importantly focusing on knowledge, research and innovations which is a highly sustainable model for achieving greatness. One such endeavor to contribute towards exploration and research is a joint venture between China and Pakistan to explore the Makran trench and jointly conduct a multi-disciplinary study of marine geology, physics, chemistry and biology. 

Chinese and Pakistani researchers prepare a sea-bottom seismograph at the North Indian Ocean on Sunday using Shi Yan 3, a scientific research vessel from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, launching the two countries' first joint scientific collaboration on the ocean. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Makran trench is located off the coast of Pakistan where Gawadar port is situated. Gawadar port is being developed by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is one of the trade corridors part of the larger Belt and Road initiative. The Makran trench is at the convergence point of the Arabian Plate, Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate and is prone to earthquakes. The trench is generally in an East-West direction; about 700 km long, the deepest point within the trench goes as far deep as 3000 meters. It is the world's most shallow trench and amongst the lowest sub-ducted trenches.

In the recently begun joint research plan to explore the Makran trench, the "Shiyan-3" (experiment 3) Chinese vessel will navigate over the Makran trench which is located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. The joint expedition includes Pakistani scientists along with Chinese experts who embarked upon this endeavor from Karachi port. The research vessel will go over the multi-channel seismic zone within the Makran trench, collect sediment samples as well as water samples for researching the geological structure and natural resources in the vicinity. The geochemical characterization of the magmatic rocks present at the Makran trench has not been systematically performed before, which is what makes this research endeavor a landmark activity. Since the area of the Makran trench is the convergence point for three seismic plates, the geological study can help in the prevention and mitigation of disasters.

China gained approval by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to look for polymetallic sulphides -- rich in copper, iron, lead, zinc, gold and silver -- in the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge. Other such applications originating from China were also approved by the ISA, which gave China approval of 15-year contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the deep seabed. ISA is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Based on these contracts China developed Jiaolong, which is a manned deep-sea research submersible that can dive to a depth of over 7,000 m. It has the greatest depth range of any manned research vehicle in the world, which can accommodate two Oceanauts. The Jiaolong reached a depth of 7,062 meters (23,169 feet) in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. 

China's scientists have been taking the lead in such scientific research and that is why on June 8 2013, China's first ever "blue book" on the Indian Ocean, titled, "Development Report in the Indian Ocean" was issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Despite the clear and transparent approvals from the UN backed ISA, and the pure research motives of the Chinese research vessels and scientists, some Western media outlets as well as media sources from India and Japan have been directing propaganda against the Chinese research activities and accomplishments, which is detrimental to the benefits this research is going to provide. This research will help create early warning systems for Pakistan and neighboring regions against earthquakes and tsunamis originating from the Makran trench and also locate mineral deposits. 

The ongoing research being conducted by the team of scientists of China and Pakistan is a great example of President Xi's vision of bolstering research cooperation with other countries to serve humanity to the fullest. As mentioned above one of the main focuses of this expedition is to conduct a geological study of the Makran trench to help mitigate future disasters in the form of earthquakes and tsunamis. The research originating from "Shiyan-3" will help provide a scientific basis for research relevant for Pakistan's maritime safety and disaster mitigation which will strongly aid in realizing the fundamentals of the Belt and Road initiative which is to create win-win scenarios.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is undoubtedly the most important ongoing project in Pakistan and the development on the project entered a new phase on 29th January 2018 due to the launch of the first phase of Gwadar Port's Free Zone and the Gwadar Expo 2018. Pakistan’s economy had been badly hit after the global financial crisis of 2008 and the economic blows were exacerbated by the terrorists and dire energy shortage as 70% of the Foreign Direct Investment in Pakistan fleeted, after which Pakistan’s economy started to register dismal growth levels between 3 to 4 percent until China applied jumper cables on Pakistan’s economic engine in the form of CPEC. 

Ever since President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan and finalized the CPEC deal, Pakistan’s economy has started to register growth levels beyond 5 percent. With each and every development under the CPEC, signs of economic prosperity and the morale of the people of Pakistan have started to rejuvenate. The Gwadar Expo 2018 and the inauguration of the Gwadar port’s Free Zone is one such major development as it has received massive reception internationally as well as locally. Enterprises from China, Europe, USA, Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia and many more sought registration for the highly anticipated event.  

Photo taken on March 23, 2017 shows the Gwadar port area at sunrise in Gwadar, Pakistan.[Photo: Xinhua]

The inauguration ceremony was chaired by the country’s Prime Minister Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Mr. Abbasi in his inauguration speech said that, “China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a proof of everlasting friendship between China and Pakistan and that it is the most important initiative of our generation.” He added that, “this inauguration is a realization of the vision given by Chinese President Xi Jinping.”

Mr. Abbasi is indeed correct in his remarks about the realization of President Xi’s vision. As 5000 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors applied for the exhibition but only 200 companies and 5000 visitors were allowed due to logistics issues. Businessmen from Iran, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Oman participated in the expo. The hustle and bustle was such that, the Pakistan International Airlines had to increase its Karachi-Gwadar flights to four shifts a day. President Xi’s vision for Belt and Road Initiative is to boost world trade through an interconnected world, while creating a win-win scenario for all. The inauguration of the first Gwadar Free Zone and the Gwadar Expo 2018 is an example of the realization of President Xi’s vision. 

Mr. Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Company Pakistan (COPHC) one of the organizers of the event said, “With the construction of the free zone, the port city of Gwadar will become a big commercial hub in the region”, he added that, “the development of Gwadar would help to improve Pakistan's overall economy and people's lives.” This all is possible because Gwadar under the funding of CPEC will be transformed in to an engine of economic growth not only for the local people but for the region at large.

The event holds tremendous significance not only for Pakistan but for China as well. For Chinese companies the Gwadar Free Zone and the Gwadar Expo are major platforms to do business with other countries which are interested thus significantly boosting trade for China. For Pakistan the significance of these developments can be judged from the fact that, the locals of Gwadar only had two major sources for income. The first source was through fisheries and the second through real-estate. Ever since the developments at the Gwadar port have started to take shape the land prices have increased 400 times. With the influx of investments and interest by international investors the local economy has started to boom especially the service industry. All hotels and rest houses are booked because of the occasion. Since Gwadar is situated at a strategic location on the world map and the opening of the first Gwadar Free Zone and the Gwadar International Expo a commercial hub has been created providing a swift platform where buyers, sellers, service providers are brought at one place where collaborations and future business partnerships can be erected.

COPHC, the operator of Gwadar port during the ceremony explained that, around 30 companies from various commercial sectors like; hotels, banking, logistics and fish processing sectors have officially registered with the Gwadar Free Zone (GFZ) and the direct investment from these sectors alone accounts for 474.3 million U.S. dollars and theses investments are forecasted to yield profits around the tune of 790.5 million U.S. dollars once operational. Apart from trade agreements the COPHC and the Gwadar District Council signed an agreement for poverty alleviation which will ensure that, very poor families in the region will be provided financial assistance and other opportunities for sustainable growth.

Pakistan’s Minister for Planning and Development Mr. Ahsan Iqbal also made a speech at the occasion and said that, “CPEC has transformed Pakistan-China relations into a strong strategic economic partnership.” The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Yao Jing was also at the inauguration ceremony and while addressing the event he seconded Mr. Ahsen Iqbal’s comments and said, “CPEC project was the project of common development and prosperity, adding that development of locals was a major purpose behind the Gwadar projects.”

The aura of Gwadar city prior to the event spoke highly of the economic prospects of the GFZs and the Gwadar Expo 2018 which is going to be an annual feature. Indeed CPEC is transforming the lives of the people Pakistan for the better as more and more employment opportunities are being created with each development and as President Xi’s vision is taking shape.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the buzz word in Pakistan ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan and formally announced the $56 Billion plus deal in April 2015. The CPEC is an integral part of the Belt and Road initiative, which aims at connecting the natural deep seawater Gwadar port in the south of Pakistan with the Xinjiang region of China. For China the CPEC would reduce the traveling distance, for its huge volumes of trade with the Gulf countries, from existing 13000 kilometers to mere 2500 kilometers. While it will cut down the traveling time from the existing 45 days to only 10 days, it will also reduce the cost of freight by one third. For Pakistan it will help build and improve the much needed infrastructure to flourish the economy and boost trade. 

Relations between Pakistan and China have remained strong over the years and CPEC has ensured that this bond of friendship becomes ironclad. Last week Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif visited Beijing on an official visit and held a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed a wide variety of topics to review bilateral relations and regional developments, including the situation in Afghanistan. The meeting ensured and strengthened confidence between the two nations which is evident from Wang Yi’s remarks, “The relationship between China and Pakistan remain rock firm and unbreakable, and China will continue to play its role in Pakistan's progress and development.” 

A cargo ship sits berthed next to a crane at Gwadar Port in Gwadar, Balochistan, Pakistan, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. [Photo: vcg.com]

The real change of economic progress to which Mr. Wang Yi alluded to is not only going to be experienced at the macro level but will be experienced by people on the local level as well. Pakistan suffers from an acute electricity crisis, which has not only crippled the economy of the country but has tremendously disrupted the daily lives of the people. Keeping backup power supply equipment at homes, shops, and businesses is a necessity. During summers when the scheduled power outages are increased most of the backup power supplies also start to fail. No one is exempt from these power outages not even schools and hospitals. Ever since work on the CPEC began things have started to change for the better. Roughly 60% of the funding within the CPEC is allocated for energy projects in Pakistan, some of these projects have become operational, while work on others is underway and the issues of the electricity crisis will be resolved soon. The common people will be able to stow away their backup power supply systems. Due to the electricity shortage in Pakistan candles and various forms of flashlights have been a significant part of every household but once CPEC backed energy projects kick in Candles will mostly be seen on birthday cakes only.  

One has to keep in mind that Pakistan is an agrarian developing country whose economy has been drastically held back from registering the requisite levels of growth due to lack of technology and funding from abroad. Even today agriculture sector is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy as it contributes around 20 percent in the overall gross domestic product (GDP) but the poor farmers in Pakistan lack the modern technologies for farming to enhance their yields and for handling the supply chain of the agriculture goods. The agriculture sector provides employment to 42.3 percent of the country’s total labor force. The year 2015-16 saw dismal performance of the agriculture sector in Pakistan when it registered negative growth of 0.19 percent against 2.53 percent of the same period in last fiscal year. The plan for the CPEC lays out that, thousands of acres of agricultural land will be leased out to Chinese enterprises to set up “demonstration projects” in areas ranging from seed varieties to irrigation technology. Ahmad Saleem a poor farmer stated “due to dearth of cold storage facilities available to the farmers, half of agricultural products go bad during harvesting and logistics, meaning 50% of produce never reaches the local markets, what to talk about exports.” Similarly another important aspect restricting high yields of agriculture produce in Pakistan are poor quality seeds. Khalid Mehmood a farmer from Punjab stated, “Expensive inputs like prices of fertilizers, fuel and electricity charges for agricultural purposes, the lack of provision of high quality disease-resistant seeds are chief reasons for low agriculture yields in Pakistan.” With the agriculture exchanges planned under CPEC, poor farmers will be equipped with modern technologies and modern techniques of farming and this will not only benefit the common farmer folk like Ahmad Saleem and Khalid Mehmood but will also help ensure food security at a macro level in Pakistan and in return bolstering agriculture exports of Pakistan. 

Recently various western media outlets have been propagating stories to spread ill will in Pakistan and abroad against the CPEC, but such stories are not garnering traction within societies because positive changes owed to the CPEC are being felt by the local populace of Pakistan and the Chinese. The local people in Gwadar are happy because of the developments in the region by Chinese companies. A security guard named Qadeer Hussain stated; “I have 5 children and because of the work under the CPEC now our community has a hospital which is catering to our health needs even small surgeries and emergency cases are being treated, right next to the same hospital the Chinese people have also built a primary where my children get to study in new classrooms with freshly painted desks.” Similar stories to Qadeer Hussain’s and  praises for the CPEC are reverberating through the areas where work on the CPEC is underway, construction workers and even engineers working alongside the Chinese are benefiting from learning to man new technologies and equipment plus gaining knowledge of new techniques for executing mega projects.  Similarly the economy of Xinjiang region in China is also witnessing positive change. The Chinese people are benefiting from the open trade. People of Xinjiang now have access to deep sea food from the Arabian Sea, as it now takes 34 hours for fresh sea food to reach Xinjiang from Gwadar. Sixteen types of deep-sea edibles items including lobsters and black sea bass are now being supplied to Xinjiang via the route of the CPEC. 

Among the examples of advancements and benefits, Alipay is another major change which the people of Pakistan are going to benefit from. There are no secure online payments platforms like that of Alipay and Paypal in Pakistan. It is expected that soon Alipay will be launched in Pakistan, thus bringing a revolutionary change in the lives of the people. Apart from Alipay even work is underway to launch 5G telecommunication networks in Pakistan through Chinese companies, which will massively boost the communication infrastructure and services  in the country. 

Lastly apart from economic problems Pakistan has suffered immensely due to terrorism. The CPEC will help curb the menace of terrorism in the region as rising economic activities will create jobs. China has been busy in creating channels for peace to the region in tandem with the CPEC. Recently China initiated a trilateral Foreign Ministers Forum between China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The forum has earned traction as it helped ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier this year. The next meeting of the forum is expected to be held by the end of this year. Mr. Wang Yi stated last week after his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart; “We have identified three priority areas which are strategic communication, security dialogue and practical cooperation. And on that basis we will work on the trilateral cooperation starting from the easier matters, and with a goal of establishing a new platform for regional cooperation.”

The CPEC has been termed as a game changer for Pakistan. For China it is important for invigorating economic development in its Western regions. The two countries have a lot to gain. After last week’s meeting between the two foreign ministers, the Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s statement clearly summarizes the Pakistani sentiments towards China and CPEC when he said, “China and Pakistan have enjoyed friendly relations based on history, mutual trust, equality, harmony, non-interference and common agenda of socioeconomic development, and the people thank China for the China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of One Belt One Road Initiative announced by President Xi Jinping.”

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative, security issues and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

Preparations were high, Xiamen’s asphalt roads were replaced with special roads equipped with noise reduction and environment friendly materials, Bailuzhou Park was furnished with a 3D music fountain with more than 1,000 LED lights, a new convention center was setup utilizing only recyclable materials, postage stamps bearing the logo of the summit as well as the letters "BRICS" and "2017 China" were issued and a lot of hard work was put in to make this event a success.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 5, 2017.[Photo: Xinhua]

The BRICS summit is undoubtedly the biggest international event after the G20 summit as it holds the pulse of international cooperation within the developing world, which is why the theme for the summit is "BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future". This year at Xiamen apart from the 5 permanent members of BRICS; Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa leaders from 5 more countries were invited to expand cooperation. The five guest countries included Egypt, Guinea, Tajikistan, Mexico and Thailand. Since the world’s economic growth is still sluggish, security concerns are heightening the world over. Instead of boosting international trade many countries in the world are adopting a protectionist stance, which is exacerbating the already slow recovery of the global economy. The world which was once moving towards becoming a global village, adopting environment friendly policies, border restrictions were being relaxed and globalization was the mantra on which most of the world economies were tuning in to, is now moving in the opposite direction.  

The traditional global leaders including USA, are adopting policies like, “America First” which are fanning the flames of protectionism the world over and is creating an environment of uncertainty, with in this trying time China has been busy in support of traditional trade values of globalization and market openness and is raising the confidence of the developing world with its Belt and Road initiative. It is because of such bleak global economic conditions that events like the BRICS summit have gained tremendous importance. The significance of BRICS not only comprises of the leading developing nations but more importantly it consists of developing nations which hold a shared vision of cooperation and with China’s Belt and Road initiative in the mix, it provides the world with hope for globalization and the revival of the global economy. This is the reason why President Xi stated in his opening address at the 9th BRICS summit, “As the world undergoes profound and complex changes, BRICS cooperation has become more important. Our people expect us to jointly boost development and improve their well-being. The international community expects us to make contribution to world peace and common development. We must redouble our efforts to comprehensively deepen BRICS partnership and usher in the second "Golden Decade" of BRICS cooperation.”

The leaders from China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India, Egypt, Guinea, Tajikistan, Mexico and Thailand all attended the 9th Summit of BRICS at Xiamen and as the summit concluded they signed a joint declaration as is customary. The 43-page 'Xiamen Declaration', adopted at the end of the five-nation BRICS summit consisted of efforts made by the countries under the theme of “Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”. The highlights of the declaration included 8 major aspects.

 The first important outcome of the summit is China’s massive pledge of $80 million for the cause. Within this pledge President Xi promised to pitch in $76 million for BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan and another $4 million to support the projects of the bloc's New Development Bank.  

The next important point highlighted in this year’s summit was that all the leaders agreed to curb corruption and the declaration highlighted that, “intensify dialogue and experience sharing and support compiling a compendium on fighting corruption in BRICS countries.” It was also decided that he BRICS countries will gear up international cooperation to fight corruption and will draw mechanisms on matters related to asset recovery and culprits sought for corruption.

 The third significant highlight of the joint declaration pertained to the MoU between NDB and BRICS Business Council, The New Development Bank will now work in tandem with the BRICS Business Council to assist business and trade prospects within the partner countries. This new MoU will ensure that the BRICS Business Council will put forward projects which require support from the NDB. 

The fourth highlight of the joint declaration includes the proposal of the BRICS credit rating agency to offset western rating institutions and accommodate the financial requirements of autonomous and corporate entities within the developing world. 

Another significant highlight of the joint declaration was targeted towards the rise of protectionism in the world. It has been agreed upon by the leaders of the BRICS nations that they will make efforts jointly to ensure the openness, transparency, and the guidelines of the WTO. It is stated in the declaration that, "We emphasize the importance of an open and inclusive world economy enabling all countries and peoples to share in the benefits of globalization".

As mentioned above that, with the rise in protectionism the world is also witnessing rising temperatures, to combat global warming the BRICS nations agreed that, “We will work together to promote most effective use of fossil fuels and wider use of gas, hydro and nuclear power, which will contribute to the transformation toward a low emissions economy, better energy access, and sustainable development. In this regard, we underline the importance of predictability in accessing technology and finance for expansion of civil nuclear energy capacity which would contribute to sustainable development in BRICS countries. We encourage continued dialogue on the establishment of a BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform and urge relevant entities to continue to promote joint research on energy cooperation and energy efficiency".

The seventh highlight of the joint declaration constitutes the agreements made with regards to agriculture development and cooperation. As all the BRICS nations are developing countries and with looming threats towards food security the members countries agreed that, "We agree to deepen cooperation in the five priority areas such as food security and nutrition, adaptation of agriculture to climate change, agricultural technology cooperation and innovation, agricultural trade and investment, and ICT application in agriculture to contribute to stable global agricultural growth and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. We welcome the establishment in India of the Coordination Center of BRICS Agriculture Research Platform, a virtual network which will facilitate addressing these priority areas."

The final highlight of the joint declaration focuses upon the combined condemnation of the spread of terrorism in the world and within the member countries. The declaration states, “there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. We reaffirm that those responsible for committing, organizing, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable”.

The important thing to take home from this year’s BRICS summit is the fact that China’s initiatives for enhancing inclusiveness for economic prosperity is shared by many and this year’s BRICS summit as well as the G20 summit which was held earlier this year speak volumes of the support China is garnering around the globe, despite the rise of protectionism in the world. This is why the Brazilian scholar Oliver Stuenkel said “the Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS can be complementary, as "the objective of both is similar: set free potential to spur sustainable development to allow societies to overcome poverty and connect to each other." During President Xi’s time as president of a rising China, it is evident how China has been forging new ties and strengthening previous ones and is weaving an international web of interconnectedness, whose strands are made stronger due to the creation of win-win scenarios. Following the same spirit President Xi once again reiterated the importance of healthy trade and partnerships and said at the conclusion of the 9th BRICS summit; “the "BRICS Plus" leaders have agreed on deepening South-South cooperation, fostering the "BRICS Plus" pattern, and building extensive partnerships.” President Xi further explained that, “The summit adopted the BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration which reaffirmed the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and mapped out a new blueprint for strengthening BRICS partnership and deepening practical cooperation in various areas.”

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative, security issues and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session is one of the most important global events. Leaders from around the globe gather to ponder over grave issues impacting the world. The 72nd session of the UNGA commenced on the 19th of September and is scheduled to end by September 25th, during this time discussions will be held among the global leaders and speeches will be delivered; highlighting the contributions of their respective countries in their bid to meet the goals set by the UN and give their stance on various global issues. 

The theme of the 72nd session of the UNGA is "Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for all on a Sustainable Planet." There are top four issues under discussion at the 72nd session. First is the issue of “North Korea’s nuclear program” as the country has remained unfazed by the sequential rounds of U.N. sanctions. Secondly, the issue of “Global Warming” is high on the agenda owing to recent rise in the frequency of hurricanes which have wreaked havoc in the US. The third most important issue concerns the Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, which the U.N.’s top human rights official has termed as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” The fourth significant issue is with regards to “Iran’s Nuclear Program.” For this all important UNGA session China has sent its top diplomat Foreign Minister Mr. Wang Yi along with his team to attend. During his stay in New York Mr. Wang Yi is expected to not only attend the main UNGA sessions and participate in the discussions, but will also attend other significant meetings like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which is responsible for reviewing Iran’s nuclear deal in Which Chinese leadership played an instrumental role in establishing and has been termed as a major success by most of the global leadership. As UNGA is a major platform with global presence Mr. Wang Yi will also be having meetings with various global leaders on the sidelines to maintain and strengthen China’s foreign relations network.  

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with the President of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly Miroslav Lajcak during their meeting at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, on Sept. 18, 2017.[Photo: Xinhua]

The 72nd Session began with an opening speech by Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák opened the session by first creating grim picture of the various conflicts plaguing our planet and then by highlighting the importance of the UN in helping to resolve those conflicts. He then talked about other challenges including poverty, growing inequalities, indiscriminate terrorist attacks and the worsening effects of climate change. He explained that the task of the UN is not easy, as it is a mammoth take to take on all these challenges head-on. He urged that Efforts must be recalibrated around peace and prevention, as “That is the only way to ensure that the United Nations is doing the job for which it was created.”

President Trump made his first appearance at the UNGA and addressed the assembly for the first time. There was a lot of anticipation regarding President Trump’s speech, owing to his “America First” policy, and his dismissal of the policies pertaining to global warming. The US President didn’t disappoint the world audience as he didn’t spring out any surprises by shifting from his previous stances. He made no mention of global warming despite the record breaking damages caused by consecutive hurricanes in USA and he did adhere to his “America first” policy and also preached it to the audience of the global leaders. He also stuck to his strong man stance against North Korea and upped the ante by stating, “will have no choice than to totally destroy” the country unless Pyongyang refrains from its nuclear tests and missile launches. Apart from these points Trumps speech focused on the need for reforms within the UN and he termed Iran’s nuclear deal as, "one of the worst and one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into." He threatened that the US will withdraw from this deal and once again his statements have come out stronger than intended compelling his staff to clarify. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said. "It's not a clear signal that he plans to withdraw. What it is, is a clear signal that he's not happy with the deal." From President Trump’s speech it seemed he still hasn’t shed his habits from his days of campaigning for the US presidency as he once again mentioned the issue of the South China Sea to gain brownie points, even though President Trump and President Xi, had a very productive telephonic conversation on Monday Sept 18 2017, just a day before his speech at UNGA. The official stance of the White House clearly released details about the phone call and confirmed that both leaders are on the same page and agree with each other. Donald Trump during the telephonic conversation expressed that, “it is satisfying that the two heads of state of China and the US maintain close contacts and sound working relationships. Both China and the US have important domestic agendas this year. It is hoped that these agendas will run smoothly.” He expressed during the same phone call that he is very much looking forward to the upcoming state visit to China, and believes that, “this visit will give a strong boost to forward-looking development of the US-China relations.” This is the reason why policy analysts the world over have started to give lesser importance to President Trump’s speeches as they tend to be go off script with glimpses of bravado causing confusions, in-order to get a truer picture the analysts now tend to mostly follow the official press releases.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his trip to New York has met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. During the meeting Mr. Wang said that, “China hopes the United Nations can play a more important role as the number of uncertainties and destabilizing factors increases and China appreciates the fact that the United Nations and the secretary-general himself highly agree with the ideas put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping, such as the building of a community of shared future for mankind, the building of an open global economy, and the rebalancing of economic globalization.” The major outcome of the meeting was that the two sides pledged to boost cooperation in tackling hot spot issues.

Mr. Wang also met with President of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly Miroslav Lajcak and had a very productive meeting in which Mr. Miroslav Lajcak said, “the international community welcomes China's increasingly important role in international affairs, and hopes that China can display leadership in conflict prevention, settlement of hot spot issues, peacekeeping and the implementation of the 2030 agenda.” 

Mr. Wang Yi is also scheduled to deliver his speech at the UNGA on the 21st of September during the first half and within this speech it is expected that he will outline China's stance towards the UN reforms and the various global issues related to the various conflicts and global warming. Since China has always whole heartedly supported the UN it is expected that he will once again reiterate in his speech, China’s continuous active role in aiding the UN's activities pertaining to politics, security, development, human rights and disarmament, promotion of democracy and rule of law in international relations. He is also most likely going to highlight China’s stance on upholding peace in the world through trade and by the creation of win-win scenarios for all its trade partners. Mention of Chinese foreign policy is incomplete without the mention of the Chinese vision of the Belt and Road initiative which, as most global leaders believe in letter and in spirit by far the only global measure to jump start the global economy and since it starts by the provision of the much needed infrastructure to the developing world it is bound to lower global poverty levels which is a major challenge for the UN. 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

“Going Nuclear” has many meanings but according to the urban dictionary it also means “going full throttle”. China is indeed going nuclear to curb a number of issues by utilizing nuclear technology. Firstly, to combat climate change by shifting towards cleaner energy sources, secondly to meet electricity demands of the future, thirdly to lead the way in nuclear technology around the globe. 

Most of the countries around the world are finally making efforts to curb their carbon foot print and at the same time meet their energy demands. In order to do this renewable energy sources like and wind and solar are options but yields from such sources is not continuous as solar energy is dependent on the Sun and Wind energy is dependent on wind speeds both of which are not continuous. The other clean option is nuclear, which is continuous and is the reason why many countries are contemplating over establishing nuclear power plants which are safe. Chinese top leadership and experts foresaw this and didn’t delay in taking the right actions. 

Staff members prepare for the dome installation at No. 5 unit of Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant in Fuqing, southeast China's Fujian Province, May 25, 2017. As the containment dome installation was completed in Fuqing on Thursday, China's first demonstration nuclear power project using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design, has taken shape. [Photo: Xinhua]

In August 2013 the State Council said that China should reduce its carbon emissions by 40-45% by 2020 from 2005 levels, and would aim to boost renewable energy to 15% of its total primary energy consumption by 2020. In November 2014 Premier Li Keqiang announced that China intended about 20% of its primary energy consumption to be from non-fossil fuels by 2030. This 20% target is part of the 13th Five-Year Plan and was recapped by President Xi Jinping at the Paris climate change conference in December 2015, along with reducing CO2 emissions by 60 to 65% from 2005 levels by 2030. This meant that China’s energy growth had to enter a ‘new normal’ phase including environmental protection. In order to cope with this, vital development of nuclear power is required. That is why the Chinese government has been very serious about enhancing research and development spending to leap frog on the ladder of technology and innovation, with these increased spendings China aims that by 2030 its nuclear capacity will be 120 to 150 GWe, and nuclear power sources will provide 8% to 10% of electricity. 

The important thing to note here is that, almost all the nuclear power plants responsible for the 8-10% of electricity in China will be the most modern and safest in the world. With such technological advancements China is not only gearing up to transform its own energy sector but is also ready to export this technology.  Apart from exporting nuclear technology other countries can also learn from China in the fields of nuclear energy, nuclear safety and nuclear science and applications as China is willing to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency in their training programs to train and to provide technical assistance in the above mentioned fields.  

Currently China has 37 nuclear power reactors in operation, about 20 nuclear plants are under construction, and furthermore are about to start construction. The reactors which are under construction comprise of some of the world's most cutting-edge technologies, to give a 70% increase of nuclear capacity to 58 GWe by 2020-21. The next target is to further enhance production to 150 GWe by 2030, and much more by 2050. As mentioned above this motivation behind nuclear power in China is due to air pollution from coal-fired plants and to reduce China’s carbon footprint. In comparison with other countries, China has become largely self-sufficient in reactor design and construction, as well as other aspects of the fuel cycle, and is making full use of western technology while adapting and improving it, China’s strength lies in the nuclear supply chain which will greatly help China in exporting nuclear technology to the world. 

Already China has overshot almost all of the global competition in terms of nuclear technology. Thanks to the Chinese government’s commitment towards taking the lead in nuclear technology under the directives of President Xi, the western companies like Bill Gates’s TerraPower LLC, Canada’s SNC-Lavalin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and many more are flocking towards China to share their knowledge with China. This sharing of knowledge helps the Chinese scientists to not only gain access to the latest technologies in the world but also gives them the opportunity to improve upon it, which is exactly what China has done with the AP1000. The AP1000 reactor consists of fourth generation nuclear technology which is 100 times safer, requires 80 per cent less piping, 85 per cent fewer control cables, and need a third fewer pumps, the Chinese scientists have combined the APR1000 with EPR to develop their own “Hualong design” reactor which is an improvement upon the AP1000.

According to experts the Hualong Design is a brilliant solution to reduce the risk of nuclear meltdown as it is practically fail proof. Now China is in a position to not only develop the latest technologies in nuclear power but is also striking deals around the world for exporting it. Already China has exported the Hualong Design reactor to Pakistan whose installation in Pakistan will be complete by the year 2021. China is also in finalizing a similar deal with the UK and the deal is expected to materialize soon as China has helped finance the $24 billion Hinkley Point nuclear project in the UK. According to Professor Shan of Xi’an Jiatong University, “The heyday of the U.S nuclear industry was in 1970s. They were our role model, but all those talents are now retired or gone. The current generation is no longer able to build a new plant due to the lacking of engineering experience and technical expertise. It is sad.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fully recognizes China’s nuclear advancements and last month they sent a team to inspect China’s nuclear power facilities for safety and standards and found them to be fully fit. This was possible owing to the swift precautionary actions taken by the Chinese government following the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) is garnering great importance owing to its impeccable track record and strict security and safety protocols. On the 18th of September IAEA's 61th General Conference in Vienna, Austria took place, where CAEA remained prominent. Tang Dengjie, head of the Chinese delegation to the conference was the most sought after person owing to China’s advancements in nuclear technology with one of the best safety records. Tang Dengjie stated in his address that the Chinese government carefully plans for the safety of nuclear facilities routinely and recently “The Nuclear Safety Law, which was passed earlier this month by China's top legislature or the National People's Congress, will provide a strong support for the safe and sustainable development of nuclear energy in China.” On the sidelines of the IAEA's 61th General Conference in Vienna, Austria the CAEA pledged to train experts from across Asia in the various peaceful uses of nuclear technology, under an agreement with IAEA. Once the agreement was reached, Massoud Malek, programme management officer at the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme said, “This practical arrangement represents a big step in training on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology in Asia and the Pacific.”

The key to remaining ahead of the game in the nuclear energy market is continuous research coupled with government support. The Chinese government under President Xi’s leadership is committed towards both. Which is why, China is developing a wide range of new nuclear energy technologies, ranging from 200-300 megawatt reactors which will be equipped to be housed on ships and even aircrafts, to reactors which will be “pebble-bed” with ceramic-coated fuel units that form the reactor core, improving efficiency. Shanghai scientists are also endeavoring towards a “molten salt” reactor, which will be a much cheaper and safer option as compared to existing installed reactor technologies around the world. The waste in this molten salt reactor will come out in the form of salt. With China’s advancements in nuclear technology and work on the Belt and Road Initiative underway, China can endeavor to furnish an untapped market of nuclear power worth 4 trillion yuan ($580 billion), this market is can be traced on the route of the New Silk Road.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

A country’s existence depends upon its military and without the actions of PLA on 1 August 1927 the existence of today’s China was not possible. This is the reason why nations honor their martyrs as well as their service men. August 1st 2017 marks the 90th anniversary of the world’s largest and one of the most respected armed forces in the world. Such important land marks in time gives the people an opportunity to not only show their support for those who serve in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) but also to memorialize those who have served in past generations.

A grand military parade to mark the 90th birthday of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is held in the Zhurihe military training base in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on July 30, 2017. [Photo: China Plus/Li Jin]

It has been 90 years since the Nanchang uprising. Within these 90 years the PLA has upheld it’s traditions and discipline to be second to none and held a meritorious record. The love and respect of the people earned by the PLA under the leadership of the CPC, speaks volumes about PLA’s record and relationship with the people and this is the reason why the people genuinely feel indebted to those who today risk their lives and to the veterans whose service will never be forgotten.

The PLA has come a long way over these 90 years. It started out with a couple of thousand small arms to have become one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world; equipped with the latest technology like air craft carriers, modern tanks, long range bombers, stealth aricrafts and recently an indigenously developed new generation destroyer weighing 10,000 tonnes was added to the fleet of PLAN which shows the drive towards modernization has just started to pick up steam. PLA’s commitment towards excellence is greatly owed to the support from the highest echelons of Chinese leadership within the CPC. This is the reason why President Xi Jinping recently further emphasized the importance and role of research and development within the military. President Xi said, efforts need to be enhanced “to improve the country's military research and educational institutions to cultivate more talent for the armed forces.”

Today China’s military is developing cutting edge weapons technology, they are leading the way in stealth technology with the development of J-31, J-20 and other stealth fighters, the missile defence program of China is witnessing extreme modernization with the induction of Dong Feng 21 (DF-21D) which is considered as the world’s first such missile with a speed of over Mach 10 and a range of over 1250 miles. PLAN has become the largest naval force in Asia, with endeavors to boost production of modern submarines and capable carriers and frigates. The drones program of China is also bridging the gap between the top drone development countries and China as China has developed not only surveillance drones but also weaponized drones. Though considerable advancements have been made in converting PLA into a contemporary force but many feel, this drive towards modernization needs to be boosted to become the best in the world. President Xi also feels the same. That is why under his leadership the PLA has focused more towards quality rather than quantity. As a well-equipped, trained and disciplined force has the capability to tackle much larger adversaries. PLA is inducting more and more personnel with college degrees and the standard of soldiers and men is being raised every year with this defense research budgets are swelling and PLA is pushing the boundaries of technology to gain the competitive advantage. 

Apart from modernization and the development of indigenous high tech weapon systems the PLA needed experience of safe guarding Chinese assets worldwide; this experience is being gained through more and more involvement in peace keeping missions, anti-piracy endeavors and through joint military exercises. Such endeavors not only equip PLA with the much needed experience but also raise PLA’s credibility worldwide. Today’s world faces tremendous challenges for peace and security this is why President Xi after overseeing a grand military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the PLA at the Zhurihe training base in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 30, 2017 said, "The world is not all at peace, and peace must be safeguarded," Today, we are closer to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than any other time in history, and we need to build a strong people's military more than any other time in history."

All major think tanks and defence analysts believe China’s military is coming of age. According to a report by the RAND corporation, “Over the past two decades, China's People's Liberation Army has transformed itself from a large but antiquated force into a capable, modern military.” According to the globalfirepower.com’s power index; PLA is ranked 3rd in the world. Roger Cliff, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of the forthcoming book “China's Military Power: Assessing Current and Future Capabilities,” described PLA as, “If you look at measures like hardware, certainly the Chinese military has gotten a lot of attention recently and looks pretty good. To me, the more surprising finding was personnel quality as The PLA, has been on a major drive to create better-educated soldiers.” It is because of the support of the leadership in China that this transformation of PLA has been made possible and the results of these efforts have been aptly summed up by President Xi in his Sunday’s address to the PLA when he said, "Our heroic armed forces have the confidence and capability to defeat all invading enemies and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests."

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali 

There was no greater war leader, strategist and general as compared to Sun Tzu. His anecdotes, quotes and his philosophy on how to be a great leader are taught in schools and universities the world over. He once said, “He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared…Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” This is the reason why the People's Liberation Army (PLA) always maintains a state of operational readiness. Operational readiness is judged, challenged and maintained through a continuous process of honing the skills and capabilities of a military. This is why PLA and its various components the Navy and the Air Force are engaging in exercises, peace keeping missions and anti-piracy endeavors. Among exercises, joint military exercises provide the best platforms for testing strategies, tactics, skills and equipment. Joint military exercises also provide a much needed opportunity to learn from others. 

Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong (R) meets with Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2017.[Photo: Xinhua]

China engages in various joint military exercise platforms with various countries, among these the joint exercises with Pakistan are an important feature. Recently when, PLA’s 90th anniversary celebrations were underway, it was announced that PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will conduct a joint exercise which is the 6th edition of a regular feature between the two Air Forces. The important thing to note in this feature is that, this year Pakistan will be sending its largest contingent ever to any country for an international joint military exercise. Pakistan will be sending a total of 19 aircrafts comprising of various weapon systems which will include some systems from its fleet of French Mirages and other weapon systems include Chinese made jets among which the jointly produced FC-1 Xiaolong (called JF-17 Thunder in Pakistan) will also feature. The PLAAF and PAF have held regular drills since March 2011 with the first Shaheen exercise held in Pakistan. The second training exercise took place in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in western China in September 2013, the third was held in Punjab, Pakistan, in May 2014. The fourth edition was conducted at Yinchuan Airbase, China in September 2015. Last year the 5th edition of this exercise was held in Pakistan and was termed as a major success. Air Commodore Syed Muhammad Ali of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had said the exercise “enhanced bilateral relationship and capability of the air forces of the two friendly neighbors.” This year the 6th edition of the Joint exercise code-named “Shaheen (Eagle)-6 is also expected to feature bombers as well as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. 

Pakistan and China are famously known as “all-weather” friends, over the years the two countries have beefed up very close military ties and hold military exercises, whether they are between the two navies, air forces or ground forces. These exercises are held on a regular basis to enhance their air combat skills, naval capabilities and ground operation skills. These exercises not only help develop skills but also help foster an environment between the two militaries for better coordination when operating in a joint environment.

Defence experts across the board believe that joint exercises between China and Pakistan like the Shaheen series of joint training are “aimed to deepen the friendship, promote exchanges and broaden defence cooperation between the armed forces and Air Forces of China and Pakistan.” There is already tremendous defence cooperation between the two neighboring countries, joint productions include JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, Al-Khalid Tank a variant of the Chinese Norinco Type-90-II tank, armed drone Burraq and custom AIP-equipped submarines. These are some of the major examples of close defence cooperation between the two nations. Both countries wish to further enhance joint production projects and such exercises are bound to enhance confidence. This is why earlier this year in March when Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited China, strong importance was laid upon furthering joint defence projects between China and Pakistan among other defence cooperation. 

The relationship between the two countries is matchless and as mentioned above, the two are termed as “all-weather friends.” China and Pakistan have very strong military ties and because of these strong ties, military exercises and exchanges between the two countries hold a lot of significance. Apart from the upcoming Shaheen-6 exercise which is scheduled to begin in the near future. It was announced that later in the year the two countries will also be taking part in joint exercises involving the navies of the two countries and there will also be a 10 week long exercise involving the ground forces. 

In today’s world which is plagued with issues and conflicts, China is fast emerging as a beacon for peace. President Xi rightly said at the grand gathering in celebration of the 90th founding anniversary of the PLA at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Aug. 1, 2017, “China is an architect of world peace, a stalwart of global development, and a staunch upholder of the international order…Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you," the foundation of Confucianism, means the Chinese will never inflict on others the agony we have gone through ourselves…Confucius also said that the virtuous always find friends -- wisdom that should guide international relations as much as it does interpersonal interactions.” We can infer from President Xi’s statements that China is a peaceful nation and honors friendships like that with Pakistan, and while the Chinese are peace loving people but they will not stand idle in the face of aggression. The military exercises are a component of maintaining the operational readiness of PLA and this is why President Xi said, “Protecting peace is the duty of the people's army. To fulfill that timeless duty, China's armed forces must be a world-class military, ready to fight if it must, and ready to win. The country will never compromise on its sovereignty.” 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

US President Donald Trump announced his strategy for the war in Afghanistan during an address from Fort Myer, Virginia, US yesterday. In his address the major outlines of the new AfPak policy were business as usual. He outlined in a vague manner that America is in it to win it, as victory will have a “clear definition”, we will “not dictate to the Afghan people how to live”, “we must stop the resurgence of safe havens”, “Afghans will build and secure their own nation”, America’s contribution in this war is not going to be unlimited, more is expected out of America’s partner’s “our support is not a blank cheque”. The unique part about the new AfPak policy consisted of two elements; the first unique aspect was brought by President Trump’s unique manner of outlining policy and he did not abstain from his habit in this aspect also, he referred to the terrorists as; “losers” and the second unique part was that he highlighted India and prompted it to take a more assertive role in Afghanistan. This move by President Trump has many ramifications. With Trump’s policy for the region the acronym of the AfPak policy needs to be changed to Af-Pak-In policy with the “In” for India. Secondly India is not even a direct neighbor of Afghanistan and its involvement in Afghanistan troubles the already set platforms for peace established by neighboring China and Pakistan who have high stakes in establishing peace in Afghanistan, plus both China and Pakistan currently have disputes with India at the borders of both countries. In the case of China, India has made illegal crossings at the Chinese undisputed territory of Dong Lang (Doklam) area and is aggravating the situation by not recognizing its errors. In the case of Pakistan, India has a long standing Kashmir dispute over which 4 wars have been fought, yet it remains unresolved. 

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, on June 25, 2017.[Photo：Xinhua]

The other major point worth noting from President Trump’s speech at Fort Myer consisted of bashing Pakistan for the problems faced in Afghanistan by the US troops. In the past the US have used this strategy of pressurizing Pakistan to enhance its efforts against terrorism with the “do more”, “safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan” and the “un secure nuclear arsenal of Pakistan” mantra. Once again President Trump sang that tune, but what was surprising about President Trump’s address was that the pitch of his tune was much higher than his predecessors. President Trump said; “Today 20 us designated foreign terrorist organization are concentrated in Afghanistan and Pakistan…Pakistan often gives safe havens to agents of chaos, violence and terror. We can be no longer silent for Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations that pose a threat to the region and beyond. Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our efforts in Afghanistan, it has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists. In the past Pakistan has been a valued partner our military has worked against common enemies. The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism and extremism, we recognize those contributions and those sacrifices but Pakistan has sheltered those same organizations that try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the vary terrorists that we are fighting, this will happen no more.” 

Upon such harsh words used against Pakistan and the utter rejection of the price of blood and money paid by Pakistan as it has been highlighted time and again that the price of sacrifices paid by Pakistan is much heavier than the economic assistance it has gained from the US. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying affirmed this fact and said, "The international community should fully affirm the efforts by Pakistan," Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made "great sacrifices" and "important contributions" in the fight, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry handout. These words of confidence from China go a long way in support for Pakistan. The two countries are “all-weather” friends and partners whose bond is gaining strength by a shared vision of the Belt and Road initiative. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 22 reinforced China’s support for Pakistan through a formal meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua. This meeting took place merely hours after US President Trump stated, “In Afghanistan and Pakistan, America’s interests are clear; we must stop the resurgence of safe havens that have enabled terrorists to threaten America. We must prevent nuclear weapons and material from coming in to the hands of terrorists and being used against us or anywhere in the world.” 

From the meeting between Yi and Janjua it was revealed that Pakistan and China would continue cooperating with each other closely in efforts to establish peace in Afghanistan and more emphasis will be given to the trilateral Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers' forum. The forum was established in June when Mr. Wang Yi visited Islamabad on a mission to defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr. Yi reiterated Chunying's statement by lauding Pakistan's contributions and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and added that the international community should fully recognize these efforts. The trilateral Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers' forum is a major Chinese success story as it helped defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and is paving the way forward for peace and trade. Instead of negating and neglecting Pakistan’s efforts in the war on terror, the international community needs to take a page from China’s play book for brokering peace. The Pakistani people as well as the government recognizes China’s endeavors for peace and friendship that is why on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua highlighted the importance of Sino-Pak relations and said, "China and Pakistan are not only iron brothers as President Xi Jinping has said, but also steel sisters."

The concerns implied by president Trump regarding Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling in to the hands of the terrorists are preposterously farfetched and the odds of this happening have the same probability as that of a zombie apocalypse. This concern is only a pressure tactic as it has been addressed time and again. Had it been a genuine threat, The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, would not consider Pakistan's nuclear program “safe and secure”. Another point worth mentioning is that, nuclear weapons are sophisticated weapon system which are dismantled and various components are stored and secured at various secret locations and they are not like tennis balls which the terrorists can steal and hide in their under arms and run away with. Similarly there exists an anti thesis regarding the argument about terrorist safe havens in Pakistan. Pakistan has been conducting one military operation with full force after another at its border region with Afghanistan and Pakistani security personnel argue that, whenever the Pakistani security personnel are in hot pursuit of these terrorists they hide within the safe havens in Afghanistan. China fully understands the problems faced by Pakistan and continues to support Pakistan and like China, The international community needs to support Pakistan and should recognize the importance and the role of Pakistan in the global war on terror. 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative, security issues and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)

Summer Christmas for the global business leaders this year came in the form of the Summer Davos which kicked off on June 27-29. The summit is also known as The World Economic Forum's 11th Annual Meeting of the New Champions. This year’s summit focuses on achieving inclusive growth in the fourth industrial revolution. Which essentially means, strengthening “globalization” with special focus on sharing economy, oceans, green investment and new technology innovations for environmental management. This year’s summit has attracted a record high of over 2,000 prominent leaders from eighty four countries. The participating leaders are from various walks of life including; politics, business, civil society, academia and arts. The leaders convened in China's northeastern coastal city of Dalian on Tuesday and the summit is scheduled to conclude on Thursday June 29th. 

The pronounced interest and importance being given to the Summer Davos 2017 in Dalian by the world media is mainly due to the growing wave of anti-globalization sentiment in many countries. The business community and proponents of global trade the world over have started to view China as a bastion of globalization and the Summer Davos 2017 in Dalian is a perfect platform for strengthening and enhancing trade. This is the reason why the key note address of the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang which kick started the event focused a lot on “globalization and inclusivity”. Premier Li said, "It (globalization) is bringing benefits to all countries…Based on the principal of equal consultation, mutual understanding and accommodation, as well as equal treatment without discrimination, countries must seek convergent interests and complement each other's advantages to achieve win-win results." Premier Li acknowledged the hurdles on the path towards globalization and said, “The problems facing different countries are not due to globalization itself, but because of the inability to address it, he noted. It does not make sense to blame the rough road and stop moving if I sprain an ankle."

The Summer Davos 2017 lays tremendous importance towards promoting technological advancements through which various global issues can be tackled. Premier Li said, "Achieving Inclusive Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution" meeting will focus on how technology and policy innovation can accelerate a more inclusive style of economic growth that prioritizes meaningful jobs.” China is fast becoming one of the central players in helping the global community in the process of defibrillating the global economy. The major reason for this is the fact that the Chinese leadership is guiding the Chinese economy through major reforms and much of the Chinese policies are in line with the agenda of the Summer Davos 2017. The Global business community and leaders appreciate China’s commitment and this raises their confidence in China’s role and plans for globalization, which include the Belt and Road initiative. China is now heavily invested in supporting innovations and technological advancements. China now houses nearly 50 unicorns (private companies worth more than $1 billion). These unicorns are on a path towards further expansion, which is why in the near future the world markets will also witness Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) from Chinese technology firms.

With China emerging as a leading country, it is also the reason why there is tremendous interest in China’s economy and Premier Li during his address said, “The Chinese economy has become more stable and sustainable, and has made progress in restructuring and improving efficiency.” As part of the reform process "domestic demand has become a significant pillar (for the economy).” The growth exhibited by the Chinese economy during the first quarter of 2017 is the fastest and raises tremendous confidence in China’s leadership role. A number of financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund acknowledge China’s economic stability, which is why they have upgraded their forecast on China as new impetus is accumulating and the economic re-balance is making headway.

China has also become a leading country in its efforts towards protecting the environment and that is why a senior official at the World Economic Forum stated that, “China plays an increasingly vital role as a world leader in a green and sustainable development model, both in the public and private sectors, The world's largest issuer of green bonds during 2016 was the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank,” this highlights the importance placed by the Chinese government towards ecological and digital economy.”

The Summer Davos 2017 has been a great platform over the years for enhancing trade and mobilizing the leaders as well as global business minds together to not only enhance trade but by the sharing of creative ideas which is reflected in China’s technological advancements and this year’s meeting will tremendously benefit in bolstering the fourth industrial revolution which centers on inclusivity and building the world economy through sustainable and creative means. The 11th annual meeting of the Champions indeed serves as a global stage for engagement of over 2,000 leaders who in turn share ideas on cutting edge of innovation, science and technology which brings mankind closer to building a future where entrepreneurship serves all of society keeping inclusivity as a vivacious central pillar.

The Author:

Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. Dr. Hali did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China and specialized in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.

By Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali

Summer Christmas for the global business leaders this year came in the form of the Summer Davos which kicked off on June 27-29. The summit is also known as The World Economic Forum's 11th Annual Meeting of the New Champions. This year’s summit focuses on achieving inclusive growth in the fourth industrial revolution. Which essentially means, strengthening “globalization” with special focus on sharing economy, oceans, green investment and new technology innovations for environmental management. This year’s summit has attracted a record high of over 2,000 prominent leaders from eighty four countries. The participating leaders are from various walks of life including; politics, business, civil society, academia and arts. The leaders convened in China's northeastern coastal city of Dalian on Tuesday and the summit is scheduled to conclude on Thursday June 29th. 

The pronounced interest and importance being given to the Summer Davos 2017 in Dalian by the world media is mainly due to the growing wave of anti-globalization sentiment in many countries. The business community and proponents of global trade the world over have started to view China as a bastion of globalization and the Summer Davos 2017 in Dalian is a perfect platform for strengthening and enhancing trade. This is the reason why the key note address of the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang which kick started the event focused a lot on “globalization and inclusivity”. Premier Li said, "It (globalization) is bringing benefits to all countries…Based on the principal of equal consultation, mutual understanding and accommodation, as well as equal treatment without discrimination, countries must seek convergent interests and complement each other's advantages to achieve win-win results." Premier Li acknowledged the hurdles on the path towards globalization and said, “The problems facing different countries are not due to globalization itself, but because of the inability to address it, he noted. It does not make sense to blame the rough road and stop moving if I sprain an ankle."

The Summer Davos 2017 lays tremendous importance towards promoting technological advancements through which various global issues can be tackled. Premier Li said, "Achieving Inclusive Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution" meeting will focus on how technology and policy innovation can accelerate a more inclusive style of economic growth that prioritizes meaningful jobs.” China is fast becoming one of the central players in helping the global community in the process of defibrillating the global economy. The major reason for this is the fact that the Chinese leadership is guiding the Chinese economy through major reforms and much of the Chinese policies are in line with the agenda of the Summer Davos 2017. The Global business community and leaders appreciate China’s commitment and this raises their confidence in China’s role and plans for globalization, which include the Belt and Road initiative. China is now heavily invested in supporting innovations and technological advancements. China now houses nearly 50 unicorns (private companies worth more than $1 billion). These unicorns are on a path towards further expansion, which is why in the near future the world markets will also witness Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) from Chinese technology firms.

With China emerging as a leading country, it is also the reason why there is tremendous interest in China’s economy and Premier Li during his address said, “The Chinese economy has become more stable and sustainable, and has made progress in restructuring and improving efficiency.” As part of the reform process "domestic demand has become a significant pillar (for the economy).” The growth exhibited by the Chinese economy during the first quarter of 2017 is the fastest and raises tremendous confidence in China’s leadership role. A number of financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund acknowledge China’s economic stability, which is why they have upgraded their forecast on China as new impetus is accumulating and the economic re-balance is making headway.

China has also become a leading country in its efforts towards protecting the environment and that is why a senior official at the World Economic Forum stated that, “China plays an increasingly vital role as a world leader in a green and sustainable development model, both in the public and private sectors, The world's largest issuer of green bonds during 2016 was the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank,” this highlights the importance placed by the Chinese government towards ecological and digital economy.”

The Summer Davos 2017 has been a great platform over the years for enhancing trade and mobilizing the leaders as well as global business minds together to not only enhance trade but by the sharing of creative ideas which is reflected in China’s technological advancements and this year’s meeting will tremendously benefit in bolstering the fourth industrial revolution which centers on inclusivity and building the world economy through sustainable and creative means. The 11th annual meeting of the Champions indeed serves as a global stage for engagement of over 2,000 leaders who in turn share ideas on cutting edge of innovation, science and technology which brings mankind closer to building a future where entrepreneurship serves all of society keeping inclusivity as a vivacious central pillar.

Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. Dr. Hali did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China and specialized in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.

By Shafei Moiz Hali

Premier Li’s trip to Germany and Belgium to attend the annual China-Germany all-round strategic Prime Ministers meeting and to hold the China-EU summit has proved to be very productive. EU and China jointly contribute almost 60% towards the global nominal GDP. Over the years trade between China and the EU has been on the rise and Premier Li’s tour of Germany and Belgium provides yet another affidavit for this growing trend. 

The world is facing utter chaos caused due to the rise of terror attacks, shifting trends in global politics, sluggish global economic growth, threats of global warming, rise in populism, and refusing admittance to refugees based on the fears of spread of terrorism. All this is extremely detrimental for globalization, freer trade and global peace and prosperity. In the presence of such chaos around the globe, high level international interactions like the China-Germany strategic Prime Ministers meeting and the China-EU summit become positive indicators for globalization, as these interactions provide a platform to global influential leaders to put on their thinking caps to anchor heuristics for global issues. The importance of such interactions also magnifies especially when some of the traditional global leaders start shying away from global issues, like US President Trump’s announcement of pulling out of the Paris climate agreement and his populist stance on other issues. 

Premier Li’s trip to Germany reinforced strong ties between the two countries as various agreements were reached focusing regional and global issues, at the same time bilateral cooperation has been boosted to a new level by the signing of various deals for the enhancement of cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, new-energy vehicles, trilateral cooperation, finance and artificial intelligence. Further steps have been taken to ensure the joint development of the "Made in China 2025" plan and Germany's "Industry 4.0" concept. The cooperation model of the Research Funding 2+2, and the rapid development of various China-Germany industrial parks has also been bolstered. Towards the strengthening of bilateral ties Premier Li said, “China is ready to forge a closer innovative partnership with Germany. China and Germany a golden pair of innovation cooperation and such a partnership has put a high-powered engine to China-Germany pragmatic cooperation.”

The German Chancellor Merkel also responded by praising the strong Sino-German ties and said, “Germany is ready to work with China to build a platform to synergize the innovation and high-tech development strategies of the two countries.” 

As mentioned above, agreements were also reached focusing on regional and global issues. Premier Li and Merkel during the joint press conference stated that, the “two countries have agreed to speed up negotiations on an investment agreement between China and the European Union (EU).” It is prudent to note that this investment deal will is a major achievement as it profits mutual trade by unlocking two-way channels for both markets. Li emphasized the importance of this by saying, “As major trading partners for each other, it is necessary for China and the EU to discuss the feasibility of the establishment of a free trade zone.” Merkel recognized the importance and stated that, “Germany attaches great attention to the EU-China investment treaty, and the signing of the treaty will be a good start of negotiations on an EU-China free trade agreement.” 

Premier Li also attended the 19th China-EU summit at Brussels with President Donald Tusk of the European Council and President Jean-Claude Juncker of the European Commission. The summit was a major success as Premier Li strengthened ties and paved channels for consolidation between the EU and China. Premier Li said, “Stable EU-China relations are useful to counter instability in this world, it requires our constant efforts to resolve existing issues.” This statement by Premier Li emphasizes the fact that EU and China combined have the capacity to kick start the sluggish global economic growth. 

During the summit another hot topic was “climate change” as the EU is a major driver within the global efforts towards curbing CO2 emissions thus President Trump’s announcement of pulling the US out of the Paris climate change agreement is a major blow towards the global efforts directed at tackling climate change. The European leaders regretted the US stance and Donald Tusk stated, “We are convinced that yesterday's decision by the United States to leave the Paris Agreement is a big mistake, but the fight against climate change, and all the research, innovation and technological progress it will bring, will continue, with or without the US.”

Jean-Claude Juncker also expressed his regrets and said, “Fighting climate change is more important today than yesterday. […] There is no reverse gear on energy transition, no backsliding on the Paris agreement.”

China is also taking major strides in combating climate change and Premier Li emphasized China’s stance on global warming and said, “China will continue to work "steadfastly" to implement the commitment of the Paris climate deal and combating climate change is a global consensus, “with tremendous efforts, China will move towards the 2030 goal step-by-step steadfastly." 

The overall summit was a major success as European Council president Donald Tusk and President Jean-Claude Juncker of the European Commission both felt major inroads have been made in strengthening Sino-EU ties. Tusk while defining the achievements within the summit said, "My impression is that it was the most fruitful and most promising summit."

To conclude every time when major leaders meet and get face time, the chances of successful integration rise, as such interactions provide platforms for streamlining trade mechanisms, signing new deals, and they are a win for globalization and a win for multilateralism as these are the only means of pushing the gas pedal for regularized global economic growth in a fair environment and this is the reason why Premier Li said, “We need to uphold multilateral rules, this world will be a jungle without multilateral rules. Both sides believe that China and the EU should go with the tide of globalization and push forward globalization to make it fairer and more inclusive, It is clear that globalization has brought tremendous benefits to China, the EU and the world.”

Shafei Moiz Hali has a master's degree from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in the field of International Commerce and Public Policy. Mr. Hali has been working as an Assistant Professor at the National Defense University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy Since 2009. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD from the College of Public Administration at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China.

By Shafei M. Hali

Emmanuel Macron won France's presidential race on Sunday. The 39 year old has never held elected office. He will also be the youngest president of France's Fifth Republic which was introduced on October 5, 1958. The young investment banker rode on a tide of young and educated supporters who felt disenfranchised by the surge of populism following the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's victory in the US election.

Mr. Macron, won France's presidential election on Sunday, after defeating the far right nationalist Marine Le Pen, with the polls showing 66.1% votes going to Mr. Macron and 33.9% going in favor of Marine Le Pen. The results clearly highlighted that there exists a majority in France which firmly rejects the far-right message and backs Macron's stance for centrist change.

France is a member of the Group of 7 leading industrialized nations. France is ranked as the world's ninth largest and the EU's second largest economy. France is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council, making it a very important country. This is the reason why, the elections in France were carefully watched around the world. Especially after the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's election win in the US. It was observed that the world is going through a populist movement. As mentioned above at the end it was down to Mr. Macron and Ms. Le Pen. Le Pen's victory would have meant another win for the populist movement and would have been damaging for the future of EU. However, Macron's victory offers significant respite to the European Union. His stance on relaxing labor rules, making France more competitive and viable globally and bolstering relations with the European Union is an inclusive stance which provides encouragement to the global financial markets and is a major win for free trade. 

It is clear from Mr. Macron's win that France's future as part of the EU is secure for now. Nevertheless, the question being raised by pundits around the globe is; what does it mean for other major players in the world? For the case of the US, this election win means; the continuation of the status quo in US-French relations from a defense and economic perspective. As this is a win for the centrists thus sanity will prevail and there will not be any surprises. For the case of China which is the second largest economy in the world and after this wave of populism, it is China which is emerging as the bastion of free trade and inclusivity with its Belt and Road initiative. Thus, this is also a big question, what does Mr. Macron's election win means for the future of Sino-French relations?

It was made pretty clear during the campaign that Mr. Macron holds China in high esteem. He holds a profound interest in Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping as leaders. In an interview conducted by Le Parisien, Macron said; "I am a Maoist." And elaborated that, for Mao, "a good program is what works." Macron during his campaign used anecdotes and references from Chinese history several times. At one instance Macron was asked about the Left-Right divide in France and Macron began his answer with Deng Xiaoping's maxim "it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice." He even likened the intense campaign as the "long march" in China. These are a few examples and they clearly highlight Macron's interest in Chinese history and approval of China's stance. Macron's favorable stance towards China becomes even more evident from his book "Révolution". In this book he praises China's path towards economic development extensively and also wrote that Chinese leaders have never forgotten the fact that France was the first Western power to establish diplomatic ties with China.

President Xi Jinping responded in kind towards Macron's interest in China and the Chinese President was amongst the first few global leaders who called President elect Macron upon his election victory and as highlighted by Macron in his book, President Xi proved to Macron that the Chinese Leadership has not forgotten, when he said; "France was the first major Western country to have established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China. China-France relations, which have significant strategic importance and international influence, have been developing steadily, healthily and consistently in recent years," he said. "Both as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and big countries with significant international influence, China and France bear special important responsibilities to world peace and development," Xi said.

"Maintaining the steady and healthy development of the China-France relationship benefits not only the two countries and peoples, but also world peace, stability and development, he noted.

China is willing to work with the French side to push the close and sustaining China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level."

With President Xi's courteous congratulatory message and Macron's extremely favorable stance towards China; Sino-French relations are expected to hit new highs especially in the presence of President Xi's Belt and Road initiative and Macron's Ideals catering for "economic liberalism." It seems China and France are likely to be headed on a patch which will make the two countries important allies in supporting globalization, free-trade and the fight against climate change. 

The Author:

Shafei Moiz Hali has a master's degree from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in the field of International Commerce and Public Policy. Mr. Hali has been working as an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy Since 2009. Currently he is pursuing his PhD from the College of Public Administration at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China.

By Shafei M. Hali

May 14 -15, this year marks the date for the Belt and Road Summit which is set to be hosted in Beijing. This year's summit is undoubtedly going to be the largest economic and trade event hosted in China for the year 2017. The Belt and Road initiative is only four years old, but it has gained incredible interest by many countries. Back in 2013 when President Xi Jinping first unveiled the initiative; the global reception for the initiative was lukewarm because of its sheer size; many couldn't fathom that an initiative of such massive proportions was possible, as it involves about 65 percent of the world's population, approximately one-third of the world's GDP, and responsible for the movement of a quarter of all the goods and services in the world. Merely four years down the lane from the historical announcement, countries and international organizations have been lining up to make this Chinese dream in to the global dream. The Belt and Road Summit is the super bowl event each year which helps all the participating countries, interested countries and all the international organizations to gather together, essentially the summit is the major and primary platform for all current and prospective stake holders to rationalize any difficulties within the ongoing projects as well as to bolster economic cooperation.

Last year's summit proved to be quite a success, as it brought together more than 2,400 distinguished government officials, senior representatives of international institutions, more than 40 prominent international speakers, around 400 top business executives from China and countries along the Belt and Road and 60 delegations, to identify the new business opportunities arising from the Initiative. To cover this important event some 270 journalists from around the world attended the summit. The Summit has gained so much significance that getting invitations for the summit are a much sought after commodity. 

Since the Belt and Road initiative has started to show progress within the infrastructure projects, global interest has also started to spike, that is why this year more than two dozen Heads of states from various countries have confirmed their attendance. The heads of states include:  Argentinean President Mauricio Macri, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Czech President Milos Zeman, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Swiss President Doris Leuthard, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Mongolian Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Apart from heads of states senior representatives from many major countries around the world are attending. Japan initially didn't view the Belt and Road Initiative favorably but things have now changed as Japan is sending a high profile representative for this year's summit. Toshihiro Nikai, second only to Japan's prime minister has confirmed attendance. All this interest and hype certainly points towards the importance of the Belt and Road initiative. 

The Belt and Road Initiative is certainly taking off and success of the initiative can be gauged through some of the facts coming from the successes of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which only through its limited time in operation has contributed in giving out loans up to 1,915 million US dollars for infrastructure projects. The AIIB has gained 70 member countries and this number is on a continuous rise, as 13 of these members joined in March this year. International organizations are also joining hands to bolster the vision of the AIIB. The Asian Development Bank contributes US dollars 10 billion annually to the AIIB's cause. All these facts highlight the significance of the Belt and Road Summit. 

The world as we know it is in a flux, where trade and economic growth is stagnating, oil prices are dropping, the Middle East is embarking on a path towards reforming their economies away from oil trade dependency. The political and security situation in the Middle East is also volatile. The situation in the EU hasn't fared better after Brexit. After the first 100 days into the Trump Presidency; the world largest economy is not giving out positive vibes and direction to the rest of the world due to the populist slogans of "America First". All this confusion is not helping the case for the sluggish global economic growth. In this smoke of confusion, China's Belt and Road initiative seems like the only bright light and a tangible way forward for the rest of the world to embark upon. This is the very reason why the Belt and Road Summit which is scheduled to be hosted by China from 14-15 of May at Beijing holds tremendous value. Everyone knows that this year's Belt and Road Summit is important; that is why even though France and Germany are going through elections but are still sending high-level representatives to participate in this year's Belt and Road Summit. 

To conclude China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi correctly described the importance of this year's Belt and Road Summit by saying; "Today's world requires an open and inclusive platform, to gather our resources and to face the challenges of globalization, The 'One Belt, One Road' initiative was born against this background and this is an economic cooperation forum, an international cooperation platform that everyone is paying attention to, supports and hopes to participate in."

The Author:

Shafei Moiz Hali has a master's degree from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in the field of International Commerce and Public Policy. Mr. Hali has been working as an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy Since 2009. Currently he is pursuing his PhD from the College of Public Administration at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China.

By Shafei M. Hali

It is now a little over a month since President Trump took the oath for the US presidency and as the western and global media suggests it has been a month full of action and surprises. 

So far President Trump has penned down at least 20 executive actions, which also includes the provocative "Muslim-Ban" barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries, he has established 14 members of his cabinet, and signed five executive orders. 

With all this action there have also been reports of numerous scandals and issues that have surfaced regarding his statements. All this has set the world in a state of confusion, the most damage was caused especially through the order, which placed a ban on the entry of people from seven Muslim-majority countries, because much of Mr. Trump's campaign days were full of populist ideals and he had many times raised concerns over Muslims in American and in the world in general and banning Muslim refugees in the name of bolstering security. 

With the executive order termed by the media as the "Muslim-ban," analysts and the media alike are predicting that all the other proposals which Mr. Trump had been talking about during his campaign days, which were all initially regarded as campaign rhetoric might also come true. 

After the "Muslim-ban", Trumps "wall" at the Mexican border making other countries pay for American security provision services seem like they might also come true. 

Though Mr. Trump's presidency during its first month has been tumultuous, and the continuation of the myriad of tweets has provided tremendous ammunition to the media for painting a picture for darker and unpredictable times ahead, but the reality is that even Mr. Obama after taking office issued about the same number of executive actions at this point in time, during his first presidency. 

The difference between Obama and Trump is that, Mr. Obama's actions seemed subtle compared to President Trump owing greatly to the difference in personalities and relations with the media. 

In terms of foreign policy; President Trump has proven to be a little different as compared to presidential candidate Trump, accept for the "Muslim-ban." 

Mr. Trump during his campaign days raised a lot of points against China, which the western media was quick to highlight. As President Elect he even suggested pondering over rethinking the "One-China Policy" which the U.S has upheld and maintained for over 40 years, and it was widely debated that President Trump might not honor this policy. 

It was also suggested by a few media outlets that Mr. Trump is the type of person who gets wooed by strongman leadership and he might be won over by China and all the campaign rhetoric regarding China will wash away and Sino-US relations will not be dented. 

So far during the first month into the Trump Presidency this predication has come true, as after a telephonic conversation on Feb. 9, 2017, between President Xi Jinping and President Trump, it was revealed that President Trump "fully understands the one-China policy and would adhere to it." This is a major sign so far by the Trump Presidency that, Sino-US relations would carry on the same way and that there is hope for the avoidance of a frictional path. 

It is true that in today's world, stable Sino-US relations are in the best interest of not merely both the countries but for everyone; as the two countries house the largest economies of the world today. With the global economy still recovering from shocks and aftershocks of the global financial crisis, steady Sino-US relations are judicious for of everyone. 

Since both economies are greatly intertwined and any harm or restrictions if set in to motion can prove to be detrimental for both the countries. The US is China's biggest importer in terms of sales of Chinese goods by dollar value during 2015. The US imports from China in 2015 amounted to 410.8 billion US dollars, which is roughly 18% of the total exports of China, thus it can easily be said that the US is the biggest market for Chinese goods. 

On the other side, China is the third largest importer of US goods and services, the trade between the two countries in 2015 alone helped create 2.6 million jobs in the United States and US dollars 216 billion of GDP, also greater trade with China lowers the inflation rate in the US as China provides cheaper goods to the US economy which helps every household in the US to save money and it has been estimated that in 2015 trade with China helped every household in the US save 850 dollars each. 

Though the US economy is recovering from the 2008 financial crisis, it still has a lot of ground to cover before it can be termed as out of the woods. These trade facts are known by the advisers of President Trump and this is the reason why President Trump's claims regarding China during his campaign days have given way to maintaining normal ties. 

A peaceful and prosperous world needs strong and balanced Sino-US ties as both countries contribute much towards the global economy. Within the last 15 years China has contributed tremendously towards the global economic growth, more so than the joint EU and the US contributions. China's contribution towards the global GDP growth in 2015 accounted to around a third of the total global GDP growth. 

Making China an extremely significant trade partner for the US, this is the reason why even in the past many US presidents raised chants about getting "tough on China" during their campaign days but took a U-turn from their campaign rhetoric and maintained strong ties with China after assuming office. 

The Author:

Shafei Moiz Hali has a master's degree from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in the field of International Commerce and Public Policy. Mr. Hali has been working as an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy Since 2009. Currently he is pursuing his PhD from the College of Public Administration at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China.

By Shafei Moiz Hali

The internet and its supporting technologies are advancing at an exponential rate, according to moor’s law computing power doubles every 18 months. If we compared the processing power for various computers and devices from 1956 to present day technologies we will see a 1 trillion-fold increase in performance over those six decades. With these massive advancements come challenges in various shapes and sizes, because the technology and the internet is evolving so fast that many technologies are becoming obsolete before the larger public even gets a chance to fully adapt to them. For states and governments these advancements also bring challenges; most of these challenges stem from that fact that the states need to collaborate with one another to fully reap the benefits of these technological advancements. The 4th World Internet Conference (WIC) is being held in Wuzhen, a water town in east China's Zhejiang Province. The theme of this year’s conference is 'Developing Digital Economy for Openness and Shared Benefits - Building a Community of Common Future in Cyberspace'.

Delegates attend the Fourth World Internet Conference in the water town of Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 3, 2017. The conference opened Sunday in Wuzhen.[Photo: Xinhua]

The 4th WIC is organized by 32 international institutions, domestic ministries and commissions, industry associations and well-known enterprises. There are also 26 organizations, universities and companies acting as co-organizers. For this year’s conference over 1,500 people will participate, from over 80 countries and five continents, including heads of international organizations, Internet business leaders, Internet celebrities, experts and scholars. 

The theme for this year’s conference focuses primarily on “digital economy” and for any economy to gain advancements; trade and connectivity with other economies is paramount. Similarly modern concept of digital economy also demands the same; which is why the 4th WIC will advocate the significance of openness, sharing and interconnectedness in the virtual world of cyberspace. These virtues can be practiced in the case of physical trade thus they can also be replicated for digital economies, but for this concept to work; states and organizations need to have a platform of joint governance which China is willing to provide. If this concept can be translated in to reality it can help bridge the gap between the developing and the developed countries. 

The global economic growth rate got severely snagged by the financial crisis in 2008 and ever since it hasn’t picked up the pace it ought to, and the spread of populism hasn’t helped the cause either. Major global players like USA have started to take a U-turn from globalization and China has emerged as the bastion of globalization and trade openness. Under the leadership of Chinese president Xi Jinping, the CPC has been painstakingly busy at revolutionizing the economic growth model of China; in which China is now focused at quality growth rather than quantity. To achieve this, President Xi’s vision promotes technological advancements and innovation. Which is why for the 4th WIC, President Xi in a letter to the WIC stressed that, “China hopes to encourage countries around the world to take a ride on the express train of internet and digital economic development.”

President Xi’s vision for the future, targets prosperity, trade openness and exponential economic development through innovation and technology advancements and this bright future is not only envisioned for China but for all, as President Xi is a staunch believer of cooperation and believes that for this dream to become a reality; a community of shared interests and win-win scenarios is principal. This is why China has embarked upon the Belt and Road Initiative. This vision of president Xi is evident in his letter to the WIC, in which he states, “China hopes to work with the international community to respect cyberspace sovereignty and carry forward the spirit of partnership to commonly advance development, safeguard security, participate in governance, and share the benefits.” President Xi stressed that "China's doors to the world will never close, but will only open wider.”

At the opening session of the 4th WIC the key note address was provided by Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat. Mr. Wang’s speech resonated on the same notes as that of President Xi and Mr. Wang said, “China is willing to conform to the historic opportunities brought by the development of the internet and use the digital economy as an important driving force to promote the openness, cooperation, exchange, and sharing in cyberspace and build a community of common future in cyberspace.”

The WIC is not only a platform where tech and internet companies from around the world can gather to have a dialog; the WIC has become the pulse for global internet regulations. There has been chatter around the globe for some time now regarding the new age of “digital economy” but so far there had mainly been only talk because events like the global financial crisis and the spread of anti-globalization sentiments had greatly dented the advancements in this realm. For this new age to kick start, it needs international cooperation and this year’s 4th WIC aims at promoting cooperation, which is why at the 4th WIC two Blue Papers; China Internet Development Report 2017 and World Internet Development Report 2017, will be released for the first time by this conference. With the revelation of these two blue prints the countries and participants take a peek into the comprehensive plans and trends of China’s Internet development. China’s Internet development is an important case study for all around the globe. As internet service provision is one measure, which is a good indicator but the most accurate measure is the actual number of internet users within a country, and China ranks highest in the world in this measure. The total number of internet users in China stands at 738,539,792. 

There are various forums this year at the WIC, like; Artificial Intelligence forum, the Global Digital Economy forum, Fintech forum and the forum for the Business Leaders Dialogue. At these forums new mechanisms for cooperation will also be devised and agreed upon which will incorporate Chinese wisdom into global Internet governance and provide a vision of future development. The conference will endorse a series of collaboration accords amongst Chinese and foreign governments, organizations and enterprises. 

The important thing to note is that Indeed China has come a long way, China’s growth thus far was achieved primarily due to the manufacturing model of economic growth but it was fast identified by President Xi that such a model is not sustainable and due to his vision to promote research and development (R&D) along with making the internet available for all has transformed China in to an economy which is generating the most innovations around the globe, every year China breaks the record at the World Intellectual Property Organization with the most patent applications. In the year 2016 the record was once again broken with the maximum number of Chinese applications standing at more than 3.4 million, which is an astronomical achievement in record time. The most remarkable thing about this fact is that, it was only a few years ago that Chinese manufacturing was frowned upon in the world and now due to the focus on R&D, Chinese inventions and technologies are a source of envy. 

China under the leadership of President Xi is on a path of creating a world of shared prosperity through interconnectedness and it is through the 4th WIC the countries will also witness the blue prints for the development of digital economy and its global governance for the Internet which will be a Chinese solution of building a community of common future in cyberspace.

（Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.）

By Shafei Moiz Hali

On Monday, US President Donald Trump unveiled his administration's "National Security Strategy" at the Ronald Reagan Building of the International Trade Center in Washington D.C. The tradition of presenting the national security strategy to congress was started back in 1987 by then President Ronald Reagan. Trump's national security strategy is the 17th overall in the history of the US. In my opinion as a professor of governance and foreign policy, what sets this strategy apart from the previous 16 is that Trump's plan seems more like a strategy filled with whining, with an attempt to provocatively showcase the world in the same light as that of the cold war era politics. 

US President Donald Trump speaks and lays out a national security strategy that envisions nations in perpetual competition, reverses Obama-era warnings on climate change, and de-emphasizes multinational agreements, in Washington, Monday, Dec. 18, 2017.[Photo: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta]

In his speech, President Trump called China and Russia "rival powers" and "competitors." China has always defined the relationship as a "partnership" rather than a relationship of "competition," and Chinese leadership has strived rigorously to maintain this relationship as a partnership. This is exactly why the foreign ministries of various countries have lashed out towards trump's national security strategy. Iran's foreign ministry termed the Trump strategy as "imbalanced" and "one-sided," and a spokesperson from the ministry stated, "the unwise content of this imbalanced and one-sided strategy clearly shows that the U.S. government is trying to play the blame game in the face of challenges, dysfunctions and self-created problems it has always been dealing with in the domestic and international arena."

The foreign ministry of Pakistan released a statement on the 19th of December stating, "The US strategy has made certain unsubstantiated allegations towards Pakistan. Pakistan rejects such unfounded accusations that belie facts on the ground and trivialize Pakistan's efforts for fighting terrorism, and our unmatched sacrifices to promote peace and stability in the region."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that, "A quick read of the parts of the strategy that mention our country ... shows an imperialist character."

Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, stated; "We urge the US side to stop deliberately distorting China's strategic intentions and abandon such outdated concepts as the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game - otherwise it will only end up harming itself as well as others." 

Even the media within the US is picking apart Trump's national security strategy and Roger Cohen of the New York Times termed the strategy as a "Farce" and he quotes a European ambassador who stated, "It's impossible to know what the United States position is on any number of subjects," We could go sleepwalking into a war."

As mentioned above that, Trump's strategy mirrors a strategy full of whining and complaining because it fails to address the failures of US foreign policies. And rather than outlining corrective measures, it is a document full of insecurities earmarked by nifty new terms like "national security innovation base." These insecurities are justified by puerilely blaming everyone else rather than owning up to America's own responsibilities. The strategy document resonates along the same lines as that of the "America first policy." The part about blaming others and calling out China and Russia as "rivals" and "competitors" seems petty. The strategy highlights the securing of intellectual property rights as if China is going to steal them by hacking. The US has been complaining for quite some time regarding cyber security, intellectual property rights, economic security, and playing the age old blame game with China but it fails to eat humble pie when it comes to the US's own endeavors to hack in to Chinese servers. When we look at NORSE cyber-attack maps, it clearly shows the number of attempted cyber-attacks against China, with most of them originating from the US, thus the nifty new terms like, "national security innovation base" mentioned in Trump's National Security Strategy seem hypocritical.  

To conclude, the world knows now the gap between what Mr. Trump has said regarding China as compared to what his actions have been regarding China. His actions significantly differ from his words. Monday's speech follows the same trend. Evidence of this difference can be gauged by taking a look at what he used to say during his campaign days as compared to his actions today. During the days of campaigning Mr. Trump lashed out to China and termed China as responsible for stealing American jobs. Upon his first state visit to China, a new Trump was visible and his words took a U-turn and were full of "utmost respect" for China and President Xi Jinping. 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

Bilateral relations between China and South Korea were booming a year ago, and China became South Korea's largest trading partner. South Korean exports to China reached over $137 billion while imports were greater-than $90 billion. This blossoming relationship came to a halt when South Korea's previous President Park Geun-hye decided to the installation of the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense platform, despite China's warning against this deployment.

When relations between the two countries became strained, bilateral trade also started to dry up because the people of China highly value national integrity and reacted very strongly against the deployment of THAAD. Chinese people started to boycott South Korean goods and services and this movement spread to the tourism industry as well, resulting in fewer travel tours to South Korea. These reactions on the Chinese side resulted in 0.4% shaving of economic growth in South Korea. After Park Geun-hye was impeached, President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea was elected as the new President this year. Immediately after assuming office, President Moon decided to rectify the follies of the conservative Saenuri Party and President Park. He made it a priority to mend relations with China.

Local residents take part in a protest against the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2016.[Photo: Xinhua]

Moon was unable to reverse the decision to deploy THAAD but because of his efforts, reassurances have been given to China that the "THAAD system deployed in Korea is, pursuant to the original purpose of its deployment, not directed to harm China's strategic security and interests." Apart from this guarantee given by the government in Seoul, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha announced a couple of days ago that "South Korea is not considering any additional deployments of the US Terminal High Attitude Area Defense anti-missile system, and the country won't participate in the US-led missile defense networks."

The reassurances given by South Korea have not changed Beijing's stance on the deployment of THAAD, as the foreign ministry of China maintains that "it opposes the deployment of THAAD as a matter of national security," But China "takes note of South Korea's stance and hopes South Korea will properly handle the relevant issues." Both sides have agreed to "keep communication through military-to-military channels."

The important point to consider is that peaceful diplomacy takes a lot of patience, careful planning and time. President Xi has proven yet again his leadership skills in maintaining peace, as progress has been made in stopping further deployment of US systems in South Korea which otherwise would have been detrimental not only for China but also for the region at large. North Korea is treading on a dangerous path of conducting tests of its nuclear arsenal as a signal of military strength despite mounting UN sanctions. These recent tests are part of retaliatory measures taken by North Korea over the deployment of THAAD and further deployments would have been contrary to offering an olive branch to Pyongyang. The US stance of further deployments would create a security dilemma and would push an already volatile region into a spiral. Since China is committed towards establishing peace and Chinese influence in the region and convinced South Korea to stop further deployments, this step can prove to be a major confidence building measure in the peaceful denuclearization process of the Korean peninsula. Similarly China's concerns regarding the trilateral military cooperation between the South Korea, Japan and the United States as a tactic for flanking North Korea would have only made matters worse. Thankfully South Korea has heeded China's concerns, which is why Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha announced a couple of days ago that "the trilateral military cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo would not extend into a military alliance."

It is because of the positive attitude exhibited by the Moon government in South Korea that China has agreed with South Korea to put bilateral relations back on the right track, which is why the two countries recently held high-level talks between Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of national security of the Blue House, and Kong Xuanyou, assistant foreign minister of China. The talks were successful as both countries issued a joint statement in which it was mentioned that, "Both sides attach great importance to China-South Korea ties and stand ready to promote their strategic cooperative partnership." At the same time it has been noted that China is taking the lead in actively trying to resolve the issue of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. In the joint statement, it was mentioned that China and South Korea had agreed to enhance strategic communication and cooperation in the face of North Korea's accelerating nuclear and missile program.

As part of the normalization of ties, China has offered to renew a $56 billion currency swap agreement while Chinese airlines are reportedly planning to restore flight routes to South Korea. Last week President Moon labeled South Korea's relationship with China as significant in finding a peaceful solution to the nuclear buildup on the Korean Peninsula.

To conclude, China has clearly stated that it will maintain its stance towards the deployment of THAAD and will continue to hold talks with the Moon government to find a solution to the problem. THAAD-related issues not only undermine China's security interests but are a major road block in starting meaningful negotiations with Pyongyang to establish peace. But efforts made by the Moon administration have created space for the normalcy of Sino-South Korean ties, which is why President Xi's administration has responded adequately and a meeting between President Xi and President Moon can be expected on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum which will be held in Vietnam later this month.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He obtained his PhD at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defense University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Vietnam and Laos from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14, is actually his first overseas visit after the 19th National Congress of the CPC meeting. During this trip President Xi is expected to enhance Asia-Pacific collaboration. The President has been hailed in China and also globally as a bastion of economic integration. Xi is not only expected to attend the APEC summit but will continue to boost cooperation with Vietnam as he is also visiting the country on a state visit. 

The state visit to Vietnam comes after a series of important events. Firstly, as mentioned above this is President Xi’s first visit abroad after the CPC’s 19th National Congress, during which President Xi’s name and doctrine was unanimously enshrined in its Constitution, elevating him to the status of the most powerful leaders in the past three decades. With this strong merit badge, President Xi now walks with an elevated commitment towards making the Chinese dream a reality as well as developing an interconnected world with prosperity. Secondly, the visit to Vietnam comes after President Trump’s official visit to China which is being hailed as a successful trip. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a grand welcome ceremony hosted by Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, ahead of their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov. 12, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

Vietnam is a neighboring country of China, and President Xi recently published a signed article before his upcoming state visit to Vietnam in which he described the two nations as "close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers," Xi said that China and Vietnam have had a long history of exchange and mutual learning dating back to ancient times. 

President Xi also highlighted that, “The two sides need to enhance the complementarity of their development strategies and work for substantive progress in bilateral cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure, trade, industrial capacity, cross-border economic cooperation zones and agriculture”. The two neighbors have long celebrated their political and economic ties and Xi's visit will surely bolster the already strong economic ties between the two nations. In fact China is Vietnam's biggest trade partner consecutively for the past 13 years, Both countries are parties to the ASEAN China FTA, which created the largest free trade area in the world. Apart from ASEAN China FTA, both countries are currently negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes the ASEAN member states, and the six states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements, which include Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. 

According to Chinese statistics, China’s exports to Vietnam grew by an average annual rate of 18 percent during 2010-2016, and its imports from Vietnam grew by 26 percent. Over 70 percent of Chinese imports into Vietnam are intermediate goods such as machinery, electrical and electronic products, textiles and fabrics, base metals and minerals, and chemicals. In the last 2-3 years, other goods such as plastic and clothing products for consumer purposes also accounted for a small part of Chinese imports in Vietnam. In the first seven months of 2017, China has emerged as the largest exporter to Vietnam at US$ 31.59 billion, an increase of 15.3 percent compared to the same period in 2016. China’s first FDI in Vietnam was in 1991 when a Guangxi enterprise (China) joint ventured with a Vietnam group to open Hoa Long restaurant in Hanoi. Since then, Chinese FDI has increased, although not consistently. For example, China’s FDI in Vietnam in 2012 was US$ 312 million, while in 2013; it rose to US$ 2.3 billion. As of March 2017, the cumulative Chinese FDI stood at US$ $11.19 billion for 1,616 active projects. 

A new China-Vietnam cross-border trade zone in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has opened; which will create about 100,000 jobs and help lift 350,000 people out of poverty in the border area. China's Photovoltaic (PV) Industry Association was setup in Vietnam, the first Chinese trade association established by the China Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam aimed at boosting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

The people to people’s exchanges between the two countries is also experiencing highs, Vietnam welcomed over 3.2 million Chinese visitors in the first 10 months of this year, enjoying a year-on-year surge of 45.6 percent. 

This year’s APEC is going to focus a lot on e-commerce. With this regard Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma is also visiting Vietnam and Vietnamese Government has sought his inputs and help in the plan for developing e-commerce in the 2016-2020 period, which aims for 30% of the Vietnamese population using e-commerce and average e-commerce revenue reaching US$350 per person per year. PM Phuc spoke highly of the Billionaire and said, “Vietnam needs Alibaba’s support to set up an e-commerce ecosystem to help Vietnamese farmers and traders boost exports.”

To conclude, Vietnam and China ties have witnessed ups and down in the past, but one thing has remained on a constant trend of gaining momentum and that is the trade between the two countries. President Trump’s speech at the APEC reinforces the “America First” rhetoric as once again, Mr. Trump’s focus was on bilateral trade agreements and criticism for the WTO, while in contrast President Xi again came out as the bastion of global trade and openness, this is a strong indicator for Vietnam and the other countries that China under the leadership of President Xi is on a path to build strong and balanced trade relationships based on mutual gain. 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Vietnam and Laos from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14, is actually his first overseas visit after the 19th National Congress of the CPC meeting. During this trip President Xi is expected to enhance Asia-Pacific collaboration. The President has been hailed in China and also globally as a bastion of economic integration. Xi is not only expected to attend the APEC summit but will continue to boost cooperation with Vietnam as he is also visiting the country on a state visit. 

The state visit to Vietnam comes after a series of important events. Firstly, as mentioned above this is President Xi’s first visit abroad after the CPC’s 19th National Congress, during which President Xi’s name and doctrine was unanimously enshrined in its Constitution, elevating him to the status of the most powerful leaders in the past three decades. With this strong merit badge, President Xi now walks with an elevated commitment towards making the Chinese dream a reality as well as developing an interconnected world with prosperity. Secondly, the visit to Vietnam comes after President Trump’s official visit to China which is being hailed as a successful trip. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a grand welcome ceremony hosted by Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, ahead of their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov. 12, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

Vietnam is a neighboring country of China, and President Xi recently published a signed article before his upcoming state visit to Vietnam in which he described the two nations as "close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers," Xi said that China and Vietnam have had a long history of exchange and mutual learning dating back to ancient times. 

President Xi also highlighted that, “The two sides need to enhance the complementarity of their development strategies and work for substantive progress in bilateral cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure, trade, industrial capacity, cross-border economic cooperation zones and agriculture”. The two neighbors have long celebrated their political and economic ties and Xi's visit will surely bolster the already strong economic ties between the two nations. In fact China is Vietnam's biggest trade partner consecutively for the past 13 years, Both countries are parties to the ASEAN China FTA, which created the largest free trade area in the world. Apart from ASEAN China FTA, both countries are currently negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes the ASEAN member states, and the six states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements, which include Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. 

According to Chinese statistics, China’s exports to Vietnam grew by an average annual rate of 18 percent during 2010-2016, and its imports from Vietnam grew by 26 percent. Over 70 percent of Chinese imports into Vietnam are intermediate goods such as machinery, electrical and electronic products, textiles and fabrics, base metals and minerals, and chemicals. In the last 2-3 years, other goods such as plastic and clothing products for consumer purposes also accounted for a small part of Chinese imports in Vietnam. In the first seven months of 2017, China has emerged as the largest exporter to Vietnam at US$ 31.59 billion, an increase of 15.3 percent compared to the same period in 2016. China’s first FDI in Vietnam was in 1991 when a Guangxi enterprise (China) joint ventured with a Vietnam group to open Hoa Long restaurant in Hanoi. Since then, Chinese FDI has increased, although not consistently. For example, China’s FDI in Vietnam in 2012 was US$ 312 million, while in 2013; it rose to US$ 2.3 billion. As of March 2017, the cumulative Chinese FDI stood at US$ $11.19 billion for 1,616 active projects. 

A new China-Vietnam cross-border trade zone in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has opened; which will create about 100,000 jobs and help lift 350,000 people out of poverty in the border area. China's Photovoltaic (PV) Industry Association was setup in Vietnam, the first Chinese trade association established by the China Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam aimed at boosting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

The people to people’s exchanges between the two countries is also experiencing highs, Vietnam welcomed over 3.2 million Chinese visitors in the first 10 months of this year, enjoying a year-on-year surge of 45.6 percent. 

This year’s APEC is going to focus a lot on e-commerce. With this regard Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma is also visiting Vietnam and Vietnamese Government has sought his inputs and help in the plan for developing e-commerce in the 2016-2020 period, which aims for 30% of the Vietnamese population using e-commerce and average e-commerce revenue reaching US$350 per person per year. PM Phuc spoke highly of the Billionaire and said, “Vietnam needs Alibaba’s support to set up an e-commerce ecosystem to help Vietnamese farmers and traders boost exports.”

To conclude, Vietnam and China ties have witnessed ups and down in the past, but one thing has remained on a constant trend of gaining momentum and that is the trade between the two countries. President Trump’s speech at the APEC reinforces the “America First” rhetoric as once again, Mr. Trump’s focus was on bilateral trade agreements and criticism for the WTO, while in contrast President Xi again came out as the bastion of global trade and openness, this is a strong indicator for Vietnam and the other countries that China under the leadership of President Xi is on a path to build strong and balanced trade relationships based on mutual gain. 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

During the all-important opening session of the CPC’s 19th National Congress, President Xi Jinping presented his report. Within the report, he highlighted the various achievements of the CPC during the past five years and also put forward the plans for the future of China. Among these plans, Xi emphasized the importance of China’s armed forces and accentuated the need to revolutionize the military, in this respect, he said, “The CPC will strive to fully transform the people's armed forces into a world-class military by the mid-21st century.”

He went on, to further elaborate the timelines set to achieve these goals when he stated, “By the year 2020, mechanization will be basically achieved, with IT application coming a long way and strategic capabilities seeing a big improvement. The modernization of the national defense and armed forces should be basically completed by 2035.”

The press center of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) holds a group interview on "solid strides on the path of building a powerful military with Chinese characteristics" in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 22, 2017.[Photo: Xinhua]

It is a known fact that under the leadership of President Xi, China has, for the first time, been investing heavily in research and development, and the investments have not only come in the form of hiking grants for research but also by passing policies which promote research and innovation. President Xi has been successful in breeding an environment for research and development in China, as Chinese innovators powered global patent applications to a new record high in 2015, filing more than a million applications. These innovations are not only being developed in China within the commercial sector but also in the realm of military applications. This is the reason why he is confident in setting these targets as he sees the People's Liberation Army (PLA) advancing according to the set goals. 

China is advancing tremendously in terms of research on new technologies, and these advancements being made are forcing the perceived global giants to pursue China and to compare notes with their Chinese counterparts. One example from the commercial sector was seen last year when Microsoft researchers declared that the company had produced software proficient in matching human skills in comprehending speech. This achievement was being lauded as a first, and a cause for rejoicing but the celebrations were cut short when it was learned that Baidu had done the same thing two years earlier. 

In the past, Chinese weapon systems and technology were not considered comparable with the modern weapon systems rolling out of the western military factory lines. Now the situation is fast changing, and this is quite evident as the news from various military quarters around the world is resonating on the same wavelength. According to a report by the RAND Corporation, “Over the past two decades, China's PLA has transformed itself from a large but antiquated force into a capable, modern military.” Now the concern in various quarters is that eventually, the western military technological superiority is going to lose to rivals such as China and Russia, which is why NATO states are gearing up to develop innovative weapons in close cooperation to optimize military spending. 

President Xi, though satisfied with the current advancements in China’s military, has the vision to see China go beyond the competition in all aspects. That is why he said, "A military is built to fight," stressing combat capability as the criterion to meet. Technology is the core of combat capability, he said, adding "the people's military will be made more innovative.” The problem with such advancements is that some media outlets around the world are spreading propaganda about so-called China’s hidden hegemonic designs as the reason behind the military advancements. However, such fear mongering is never going to work as time and again the leadership of China has addressed that the country is modernizing its military to safeguard its own assets and sovereignty. 

Some people cite Hegemonic Stability Theory (HST) and use arguments that, since the U.S. hegemony is on the decline with the rise of China, that China will fill the gap which the US will leave behind. There is a major flaw in this hypothesis as the core principles of HST states that the occurrence of hegemonic stability negates the otherwise anarchic landscape of international politics, because hegemons utilize the power at their disposal to orchestrate the rise and fall of regimes and institutions that nurture international trade and peace, and lastly hegemons typically materialize through world wars or in the culmination of world wars. Whereas, in the case of China, none of these assumptions of HST apply. As China’s history from ancient times tells, it has always been amongst the top three economies of the world but has never invaded any other country. Instead China, even in ancient times, used its soft power of trade, which is exactly what the CPC of modern China is trying to establish. 

China’s efforts so far are all contrary to the western propaganda regarding its hegemonic designs. As the Belt and Road Initiative is a revival of the ancient silk route and is an initiative which solely dwells on creating a win-win situation for all through the enhancement of trade. Similarly, China has always been a champion of the developing world and has never exercised interventionist policies with its trade partners. In terms of military operations, China is also heavily invested in fighting piracy around the world, which is a major step towards helping others. China is massively contributing towards the UN peacekeeping force, in fact on average, China contributes more troops to United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions than any other permanent member of the UN Security Council. Similarly, China recently opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti, which too is basically for the betterment for all as it is a logistics base created to aid navy ships taking part in peacekeeping missions and humanitarian missions off the coast of Yemen and Somalia.    

To conclude, if China is advancing its military, there is nothing wrong with it as it is the right of every country to maintain a strong military to safeguard its interests as well its sovereignty. The Chinese armed forces during the last five years have carried out major missions related to the defense of maritime rights, countering terrorism, maintaining stability, disaster rescue and relief, international peacekeeping, escort services in the Gulf of Aden, and humanitarian assistance. These are what every responsible and strong military does and once China’s military advances further it will only augment the PLA capabilities and resolve to serve humanity. At the same time maintaining a strong military is a deterrent for war. Which is why earlier this year on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of PLA, President Xi stated, "The world is not all at peace, and peace must be safeguarded…Our heroic armed forces have the confidence and capability to defeat all invading enemies and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests."

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his Ph.D. from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently, Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)

By Shafei Moiz Hali

China has come a long way in a very short time and the best part is that, it is predicted to go even further with the overhauling of its engine in the form of reforms and the Belt and Road initiative. China is expected to be ranked the highest in terms of GDP by 2050, PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) expects China to have GDP of $61 trillion (US$2014) or higher. Due to China’s rise as a global leader in terms of economy, trade and most forthcoming initiatives in the presence of sluggish global economic growth, everyone is concerned about as well as interested in China’s future. This is the reason why global media is a buzz with the reporting on the ongoing 19th CPC National Congress. 

The 19th CPC National Congress holds tremendous importance as it sets the course for the future of China and with the election of all major decision makers and even the selection of the top men of China; namely the members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Extra attention has been garnered by the meeting because of three major reasons. Firstly, due to the ever increasing China’s global leadership role, this has raised the stakes of China’s worldwide success. Secondly because of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative in which countless international projects are underway with 100 plus stake holders, which include countries as well as organizations. Thirdly, the reform process in China is still underway and China's 2016 GDP of $11.2 trillion accounted for 14.8 percent of the world economy, which shows that China holds a key place in the revival of the global economy. Economic reforms are tricky and demand dedicated and meticulous planning from the leadership to be fully enforced and then to yield their benefits. Thus any slip up can be costly and the planning and leadership roles achieved during the 19th National Congress are the key.   

The reasons for China’s current remarkable economic output include the ever adapting and evolving principles of socialism with Chinese characteristics and this has been possible solely due to the CPC’s promise for creating a better homeland for the Chinese people. Over the years whenever China’s progress might get snagged, the leadership of the CPC responded in advance to overcome such hindrances. First Chairman Mao instilled the concepts of socialism within the society, later Deng Xiaoping foresaw future deterrents towards economic growth and opened up the Chinese economy and now President Xi is carrying the torch and lighting up the way ahead for a greater, better and stronger China. China is becoming an example as well as a case study for politicians and academicians around the world that Marxism-Leninism are keys to success if socialist principles are adapted in the context of the local culture and practices. Since the success of the CPC lies in its ability to adapt to changing situations, President Xi while presenting his report to the 19th CPC National Congress thought it prudent to reiterate the importance of socialism adapting towards needs of China and mentioned that “Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. The CPC has given shape to the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, a long-term guide to action that the Party must adhere to and develop.” The President also reminded the Congress that "The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation."

The reforms process within China is a major part of the promise of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation made by the CPC and under the leadership of President Xi the efforts made by the CPC have gone to new highs. China’s GDP has grown from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan over five years. 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the past five years. The RMB has become a global currency and is now a part of the SDR basket. Chinese capital markets have gained stability; Corruption has been significantly curbed as over 200 vice-ministerial or higher level officials and managers have been investigated since the 18th CPC National Congress which is thrice the number of investigations conducted between 2007-2012. And China is investing heavily in innovations and technology to bring about an economic revolution of high-quality growth. 

The above mentioned are major achievements. China is at cross roads because all the major hard work has been done to set the tone for the reforms to be implemented and what remains is the tedious task of seeing them through. It is because of these reasons coupled with President Xi’s forward thinking, that more and more Chinese people are coming closer to achieving the Chinese dream. But in order for every Chinese to reach this stage, the CPC has to see these reforms through. This is what makes the 19th National Congress so important. It is during the sessions of this congress that the plans for the future are going to be set in to motion. 

During the presentation of his report about creating China into a great modern socialist country, Xi highlighted key facts, achievements as well as targets for various sectors, namely, economic growth, further opening up the economy, compliance with the constitution, ecological and environmental progress, military mechanization and modernization, international relations and at the end he emphasized the significance of sovereignty, party building and the fight against the menace of corruption. The report clearly highlights that China has come very close to crossing the finish line for a developing nation. As a professor of governance I believe that for China to make the final dash towards the goal line and achieve the developed nation status, President Xi needs to steer team China through the final yards, as these yards tend to be the hardest to cross. A high degree of skills, visionary characteristics of leadership coupled with experience make President Xi the right quarterback to lead China in achieving the end goal which is to develop China into a "great modern socialist country."

The Author:

Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.

By Shafei M. Hali

The story of the South China Sea dispute started back in the 1876 when China made the first documented claim to the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands.

In 1883 when these islands were surveyed by Germany, China was quick to issue protests and one year later the Chinese went to war with France over the same islands.

In 1887 the Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary convention was signed between France and China after the Sino-French War and the boundary convention accorded China the ownership of the islands and then after World I, Japan made claims to the islands and in 1943 all this came to a halt as the Cairo Declaration was signed by the heads of states of UK, US and China.

The Declaration decreed that, “Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the First World War in 1914, and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.”

Then later on July 26, 1945, Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek issued The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, in which article (8) clearly took away all of Japan’s territories except Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and other minor islands.

This became an established fact in 1946 when the KMT government sent a fleet to take control and claim sovereignty over Sansha and Xisha Islands.

In 1947, Internal Affair Ministry of KMT government organized a series of meetings to define the scope and sovereignty of Xisha and Nansha Islands, which laid the foundation for China's claiming sovereignty in the future.

In 1951 the San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers was signed and Article 2(f) of the treaty, stated: “Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Spratly Islands and to the Paracel Islands,” this lead to the legal claims and borders of Chinese territory which was or can be called as the 9 or 11 dash-line.

Later around the 1960s Philippines came in to the picture when it laid claim to the Spratly Islands on the basis of discovery which in the context of the above narration of history comes close to a ruse on the part of the Philippines.

This followed with a few small scale skirmishes over issues of fisheries in 1999 until agreements between China and the Philippines, such as the 2002 Declaration of Conduct SCS (DOC) was signed which eased tensions but again in 2008 frictions arose and in 2009 the PRC again highlighted its nine dashed line which lead to the escalation of tensions and On January 23, 2013, the Philippine disregarded the DOC SCS and unilaterally filed for arbitration against China by issuing a Notification and Statement of Claim.

There are three problems with the Philippines claim;

The first is the fact that the case has been taken to an organization which has a history of faulty and biased arbitration.

Second problem deals with the historical issue which we have touched upon above, and the third problem is that the case falls in to the larger scheme of things planned and backed by western powers who in recent times have made their “China Containment Policy” public.

This is the reason why "China’s response to the case was the refusal to take part, based on the opt-out provisions in UNCLOS "Article 298 section 2,” which the Philippines and 36 other signatories have also availed. Which include: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Cuba, D.R. Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, UK and Uruguay.

The first problem is of the Permanent Court of Arbitration being flawed this has been seen in recent times, when this legal body has been used as a pawn of other countries to achieve desirable outcomes.

One recent example can be taken of the proven flawed judgment is from the Yukos vs Russia case, which In 2014 made a ruling in favour of the oil company Yukos and the arbitration award was the largest in history, US 50 billion Dollars was won by Yukos' former owners against Russia.

But this victory was short lived as in 2016 The Hague District Court's written ruling overturned the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) 2014 award.

Carolyn Lamm, a U.S.-based lawyer hired by Russia, said that she would file a new motion to dismiss enforcement proceedings in the United States as according to her the international arbitration case, "was entirely inappropriate in the first place. They were Russian nationals with tax problems." and the three PCA senior judges were US, Canadian & Swiss who not only lacked jurisdiction over the case but are also deemed incompetent after the dismissal of their 2014 ruling.

A similar scenario has been playing out in the Philippines vs. China case over the South China Sea issue. There is reasonable conflict of interest. The head of the arbitration is a Japanese Judge, everyone knows that Japan is a strong opponent to China’s claims on the South China Sea and then further biasness had been exhibited by appointing a Sri Lanka Judge having a Filipina wife but as news of this surfaced he was removed, thus paving the way for the formation of a tainted panel consisting of four out of the five Judges being appointed by a Japanese person, the fifth judge by the Philippines. None of the judges are from Asian countries. The entire arbitration process from the get go seems flawed and the chances for a favorable result from such a panel are grim.

The second problem of the claim as mentioned above, deals with the history of the Philippines claim.

The Philippines claim to the islands goes only as far back as the 1960s where as in countless treaties and historical references these islands have been proven to be Chinese territory.

Countless atlases from around the world provide evidence of this fact the table below lists a few of them and most of these old atlases show the islands as part of Chinese territory and laid no credence to the Philippines claim of discovery.

The third problem with the claim is that ever since China has been on the rise it has been the victim of malicious western journalism and propaganda which is driven by the US and its allies as a cog of their “China Containment Policy.”

The defence deal between Philippines and the US is a prime example of the “China Containment Policy” through which the US is moving heaven and earth to strengthen relations with China’s neighbors to encircle China.

Now the ruling from the international arbitration court is due in a couple of days and the unfavorable decision is likely to be the outcome but China’s stance of opting out of the arbitration played a key role in strengthening its position, otherwise it would have played right into the hands of America and its puppet institutions.

Had China participated, it would have been a complete waste of time and resources. And China’s stance Presented in the Position Paper Released on December 7, 2014 actually flattens all the arguments of the Philippines by highlighting a key facts which tell us that:

“China and the Philippines have agreed, through bilateral instruments and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, to settle their relevant disputes through negotiations. By unilaterally initiating the present arbitration, the Philippines has breached its obligation under international law.”

“The subject-matter of the Philippines' claims is in essence one of territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea, which is beyond the scope of the Convention and does not concern the interpretation or application of the Convention. Consequently, the Arbitral Tribunal has no jurisdiction over the claims of the Philippines for arbitration.”

Analysts and media pundits in the west are painting a judgment day scenario for China but in reality no sky is going to burst over China spilling fire balls as rain and there are not going to be any volcanic eruptions in China due to the outcome of the case, because there is already quite a lot of support plus legal capital in China’s favor to overturn any non-binding ruling by the PCA.

The biggest loser from the ruling against China is going to be Philippines, because it acted unilaterally despite the fact that China had extended its hand for peaceful negotiations.

China is a non confrontationist country and no matter what the outcome from the PCA will be, China will continue to deal with its neighbors with peaceful negotiations in trying to find a win-win scenario and with the new government in Philippines things are bound to take a turn for the better, President Duterte and his administration is expected to deal with China on peaceful terms thus putting an end to the charade of the international arbitrations.

The Author:
Shafei Moiz Hali has a master's degree from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in the field of International Commerce and Public Policy. Mr. Hali has been working as an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy Since 2009. Currently he is pursuing his PhD from the College of Public Administration at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China.

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