Sinopinion

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is producing tremendous impact on the world, including the Asia Pacific. When we get to the root of the matter, however, the ongoing conflict is a product of cold war mentality, where exclusive alliances like NATO have pushed Russia to the corner.  What about in the Asia Pacific, when the U.S. has developed “small circles” like Five Eyes, QUAD, and AUKUS to corner China?  Ambassador Xu Bu, president of the China Institute of International Studies, says that any form of cold war mentality could endanger the security of the world.  Ambassador Xu shared his opinions at the CISS International Forum themed “The Changing Asia-Pacific: United or Divided” in March, 2022. 

Talking about the global implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we can see that it is accelerating deglobalization, undermining global supply chain, and exacerbating geopolitical conflicts far beyond Europe.   How would the conflict influence the security situation in Asia-Pacific? Would it further undermine the relations between U.S. and China, the two major players in the Asia-Pacific?  Yan Xuetong, Dean of the Institute of International Relations, Tsinghua University, shared his opinions at the CISS International Forum themed “The Changing Asia-Pacific: United or Divided” in March, 2022. 

As peace talks loom between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. is ratcheting up pressure on China to quit its neutral stance, warning more serious consequences if China “continues to provide material support to Russia”.   Is China’s non-sanction policy very different from most countries in the world ? Why China focuses more on helpful measures like humanitarian assistance, instead of posing rounds of sanctions?   Prof. Gong Jiong, a China Forum expert, attended the offline meeting of the Doha Forum in late March, where he explicitly explained why China sticks to its neutral stance towards Russia and Ukraine. Please stay tuned.  

China has been working on collective security in the Indian Ocean, to safeguard international sea lanes and provide a secured environment for the international community who are working in the rim land of the ocean. What are the real security threats of the Indian Ocean? What is the intention behind the rhetoric “free and open Indo-Pacific” ? Mr. Zhou Bo, a CISS Senior Fellow, shared his opinions during the Pathfinder Indian Ocean Security Conference, which focused on security architecture and maritime domain awareness of the Indian Ocean. The conference was hosted by the Pathfinder Foundation in Sri Lanka on March 4th, 2022.

EU has been pivoting back to Asia-Pacific with its so-called “Indo-Pacific Strategy”. To some extent, it is new wine in old bottles, when it comes to EU’s economic cooperation with regional countries. Taking a closer look, however, EU has also put in more ambition in its new strategy to increase military presence in the region.   Would EU’s growing participation in the so-called “Indo-Pacific region” welcomed by regional countries like China? How could EU play a more constructive role to both benefit itself and add fuel to the regional development?   Prof. Cui Hong Jian, a China Forum expert, provided his advice for EU to constructively build its economic reach and influence in the region, at a webinar held by Ditchley Foundation on 18 March, 2022.

The 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC) was held in Munich from February 18 to 20. Mr.Fu Chengyu, a China Forum expert, was invited to share his perspectives in the panel discussion themed "Sustaining Global Collaboration Towards Climate Neutrality", where he introduced how China steps up efforts to reduce carbon emission, with special focus on green technology.

How can China prepare itself for the intensifying challenges on its doorstep in the Indo-Pacific region? In what ways can the nation maintain its role as a responsible maritime power? Mr. Zhou Bo, CISS senior fellow and former director of the Center for Security Cooperation in the Office for International Military Cooperation at the Ministry of National Defense, shared his opinions on these points during the Conference on Regional Maritime Security Outlook 2022, which focused on military competition in the Indo-Pacific in the maritime domain. It was hosted by the RSIS Maritime Security Program at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on January 19, 2022.

Mr. Zhoubo shared his perspectives at a virtual discussion on ‘Regional and Global Security in Asia” co-organized by CISS and The International Institute for Strategic Studies on November 10, 2021. Mr. Zhoubo is a China Forum expert and former director of the Center for Security Cooperation in the Office for International Military Cooperation at the Ministry of National Defense. Let’s hear what he has to say.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added fuel to fire to the already intensive U.S.-China relationship, as the Biden administration has formed different circles of alliances to corner China. Would the pandemic possibly trigger a new world war? Where would the all-round competition between U.S. and China lead to?  Senior Researcher of Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University, China Forum Expert Mr. Zhou Bo shared his insights into the “extreme competition” between U.S. and China during the 18th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club on October 18, where he also presented a question to Russian President Vladimir Putin on issues concerning regional security. 

On our program today, we will follow Mr.Yu Xiang, a China Forum expert and Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute of China Construction Bank, to learn about how CCB strikes a balance between profit making and environmental protection, with a special focus on its support  for small and medium-sized enterprises. Mr. Yu shared CCB’s experiences and lessons in exploring green finance business at the UK-China Climate Change and Sustainability Summit in late October.