The Hub with Wang Guan

China and the Republic of Korea are at a pivotal moment as President Lee Jae Myung begins his first state visit to Beijing. What does this visit mean for the future of China-ROK relations, and how can cooperation between the two neighbors shape regional stability and growth? Where do China-ROK relations stand today and where are they headed next?

China stands at a new juncture as it looks ahead to 2026 with development, governance, and global engagement in focus. What signals shape China's economic priorities for the year ahead? How does China view its role in a rapidly changing world? In this first episode of The Hub for 2026, we explore the key messages from Chinese President Xi Jinping's 2026 New Year address, discuss economic progress and innovation-driven growth, and examine priorities under the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan.

As China prepares to launch its 15th Five-Year Plan, it enters a new phase of modernization driven by innovation and long-term planning. What does this mean for the global economy – and for a world facing rising uncertainty? In this year-end special on The Hub, Huang Jiyuan speaks with Martin Jacques, former senior fellow at the University of Cambridge, on China's development path, the outlook for China-U.S. relations, China's role in the Global South, and whether cooperation and civilizational understanding can help rebuild trust in a fragmented world.

Throughout 2025, Asia has continued to drive the global economy. China is advancing high-quality development while playing a stabilizing role in international affairs. Following a year of high-level engagement, what lies ahead for China-U.S. relations? Among shifting global currents, how will Asia's growth contribute to shared global prosperity? In a CGTN year-end special, The Hub brings you a 2025 review with Professor Kishore Mahbubani. As a distinguished diplomat, scholar, and author of influential books on Asia and global affairs, he examines the future of major-power relations, explores the global implications of China's development path, and underscores the necessity of cooperation over rivalry.

As the world faces increasing challenges—from global governance and regional security to climate change and food security—international cooperation has never been more important. How can nations work together to build sustainable partnerships that can transcend geopolitical tensions and promote long-term mutual benefits? How can we ensure that global challenges are addressed through collaboration rather than confrontation? We speak with Grzegorz Kolodko, a renowned economist and former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland.

This is a big moment as Hainan, the Free Trade Port in South China, officially launches its special customs arrangements that will allow more goods, services, investments, data, and people to move more freely into the island. This is a major policy move, demonstrating China's resolve to become more open and inclusive in this new era. How will all this work in reality? What will these special customs operations mean for global investors and companies?

Climate change is no longer unfolding in the background — it is now a major driver of the global food crisis. Heatwaves, droughts, floods and widespread crop failures are disrupting harvests and threatening livelihoods of millions of people, particularly in the world's most vulnerable regions. As the United Nations Environment Assembly meets this week at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, one urgent question comes to the forefront: how can countries strengthen resilience and transform their food systems to withstand a rapidly warming planet?

A decade since the Paris Agreement, the impacts of climate change are still haunting humanity, and the clock is ticking. As major economies are steering towards a green and digital transformation, the question is no longer why we must do this, but how we can best do it together. How to collaborate in the race for clean tech innovation? Who will lead the next wave of green growth? Join frontline experts in a special global discussion co-produced by CGTN and Euronews to explore the future of clean technology innovation.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, a milestone that reflects five decades of growing economic, cultural, and political exchange. How can nations work together to build sustainable partnerships that transcend geopolitical tensions and promote long-term mutual benefits? How can we ensure that global challenges are addressed through collaboration rather than confrontation?

A new article in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences presents compelling evidence that Chinese researchers are playing an increasingly important role in international science collaboration nowadays, after analyzing nearly six million papers, as well as their continued momentum amid fierce competition with the United States. How should we interpret China's growing influence in global science? What has China done right to reach this point? How can China and the United States, the two largest powers in scientific research, coexist and collaborate to advance global scientific progress?