Following on our annual conference, in which China’s Belt and Road Initiative was discussed in detail, Philippe Le Corre of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School writes about the perceptions that Beijing will have to overcome in Kazakhstan, where the government is keen on investment, but the people less so.

The U.S. is pressuring allies to bar Huawei equipment from telecom networks, saying the company has strong ties to China's government. Some allies push back saying they can mitigate security risks.

Over the past decade, China has become central to the world economy. Building on its economic successes, it is becoming increasingly central in world politics. China is also now more ambitious, aiming to establish itself as a regional as well as a global power. It is worth pointing out that the country’s economic rise is already challenging traditional geopolitics, despite a clear “divergence of views about how threatening this might be to traditional US dominance and agenda setting,” as Harvard scholar Tony Saich has put it.

Europe’s two greatest military powers, France and the UK, are currently pursuing their own versions of a Pacific pivot.

Five years after his debut as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and State President, Xi Jinping surprised the world on February 25. Chinese official media announced that the National People’s Congress would soon receive a proposal to modify the rule, which, in the Constitution, currently prevents anyone to serve more than two consecutive presidential terms. This Monday March 5, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - the two chambers of the Chinese Parliament - will start their annual sessions, will hear policy reports from the outgoing government, formally appoint ministers, and vote on the proposed changes. The latter, if confirmed, could possibly allow Xi Jinping to remain as President beyond 2023 (the General Secretary’s position is bound by no written obligation). In many ways, this proposal is a real gamble for this leader, whose term has been characterized by stronger internal control (the fight against corruption which somewhat also became a witch-hunt) and the promotion of the “rejuvenation of the Chinese dream”. Built on nationalism, the aim of the party leader’s discourse has been (among other things) to flatter the Chinese pride, especially by orchestrating an impressive international expansion program on the economic, cultural, diplomatic and military fronts.

The newly-released U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) is the most detailed document on President Donald Trump’s international agenda so far. It paints a sharp picture of a world order marked by growing strategic competition where China and Russia are seeking to “challenge American power, influence, and interests.” China, in particular, clearly appears as America’s main challenger economically and even geopolitically.