Diplomacy and International Politics

Philippe Le Corre of the Harvard Kennedy School says the concept of China's Belt and Road Initiative is still "fairly vague." He adds that European countries should discuss the idea of reciprocity with Beijing, so that it won't be a "one-way road."

Since ascending to China’s top leadership, Xi Jinping has become well-known for his frequent overseas travels. Now that the annual session of the National People’s Congress is nearly over, the Chinese president can look forward to a busy international agenda, writes Philippe Le Corre.

President Xi Jinping travels to Italy and France this month for his first overseas trip of 2019. His visit comes soon after the European Commission labeled China a “systemic rival” and “economic competitor.”

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 Trump administration has never shown much interest in human rights. Last year, it pulled the United States out of the U.N. Human Rights Council. In 2017, within months of President Trump’s inauguration, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said diplomats should not let human rights values become “obstacles” to achieving national goals. Trump has spoken favorably about some of the world’s most vicious dictators.

In the eyes of Mike Pompeo, the day was shaping up to be one of his most commanding displays of diplomacy since becoming secretary of state. Months of planning had finally yielded a meeting among reluctant European officials, Arab leaders and the Israeli prime minister to strategize over confronting Iran.

During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the State Department have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning. What effect are these changes having now, and how will they affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries?

President Donald Trump, convinced that he alone can break stalemates with adversarial counterparts on trade and security, will put his theory to the test in Argentina this week. Global markets and foreign capitals are eyeing him anxiously.