The Number Isn’t the Story By Mehmet Enes Beşer In China, growth targets are never just about mathematics. They’re political signals, market messages, and—when set carefully—an attempt to manage expectations without surrendering momentum. That’s why the 2026 target matters less for its headline figure than for what it admits and what it protects. By anchoring growth in a 4.5%–5% range—and ...
Both their pride in China’s success and their active involvement with Malaysia’s public space and an acute sense of their own distinctive space in it exist together. By Mehmet Enes Beşer China’s rapid emergence on the world scene has been the pride of much of the diasporic Chinese population. Within Malaysia, with its ethnic Chinese constituting around a quarter of ...
Chinese Experts Comment on Leaders’ Visits to Beijing By Özgür Altinbaş China has recently experienced significant diplomatic traffic. All leaders of the United Nations Security Council permanent members have visited China within a six-month period. The visits of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also drew considerable attention. We discussed this process with Chinese journalist (CGTN) Xu ...
Impressions from an 11-day-trip to the People’s Republic of China. I have been to many cities and states across the US, from Washington to New York, from California to Texas, and from Chicago to Atlanta. I have been to all G-8 countries except Japan. I have also traveled to numerous European countries outside the G-8. I am familiar with major ...
Recent technological leaps in both countries. By Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein I don’t know about you, dear readers, but personally, every week I’m amazed by new advances in science and technology that astound my limited understanding of the subject. But beyond that, they allow me to appreciate that this other war—the one that truly matters, the search for new inventions and ...
Policies and steps regarding technological innovation and AI. By Xu Yawen, from Beijing / China “A policy that causes America to lose half of the world’s AI developers is not beneficial long term, it hurts us more.” These remarks by Jensen Huang the CEO of Nvidia, at the company’s first developer conference in Washington, have garnered widespread attention in the ...
With this decisive maneuver, Beijing has begun to bring the tension with the U.S. onto its own terms. By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China While the world was focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s essentially “dictated” ceasefire in Gaza, his 20-point “Peace Plan,” and diplomacy in Western Asia, an unexpected move from Beijing redrew the global economic map and ...
Stalemate by Design, Escalation by Drift By Mehmet Enes Beşer There are fewer great power hotspots so long-lasting, so complicated, and so politically obstinate as the South China Sea. It has been a measure of great power competition, an experiment in naval convention, and a melting pot of nationalist anxieties for ten years. The 2025 picture is one of stalemate, ...
Speech in the international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea on July 18 and 19 in Istanbul. The Center for National Strategy (USMER) has organized an international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea on July 18 and 19 in Istanbul, Türkiye. Today, we present the speech of Tao Zan. Tao is the Vice-president of ...
An East Asian perspective on West Asia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Center for National Strategy (USMER) has organized an international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea on July 18 and 19 in Istanbul, Türkiye. Today, we present the speech of Cong Song, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in Türkiye. Distinguished guests and friends： The ...