Launched at the 2023 Group of Twenty (G20) summit in New Delhi, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) features three pillars that integrate existing and future infrastructure: a transportation pillar—the corridor’s backbone—integrating rail and maritime networks, an energy pillar with interconnected energy and electricity infrastructure across continents, and a digital pillar providing new fiber-optic cables and cross-border digital infrastructure.

Today, a 50 percent tariff on most Indian goods went into effect, the latest evidence of how the Trump administration’s attempts at trade diplomacy with India have quietly unraveled into a broader strategic standoff. This development risks compromising decades of work under Republican and Democratic administrations that sought to build a durable US-India strategic relationship to serve, among other things, […]

When Fatima Bhutto opened her recent Zeteo essay with the line that as a Pakistani she is “used to politics as a theater of the absurd,” she was not indulging in hyperbole. She was simply stating the only law that never fails in our political life: if there is a move to be made that defies logic, tramples public sentiment, […]

China has ramped up its maritime presence in the South China Sea near its rival the Philippines after a collision between two Chinese government ships earlier this month left a China coast guard vessel seriously damaged and Beijing seriously embarrassed. Beijing’s show of force in the contested waters is a face-saving exercise, analysts tell Newsweek, one that could test Washington’s […]

When economic interests align, new political and security partnerships often follow, and one of the most promising examples of this is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). This ambitious project seeks to create a “golden road” linking East and West, not just for trade—but as a model for future regional integration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls it the “largest […]

Abstract: China has recently been pursuing a much more aggressive stance in African security affairs, including playing a more engaged role in counterterrorism (CT). Where is China engaged in CT in Africa, and by what means? What challenges would China face in engaging more robustly in African CT? Most importantly, why is China newly expressing interest in engaging in the […]

L’Initiative pour la sécurité mondiale de la Chine vise à renforcer sa position géostratégique en créant des coalitions d’acteurs qui s’alignent sur les normes chinoises en matière de sécurité internationale et d’application de la législation nationale. Lancée par le président chinois Xi Jinping en 2022, l’Initiative pour la sécurité mondiale (ISM) fait partie d’une série d’initiatives chinoises visant à remodeler […]

On July 26, 2025, amid the grandeur of Shanghai’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on AI Governance, China unveiled what may well become the defining moment in the transformation of global artificial intelligence – its AI Global Governance Action Plan and the bold proposal to create a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, initially headquartered in Shanghai. These moves […]

China wants to retain access to Kachin State’s rare earths, the US wants to poach them, and their escalating competition over this part of Myanmar could make it the next New Cold War flashpoint. Reuters reported that the US’ Myanmar policy might shift towards more diplomatic engagement with either the ruling junta or the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in an […]

Afghanistan is hosting a key trilateral meeting today, bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China for discussions on counter-terrorism, regional trade, and connectivity. According to the Afghan foreign ministry, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Kabul on Tuesday to join Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi […]