A 3-Pillar Strategy to Deflate China

Rauf Baker
May 16, 2021
Paper No. 2031

The West is facing an increasing challenge from China. There are several ways to meet that challenge: expanding, restoring, and deepening relations across different regions of the world; taking a revolutionary approach toward Russia; and, most drastically, acting like the Chinese.

The Quest for the Coronavirus Progenitor: Integrating Intelligence and Science

The integration of intelligence and science will be the key to uncovering the genomic origin and direct source of the virus that sparked the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the Fact Sheet issued by the US Department of State and recent elaborations by closely involved US officials clearly illustrate that such integration is vital. Intelligence is critical, as China continues to refuse to provide complete information for an inquiry into the possibility of an unnatural contagion scenario.

The China-Led WHO Report on Coronavirus Is Deeply Suspect

The WHO’s China-led international investigation into the origins of COVID-19 did not trace either its genomic derivation or the initial contraction of the virus that generated the pandemic. This could be because it did not look for an unnatural scenario or because a natural scenario did not in fact occur. China appears to have essentially dictated the proceedings of the investigation, the findings of which are deeply suspect.

Ideology Is Losing. China Is Winning

Lev Stesin
May 9, 2021
Paper No. 2018

The clash with China is upon us and the US is losing. It is not losing technologically, or at least not yet. It is losing ideologically. China is winning not because it has a more appealing ideology than the US but because it has none.

Iran’s “Look To the East” Precludes Any Deal with the West

The Islamist regime in Tehran has delivered Iran to China in exchange for security guarantees against the West. While the regime was never in compliance with the original nuclear deal, its “Look to the East” should preclude any new deal with the West.

Iran Plays the Eurasian Card

The newly signed massive China-Iran agreement prompts as many questions as answers. One thing is clear: China has taken action at a time when the US is winding down its presence in Middle East and its relationships with Arab states have come into question.

Indonesia Set to Take on China and Claim Leadership of “Moderate” Islam

Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitude toward China and reinforce government support for efforts by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and position the Southeast Asian state as a key player in a battle with Middle Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam.

Biden’s Approach to the Indo-Pacific

While the new US president is likely to reverse many of Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions, one area likely to remain untouched is the US approach to the Indo-Pacific region. Joe Biden will push for a reinvigorated set of alliances and building of confidence in US power among China’s neighbors. The nascent Trumpian Indo-Pacific strategy will take final shape under Biden.

Biden and Russia: Pressure, But Not Too Much

As the world awaits Joe Biden’s inauguration as president of the US, Washington’s relations with China are under primary scrutiny. However, ties with Russia are no less important, as the two states have numerous differences across Eurasia. Washington will have to apply a careful balance of pressure on Russia to keep it from growing closer to China, and Biden possesses the statesmanship and experience to accomplish this. US-Russia relations under Biden should be strikingly different from what they were during the Trump administration.

Will RCEP Change the Game in Asia?

In a move that could represent another step in Washington’s decline and China’s hegemonic ascent in Asia, 15 state ministers signed the RCEP free trade agreement on November 15, 2020. The question weighing on policymakers across Asia, Europe, and the US is whether the RCEP economic bloc will change the global economic balance of power.