Amid trade truces, AI diplomacy, and the Iran conflict, the president’s second-term visit tests whether cooperation can outpace competition. (By Khalid Masood) As Air Force One touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport on 12 May, the stage was set for the most consequential U.S.-China diplomatic engagement in nearly a decade. President Donald Trump’s state…
(By Khalid Masood) I. Lead / Executive Summary The international order is no longer defined by a rigid bipolar divide, but by a complex mosaic of regional powers exercising calibrated strategic autonomy. As President Donald Trump prepares for a two-day summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 14–15 May 2026, the global landscape has…
(By Faraz Ahmed)______________________________ China activated its Blocking Rules for the first time on May 2, 2026, ordering companies to ignore U.S. sanctions targeting independent “teapot” refineries buying Iranian oil. Here’s how this challenges American sanctions power and reshapes global energy markets. What Are Teapot Refineries and Why Do They Matter? The first thing you notice…
(By Khalid Masood) The post-Cold War era ushered in what scholars famously called the “unipolar moment”—a historical interval in which the United States stood unrivaled in military reach, economic weight, financial architecture, and cultural influence. Today, that moment is widely declared over. The rise of China, the expansion of BRICS+, and the fragmentation of global…
(By Ayesha Mahnoor) Introduction: The Seduction of Linear Thinking “History rarely moves in straight lines, and global supremacy has never been awarded on a spreadsheet.” The narrative is familiar, almost ritualistic: China’s economy will surpass America’s, its technological edge will widen, and the 21st century will belong to Beijing. This projection is presented not as…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction: A Ceasefire, Not a Resolution A temporary two-week ceasefire announced on April 7, 2026, between Iran and the United States has created a narrow diplomatic window—but not a resolution—to the recent escalation in West Asia. The agreement, which followed a grueling 40-day conflict and a highly contested U.S. naval blockade, has…
(By Ayesha Mahnoor) The Chinese yuan has strengthened to 6.8982 against the US dollar in March 2026, marking a three-year high and reflecting a significant shift in global currency dynamics. This appreciation coincides with an accelerating trend of countries paying for oil in yuan rather than dollars—a development that challenges the seven-decade dominance of the…
(By Khalid Masood) In the crisp February air of 2026, as global leaders converge on New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam for what promises to be a pivotal moment in technological history, the world witnesses two parallel narratives unfolding in real time. On one side, India emerges as a diplomatic powerhouse, hosting the first major AI summit…
(By Khalid Masood) The controversy surrounding former Indian Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s memoir, titled Four Stars of Destiny, has erupted into one of the most significant political storms in India’s Parliament in recent months. As of February 10, 2026, the book remains unpublished, having been submitted for mandatory government clearance from the Ministry of…
(By Khalid Masood) On February 5, 2026, at midnight GMT, the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms—commonly known as New START—officially expired. This event marks a profound shift in global nuclear security. For the first time in more than half a century, the world’s two largest nuclear powers,…
