The European Union (EU) has resolved to step up its defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific region in light of fears about China’s growing presence and concerns for the international order sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“Our motto is always to cooperate whenever possible, but to defend whenever necessary as well,” said Gabriele Visentin, the EU’s special envoy to the Indo-Pacific.

The United States (US) led calls at a G20 meeting Tuesday for greater global cooperation in light of the coronavirus crisis as China insisted that multilateralism should not just be a slogan.Italy welcomed foreign ministers of the Group of 20 major economies to the southern city of Matera for their first in-person talks since the start of the pandemic that has claimed nearly four million lives worldwide.In a sharp reversal in tone from the previous US administration, Secretary of State Antony

Last January, my fellow Elders Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon participated in the unveiling of the Doomsday Clock, the annual indicator of global catastrophic risk published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 2020, the clock’s hands moved closer to “midnight” than they have ever been – just 100 seconds away – and they will remain there in 2021.

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned global leaders at an all-virtual Davos forum Monday against starting a "new Cold War" while he championed multilateralism.Representing the only major economy to record economic growth last year, Xi presented himself as the defender of multilateralism, as he did at the same forum four years ago when Donald Trump was about to assume the United States (US) presidency.

United States (US) President-elect Joe Biden’s impending inauguration has raised hopes that his administration will “make America lead again.” If the US is to transform its rivalry with China into constructive competition, this is the right approach.

Last month, 15 Asia-Pacific countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The occasion marked what might be the most significant economic achievement since the COVID-19 crisis began. And yet the RCEP – or, indeed, Asia – cannot save the ailing multilateral trading system alone.

Americans don’t agree on much of anything nowadays. Yet they are largely united in their belief that China represents an existential challenge to their country and the international order it has long led.

The international community urgently needs new tools, ideas, and initiatives to meet the common threats and challenges faced by the United Nations’ (UN) 193 member countries.

With the United States (US) presidential election nearing its apotheosis, predictions about what will come after are dominating discussions well beyond the US. When it comes to international relations, forecasts range from apocalyptic to cautiously optimistic. But what is needed is an actual way forward, grounded in realism.By realism, I don’t mean the “realist” approach to international relations, which emphasises the role of sovereign states as self-interested actors.

The outcome of the United States (US) presidential election on 3 November will have momentous consequences for America in terms of economic policy, racial justice, the judiciary, health care, and the overall quality of its democracy. But the election’s international effects could be equally far-reaching and lasting.