While many foreign policy thinkers can’t resist exploring the growing probability of military rivalries between the West and East, the cold reality is that the states most likely to experience future arms races are actually within the Asia-Pacific region itself.

The word “modernization” has become ubiquitous in almost all major government policies and initiatives since the 2009 release of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s “Go Russia!” policy manifesto, where he called for the modernization of Russia’s economy and society. This has been especially evident in Russian foreign policy, which has been seeking to attract foreign investment in new high tech sectors of the Russian economy in order to further the cause of modernization.

From this year forward, longtime U.S. ally Saudi Arabia will supply more oil to China than the U.S. In 2010, the Middle East and Saudi Arabia accounted for 18% and 12% of U.S. crude oil imports, respectively. That same year, 46% of China’s crude oil imports originated in the Middle East and 19% came from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While U.S. demand for oil has plateaued, China’s demand is expected to increase rapidly for at least the next two decades.

Whether the world is ready to admit it or not, non-proliferation in North Korea has failed. 

The Chinese admire the Jews for their five thousand years of history, ability to withstand persecution in scattered minority communities, and their work ethic. But most importantly there is a widespread belief that the Jews have cornered the market for making money, and the Chinese want to get their share. Bookstores across China are filled with publications purporting to teach Chinese the cultural habits behind famous Jewish fortunes, or how Jewish child-rearing can produce diligent, money-making young adults.

Over the last three decades, China’s economic development has been nothing short of astounding. Since the government began its economic “opening and reform” in 1978, more than 400 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty. China became the global leader in exports and home of the largest automobile market in the world in 2010, and some economists estimate that, within the next decade, China will surpass the United States to become the world’s largest economy.

China’s policies toward North Korea and Myanmar are a sharp departure from international consensus on how to deal with these regional outcasts. China continues to help the North Korean and Myanmar regimes survive despite pressure
from the international community for them to reform.