Global Rivalries

For more than 60 years, New Zealand and the Cook Islands have shared a rare bond of a "free association" that gave the islands self-rule while keeping Wellington in charge of defense and foreign affairs. But that arrangement, long seen as a model of post-colonial cooperation, now appears to be under strain.   Tensions erupted after the Cook Islands tried to issue their own passports and later signed a strategic agreement with China, both m...

China showcased its growing global influence during the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, 2025. The meeting, the largest in the bloc’s history, brought together more than 20 heads of state and 10 international organizations, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.   Under Beijing’s 2024-2025 chairmanship, the summit served as a platform for China to demo...

On August 31, 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first official visit to China in seven years for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. This meeting was highly significant for both Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose countries have much in common. Both are economic, political, and cultural powerhouses in Asia and globally, with nuclear capabilities and rapidly rising influence. And while relations between th...

On August 9, 2025, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met in New Zealand to reaffirm their enduring Trans-Tasman alliance, the framework guidin...