President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday joined a global agreement to cut greenhouse gases, moving the world toward a significant reduction in climate-warming emissions faster time frame than previously imagined.

China has been pursuing an aggressive 'public diplomacy' in Pakistan since early days of its bilateral relations with the latter. Policy of 'public diplomacy' is being pursued by China essentially to seek its national interests by influencing Pakistani people through government sponsored cultural and academic programmes and regular interaction with Pakistani youth by encouraging them to learn Chinese (Mandarin) language.

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to support Myanmar’s peace process Friday as he met with the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in Beijing ahead of historic talks with armed groups near the countries’ troubled border.

The People’s Republic of China is opening China Culture Center (CCC) in Nepal this year to coinicide with 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations. [...] The opening of the facility will promote cultures of the two countries, said Melsam Ojha, president of Friendship and Development Academy which has been promoting the Chinese culture in Nepal.

America’s pivot to Asia has been discussed widely since the strategy was unveiled in President Obama’s speech to the Australian Parliament in 2011. Although many other global strategic issues needed to be addressed since then, it is interesting to revisit the rebalancing because Obama’s rhetoric can be used as a prism through which his idea of America’s priorities will become clear.

China watchers have been combing through the details of the new initiatives and proposals Xi has recently introduced, such as “One Belt, One Road” (1B1R) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Even though these new initiatives are still under construction, the fact is that this has been the biggest foreign policy shift in Beijing since 1989. The bigger question here is, what is the grand strategy behind Xi’s plans?