In today’s increasingly uncertain world, powerful nations are more likely to use think tanks than military tanks to crush their enemies and shape policy. Thinks tanks are increasingly becoming what one author rightly called "masters of the universe". In geopolitical terms, policy institutes are indicators of soft power capacity of nations. [...] To be sure, the influence of think tanks in Africa is not new.

Chinese universities “stand to gain” from the “anti-global” atmosphere in the US under Donald Trump, especially if they introduce reforms to make academic culture “more lively and open”. That is the view of Gerard Postiglione, chair in higher education at the University of Hong Kong, who said that some academics and students may look to universities in China instead of those in the US in the near future.

According to a survey of 2,000 consumers across China in late February of this year, Donald Trump has caused an adverse effect on Chinese sentiment towards investing in the United States. The data found that 41.2% of Chinese consumers have a more negative view of the US following Trump’s first month as President. 50.7% of consumers held a neutral position and 8.1% now viewed the US more positively.

All in all, Salman’s Asian official visit-cum-holiday is likely to reverberate far beyond the billions of dollars in economic and commercial agreements he signs. The visit also solidified cooperation between Asian nations and Saudi Arabia in the fight against IS. 

A Chinese Diplomat has recalled the vital role African countries played in ensuring that the People’s Republic of China regained its status at the United Nations, while calling on African journalists to help strengthen the ties between Africa and China. [...] “So China and African countries are forever friends; China has returned to the United Nations mainly due to the support from African friends."

Much work was concluded in Beijing of late by Singapore ministers and their Chinese counterparts, related to the bilateral government-to-government projects in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing. [...] Yet for all that, there is an abiding sense of realism that even old ties are subject to the vicissitudes of geopolitical changes. That was borne out in past months when diplomatic friction surfaced between the two countries.

On February 28, we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Shanghai Communique. The 1972 agreement, brokered by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, ended 23 years of diplomatic estrangement between the United States and China, and laid the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous Asia. The Vietnam War was still raging when the Communique was signed but there has been no major war in the Asia-Pacific since that time.