China, as befits its status as a current major world power, should play a significant role, both behind the scenes and in front of them, in establishing a new order in Syria. Careful and thoughtful Chinese diplomacy, in conjunction with efforts by the other interested nations, can also create a foundation for a more peaceful Middle East and North African region in the medium- to long-term.

It has been suggested that Donald Trump will be a president who will focus on "hard power" to underpin his foreign policy goals rather than focusing on "soft power," which was Obama's preference. The United States cannot just use this or that; it needs to use both. Hard or soft, it's about power, period. [...] While taking a strong stance on security and defense, Trump needs deploy American soft power institutionally in his foreign policy.

Presidents can influence sports. Dwight Eisenhower attempted to improve relations with the Soviet Union in the late 1950s with a sports and cultural exchange program. Richard Nixon opened trade with China after a ping pong tournament between the US and China and Nixon’s effort was named “ping pong diplomacy” in the early 1970s.