标签： Asia

In a formal press briefing on Wednesday, a spokesperson for China’s mainland State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Binhua, reaffirmed unwavering adherence to the one-China principle when governing cross-Strait external interactions, issuing a clear call for all relevant nations to uphold the universal international consensus and stand on the right side of history. The statement was delivered in direct response to the announced upcoming visit of Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te to Eswatini, scheduled to take place between April 22 and 26. “We firmly oppose any actions that seek to create ‘two Chinas’, ‘one China, one Taiwan’, or advance the cause of ‘Taiwan independence’ on the international stage,” Chen emphasized during the conference. He further urged relevant countries to acknowledge the broader global trend that overwhelmingly supports the one-China principle, correct any misaligned policies, and align themselves with the global consensus. Eswatini currently holds the distinction of being the only African nation that maintains so-called ‘diplomatic relations’ with Taiwan, a partnership that was first established in 1968. In a related development, Taiwanese media has reported that as of March 2024, Denmark updated its nationality and birthplace registration rules for Taiwan residents residing within its borders, changing the listed entry from ‘Taiwan’ to ‘China’. In response to this policy adjustment, Taiwan’s so-called ‘foreign affairs department’ announced recently that it has revoked a set of previously granted privileges for Danish representatives based in Taiwan, and has demanded an immediate resolution to the situation it deems problematic. Chen reiterated that the one-China principle stands as a foundational norm governing modern international relations, and is a broadly accepted consensus across the global community. This principle, he noted, reflects the overwhelming will of the international public and the defining trend of the contemporary era. He added that no maneuvering by the Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan can alter the established fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, nor can it erode the widespread global commitment to the one-China principle.

ISLAMABAD – A formal statement from Pakistan’s government has confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will launch an official visit to Saudi Arabia this week, with his departure for the Saudi city of Jeddah set for Wednesday.

The official notification confirms that the prime minister will travel alongside a delegation of senior Pakistani officials, though government representatives have not yet released additional details about the agenda for the visit, expected attendees beyond the high-level delegation, or specific outcomes that the two sides aim to reach.

Diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long been defined by close economic cooperation, people-to-people ties, and strategic alignment, making bilateral visits by top leadership a regular fixture of the relationship. This trip marks the latest high-level engagement between the two regional partners, coming as scheduled diplomatic exchanges continue between Islamabad and Riyadh.

BEIJING, April 15, 2026 (Xinhua) — A senior Chinese spokesperson reaffirmed Wednesday that the Chinese mainland has not implemented any restrictions on the full resumption of direct cross-Taiwan Strait flights, and called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan to remove the unreasonable barriers the administration has placed on the restoration of these air connections.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the call during a regular press briefing, noting that all existing obstacles to restarting full direct cross-Strait flights are rooted in restrictions imposed by the DPP administration.

Cross-Strait air connectivity has been a key issue for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, with travelers, businesspeople, and separated families calling for the restoration of convenient, direct flights that were scaled back in recent years. The Chinese mainland has repeatedly positioned itself as open to resuming full service, placing responsibility for the continued disruption on the DPP’s restrictive policies.

BEIJING – Just days after unveiling a sweeping 10-point policy package designed to deepen people-to-people ties and economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, Chinese mainland authorities confirmed on Wednesday they are moving full speed ahead with implementing the new initiatives. The announcement came during a regular press briefing from Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

The new set of measures, made public on April 12, targets long-standing barriers to cross-Strait engagement by expanding travel access and streamlining trade protocols. Key provisions include the resumption of individual travel permits for residents of Shanghai and Fujian traveling to Taiwan, as well as simplified inspection and approval procedures that make it easier for food products from qualified Taiwanese manufacturers to enter the large mainland consumer market.

In his remarks, Chen called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan to remove the various administrative restrictions they have put in place that have disrupted cross-Strait interactions. He emphasized the urgency of eliminating these barriers to allow cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation to return to a normal, regularized pattern that benefits people on both sides of the strait.

The policy package represents the mainland’s latest targeted effort to revitalize cross-Strait connections that have faced increased headwinds in recent years, with a focus on addressing practical needs of residents and businesses on both sides. Analysts note the measures prioritize grassroots exchanges and mutually beneficial economic cooperation, aligned with longstanding mainland policy goals of promoting peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Every proposed ceasefire between hostile powers carries with it the same unspoken question: can this moment of calm deliver on the long-held promise of lasting peace? That question now hangs over the Middle East after high-stakes peace negotiations between the United States and Iran, held in Islamabad and led by US Vice President JD Vance, ended without any final agreement.

Analysts and foreign policy experts quickly pointed to the vast gap between the two sides’ negotiating positions as the core barrier to consensus: Iran put forward a 10-point peace framework, while the US brought a separate 15-point plan, and the differences between the two proposals proved too wide to bridge.

This outcome is far from unprecedented, however. Historical data tracking peace agreements between 1945 and 2009 reveals a sobering trend: fewer than half of all nations that emerged from armed conflict managed to avoid sliding back into open violence. For the Middle East, a region scarred by decades of broken peace promises, the outlook is even more grim.

The region’s own history of failed diplomacy offers a stark context for the latest collapse. The 1978 Camp David Accords did deliver a durable peace between Egypt and Israel, but Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated for the deal, and Egypt was expelled from the Arab League by neighboring Arab states for years. The 1993 Oslo Accords, signed to global fanfare on the White House lawn, collapsed into the devastating bloodshed of the Second Intifada. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal with Iran survived barely three years before former US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement. Even the June 2025 ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which held for months, eventually shattered back into open conflict.

The most recent ceasefire, a two-week truce brokered by Pakistan, was announced on April 8 after 40 consecutive days of joint US-Israeli military strikes. The months-long conflict had already sent global energy markets into chaos after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies, and left large swathes of Lebanon under relentless Israeli bombardment.

Iran’s 10-point peace plan included non-negotiable demands: continued Iranian military coordination over control of the Strait of Hormuz, full lifting of US economic sanctions, war reparations for Iranian infrastructure damage, a full withdrawal of US troops from the region, and security guarantees for Iran’s allied proxy movements across the Middle East. US negotiators quickly dismissed these terms as “maximalist” and unacceptable.

Within hours of the talks collapsing, the US announced a full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a move that drastically escalates regional tensions and threatens to deepen the global energy crisis.

Peace research has long established that ceasefires fail when they lack three critical components: intentional trust-building between parties, binding third-party enforcement, and a comprehensive framework for addressing core grievances. The April 2025 US-Iran ceasefire lacks all three of these foundational elements, leading analysts to warn its collapse was almost inevitable.

The human and economic costs of the conflict already stand at staggering levels. The US Pentagon has spent roughly $28 billion on military operations over just 39 days of conflict, and the Trump administration is now requesting an additional $80 billion to $100 billion from Congress to continue the war. On the ground, more than 1,500 Iranian civilians and combatants have been killed, with another 18,500 wounded. Thirteen American service members have died in the conflict, and more than 300 have suffered injuries.

Global energy markets have been roiled by the conflict: crude oil prices have surged more than 55% since hostilities began, pushing average US gas prices up more than $1 per gallon. For fragile import-dependent economies including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, this sudden energy shock has pushed already teetering governments to the brink of collapse.

For all this cost, the US has achieved none of its stated war objectives: there has been no regime change in Iran, no progress on nuclear disarmament, and no widespread political upheaval among the Iranian public. Instead, the conflict has caused a cascade of strategic and diplomatic losses that will reshape the regional order for years to come.

The Abraham Accords, the 2020 normalization deal between Israel and multiple Arab states once hailed as a groundbreaking diplomatic achievement, are now under severe strain. Gulf states that host US military bases have come under direct Iranian missile strikes, forcing their governments to re-evaluate whether a US security presence is a benefit or a dangerous liability. Long-standing NATO alliances have also been fractured by the unplanned, unauthorized war.

Even on the day the US-Iran ceasefire was announced, Israel made clear it would not extend the truce to its campaign against Lebanese armed groups: Israel launched Operation Eternal Darkness, carrying out 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in a 10-minute window hours after the ceasefire deal was publicized. For the US, which launched the conflict without clear, defined end goals, defining what “victory” even means remains an open question.

Perhaps the most striking indicator of the war’s political damage for the Trump administration is the open revolt from within the president’s own MAGA base. Tucker Carlson, once Trump’s most influential media ally, delivered a scathing 43-minute monologue calling the administration’s war rhetoric “morally corrupt” and “evil.” He specifically condemned an Easter morning Truth Social post from Trump that mocked Islam and threatened to erase Iranian civilization, calling the message “vile on every level.” Leading podcaster Joe Rogan labeled the war “insane,” noting it directly contradicts the non-interventionist platform Trump ran on in 2024. Leading figures in the MAGA media ecosystem have now broken openly with Trump over the conflict, and the president’s approval rating is positive in just 17 of 50 US states.

For Kawser Ahmed, an adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba’s Natural Resource Institute and the author of this analysis, the collapse of these talks is part of a deliberate, dangerous dismantling of the global peace architecture that has prevented major war since 1945. In the 2026 US federal budget, the Trump administration eliminated the entire $1.23 billion US contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations, cut 85% of all funding for US diplomatic and international affairs programs, closed the US Agency for International Development (USAID) after 64 years of operation, and withdrawn the US from 66 separate international bodies since taking office in January 2025.

These cuts have forced the United Nations to reduce its global peacekeeping force by 25%, reducing the UN’s presence in conflict hotspots including Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan at the exact moment that international monitoring and mediation is most needed.

The conflict has also upended the traditional global security order. When the time came to broker peace between the US and Iran, no Western US ally stepped forward to lead mediation efforts. Instead, Pakistan – a nation that grapples with its own ongoing border tensions with India and Afghanistan – took on the role of lead mediator, working alongside Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with quiet diplomatic support from China. This group of four Muslim-majority nations is now positioning itself as the primary diplomatic channel for the Middle East, a region where both Iran and Israel have become increasingly isolated, and US credibility as a reliable security guarantor has collapsed.

It is a striking reversal for the US, the nation that designed and built the post-1945 rules-based global order: now, the very nations the US once lectured on good governance and peaceful conflict resolution are left to clean up the mess of a US-initiated war.

Ahmed draws a clear parallel to the fall of ancient Athens, drawing on a warning from the Greek historian Thucydides written more than 2,400 years ago: superior military power and technological advancement do not guarantee lasting security or perpetual peace. Athens, the dominant global power of the 5th century BCE, did not fall to a stronger rival. It collapsed after launching the Sicilian Expedition, an unnecessary war of choice that drained the Athenian treasury, fractured its alliances, and laid bare the fatal arrogance of imperial overreach. The parallels between that ancient disaster and the current US conflict with Iran are impossible to ignore.

Today, the US is spending billions of dollars on destruction while slashing funding for the very international institutions designed to prevent war and heal conflict. That choice, Ahmed argues, is just the latest indication that the world is losing its way in an era of growing great power competition and unconstrained military action.

On April 12, 2026, a 14-member delegation from the Middle East-based Global Civilization Initiative Research Center made a landmark visit to the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the historic birthplace of the Communist Party of China (CPC) located in central Shanghai. The trip, part of a three-day visit to Shanghai that ran from April 12 to 14, also included a tour of a CPC community service center in Shanghai’s Lujiazui Financial District, giving delegates an on-the-ground look at contemporary Party work in one of China’s most dynamic economic hubs.

For the delegation members, the stop at the memorial was far more than a routine cultural or historical tour. It offered a rare opportunity to trace the 100-plus-year evolution of a political movement that transformed China and reshaped global order. Kawa Mahmoud, head of the research center and former Central Committee secretary of the Kurdistan Communist Party of Iraq, noted that the site holds meaning that extends well beyond its historical significance. “This museum isn’t just about past struggles. It’s also about now, about the current efforts to build socialism with Chinese characteristics. In this era, it represents a new form of Marxism,” Mahmoud explained.

Nabaz Abdullah, the center’s executive director, echoed this perspective, emphasizing that the small, unassuming meeting room where the First National Congress convened in 1921 was the cradle of a political force that would redefine 20th and 21st century global history. “It was in this very room, in 1921, that a political force was born, one that would go on to profoundly influence the world,” Abdullah said. Reflecting on the core lessons he drew from the CPC’s century-long journey, he added: “The lesson I take from this history is that real success depends on staying connected to the people, maintaining their support, and continuously adapting alongside them to build a stronger future.”

Other delegation members shared reflections on the CPC’s unprecedented ability to lift China out of poverty and backwardness to its current position as a major global economic and political power. Nizam Mohammad, a council member of the research center, called the opportunity to visit the site a singular honor, saying it allowed him to deepen his understanding of how the CPC led China through more than a century of struggle, transforming it from a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society into a leading global player.

Imad Samaha, another council member, identified the root of the CPC’s enduring success: its consistent commitment to theoretical innovation rooted in Marxist principles, paired with a focus on adapting those principles to China’s unique national context to build socialism with Chinese characteristics. Looking ahead to China’s 2035 goal of basically building a modern socialist country, Samaha expressed full confidence in the CPC’s ability to deliver on that vision. “Furthermore, the CPC is a political party with a global vision and will continue to contribute to the development of humanity,” he added.

Founded on the initiative of the Kurdistan Communist Party of Iraq, the Global Civilization Initiative Research Center is the first institution of its kind across the Middle East. It operates as a non-governmental platform dedicated to advancing cross-civilization dialogue, encouraging mutual learning between cultural communities, and deepening cross-regional cultural understanding. The center’s work aligns with the global Global Civilization Initiative, first proposed by China in 2023, which promotes four core pillars: respect for the diversity of global civilizations, commitment to the shared values of all humanity, support for the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and expanded people-to-people exchanges to build global mutual understanding.

This visit marks a new step in practical exchanges between Chinese and Middle Eastern political and research communities, advancing the mutual understanding that the Global Civilization Initiative was designed to foster.