Connectivity of China and Its Surrounding Countries within the＂Belt and Road＂Framework

Li Chenyang,Yang Yangzhang

Abstract:The＂Belt and Road＂initiative has represented great blueprint for the connectivity of China and its surrounding countries．In recent years,China has achieved multiple breakthroughs in the connectivity endeavors with its surrounding countries,including the launching of China－Pakistan joint projects, Indonesian high－speed railways,China－Thailand,and China－Laos railway projects,etc．As the construction of connectivity projects is confronting problems in the complicated environment,certain setbacks may affect current projects and those in mutually－signed agreements．It is necessary to strategically tackle the problemstopromoteconnectivitywiththesurroundingcountriesandtakereasonable measures to push forward the constructions of connectivity between China and its surrounding countries for the ideal of win－win．

connectivity;the＂Belt and Road＂;cooperation in high－speed rails

About the Authors:Li Chenyang,Office of Social Sciences,Yunnan University; Yang Xiangzhang,Institute of International Relations,Yunnan University．

Review and Analysis of U．S． and China's Strategic Adjustment upon South China Sea（SCS）Issue

Ye Hailin

Abstract:Based on the reviewing and generalizing of development of South China Sea（SCS）situation from 2015 to the first quarter of 2016,this article bespeaks that the crucial contradiction of SCS issue has changed from a dispute of sovereign and maritime interests／rights between China and certain Southeast Asian countries,marked as＂Huangyan Island Incident＂,to a strategic game of rule－making and safeguarding SCS between China and the U．S．．This mainly indicates the adversarial interaction between American freedom of navigationthrough military means,and China's countermeasures．China－U．S．conflict on SCS has gradually presented a characteristic of struggling for hegemony in the region between the superpower and its challenger．The situation is supposed to continue,and the management and control of SCS issue is believed to become more difficult．As a consequence,the probability of the outbreak of conflict is thought to be increased．

Key words:South China Sea（SCS）,navigation freedom,strategic deterrence

About the Author:Ye Hailin,Institute of Asian－Pacific and Global Strategies, CASS;Editor of South Asian Studies;South Asia Research Center,CASS．

Iran's Grand Strategy for the Iran Nuclear Issue

Zhang Chang

Abstract:Through a series of long and difficult negotiations,the US and Iran have eventually reached agreements on the Iranian nuclear issue that catch worldwide attention．Looking back on the Middle East strategy of the US and the progression of the Iranian nuclear issue,we can find that the beginning, intensification,and settlement of the issue are closely related to the changes of American policy and the fluctuations of American strategic capability．For that matter,the Iranian nuclear issue is not superficially an issue of nuclear proliferation, but of profound reflection of practices and difficulties of America's Middle East strategies as well as the process of the country's decline from a hegemonic power to its relative fall of predominance．Facing the new international situation after the Cold War,Iran adopts an equilibration strategy of combining selfdependence and alliance．And viewing the Iranian nuclear issue from this perspective generates positive significance in grasping the evolution of the issue, which can help to properly analyze the connotation and influence of the Iranian Nuclear Issue Agreement as well as the study and judgment of the US－Iran relations．

Key words:the US;Iran;Iranian nuclear issue;grand strategy

About the Author:Zhang Chang,Chinese People's Liberation Army University of International Relations．

Australia and South Pacific Regionalism:the Case of South Pacific Nuclear－Free Zone and Beyond

Cui Yue,Niu Zhongjun

Abstract:South Pacific Island states have gradually approached each other closer as their histories evolve,forming the South Pacific region not only in the geographical sense,but also in the cultural and political sense．Such regional organizations as the South Pacific Commission and the South Pacific Forum（later the Pacific Islands Forum,PIF）have played an important role in the development of South Pacific regionalism．Australia once served and is still serving as a force that cannot be ignored in the process of regional integration, in terms of a western colonizer first and later of an equal partner within the Pacific Island states．The South Pacific is considered the kernel of Australia's national security,and the stable South Pacific makes the base for Australia to exert its diplomatic influence．Nuclear presence in the South Pacific region may threaten the safety of Australia,so it is a rational decision for Australia to support a South Pacific nuclear－free zone．However,Australia has found it important to balance out between reaching the goal of denuclearizing the region and considering the strategic interests of its American ally．Australia then proposed its＂middle way＂for a solution,and it was the coalition with New Zealand and Polynesian states that strengthened Australia's position in winning other South Pacific states at PIF．By analyzing the three essential components of Australia's middle power diplomacy,namely,the alliance diplomacy,the regional diplomacy and multilateral diplomacy,it is possible to both examine and explain Australia's different motivations behind its efforts to establish the South Pacific NuclearFree Zone．And such is the typicality of Australia's middle power diplomacy explicated in this case study．Australia's South Pacific policy features subtle moves to strike a balance of interest among Australia, the region and the US, which may coincide at times but more often compete with one another,when their respective compromises have to be made．

Key words:Australia;South Pacific;regionalism;nuclear－free zone;middle power

About the Authors:Cui Yue,Sino－Australian Center,University of International Business and Economics;Niu Zhongjun,Department of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Administration,China Foreign Affairs University．

Thought of International Politics and Its Contemporary Significance in Confucian Classic Chun－Qiu－Gu－Liang－Zhuan

Yang Dechun

Abstract:The Confucian classic Chun－Qiu－Gu－Liang－Zhuan is the valuable resource of thought of trans－national politics and strategy． Such essential ideologies and practices as formulation and justification of relations of the sovereign and vassals,establishment of national hegemony and alliance,China as a central kingdom,settlement of disputes among nations with justice and law, mutual respect and exchange, non－aggression and peace－keeping, crosscultural communication,and so forth,are carefully and convincingly explicated and applied in actual situations．These historical values and lessons are still significant in modern times．

Key words:Chun－Qiu－Gu－Liang－Zhuan; international politics; humancenteredness

About the Author:Yang Dechun, Department of Chinese Language and Literature,Handan College,Hebei Province．