China has increased its economic ties with Africa as it seeks to fulfill its growing energy demands. But China's way of doing business has prompted international criticism, even as its policy of noninterference faces new challenges.

Steve Coll, Robert Grenier, and Daniel Markey look at changes in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past year and make recommendations for moving forward.

Gordon Orr, a director in McKinsey Quarterly's Shanghai office, offers a forecast for growth in China this year: Despite food price inflation and a stagnant housing market, he writes, China should maintain a rapid rate of growth.

The Pentagon's plan for an end to U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2013 has drawn familiar battle lines in the public debate over the proper endgame for the war.

Steve Coll, Robert Grenier, and Daniel Markey look at changes in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past year and make recommendations for moving forward.

Steve Coll, Robert Grenier, and Daniel Markey look at changes in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past year and make recommendations for moving forward.

The newly announced U.S. plan to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by mid-2013 could make it more difficult to realize the chief goal of helping Afghan national forces become self-sufficient, says CFR's Stephen Biddle.

Myanmar's sudden transition from repressive pariah to potential democracy should be viewed through the lens of a military alarmed by people power revolts and by the country's increasingly shaky economic condition, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Leslie H. Gelb says the Obama administration's announcement of a quick end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan is a surprise decision of strategic skill and political courage.

Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun say that uncertainties regarding a new North Korean leadership will create the context in which China, South Korea, and the United States must grapple with their future options for preserving stability in Northeast Asia.

China's search for food and land in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, reflects the country's pressing scarcity of water. China's approach has set off alarm bells in the region and the United States should work actively to address China's water security needs, argues Elizabeth Economy before the House U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Jerome A. Cohen and Jared Genser argue that the case of detained Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng demonstrates how far the Chinese government will go to suppress legitimate criticism by its citizens.

The winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential race will have to make critical decisions on Afghanistan, including how to support and fund Afghan forces as well as possible concessions to the Taliban, says CFR's Stephen Biddle.

Elizabeth C. Economy argues that unless the leadership in Beijing changes course, China faces increasing isolation.

The United States continues to pursue peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban as a means to secure stability. Bruce Riedel discusses the challenges faced by the administration, including its ongoing tensions with Pakistan.

The crisis of Western liberal capitalism has coincided with the rise of a powerful new form of state capitalism in emerging markets, says Adrian Wooldridge.

Joshua Kurlantzick says that despite the hopes raised by the Arab Spring, democracy is actually in retreat around the world, but there is a way to revive it.

This week's meeting between U.S., South Korean, and Japanese officials signaled an opening for North Korea to rejoin the suspended talks on its nuclear program. CFR's Scott Snyder discusses the talks and says it's unlikely the dialogue will resume soon.

Ed Husain reviews Imran Khan's Pakistan.

CNA senior research analyst Ken Gause discusses power politics and the leadership transition in North Korea.