Modern vice presidents can trace much of their political influence to the broad reforms that Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale made to the second-highest elected office in the late 1970s.

Taiwan has the potential to be a flash point in U.S.-China relations. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taipei in 2022 heightened tensions.

Under the command of Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party faces a host of domestic and international challenges as it aims to bolster China’s great-power status.

Trade between the world’s two biggest economies has ballooned in recent decades, bringing significant benefits but also perils that have led to calls to rethink the relationship.

International efforts, such as the Paris Agreement, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But experts say countries aren’t doing enough to limit dangerous global warming.

Since its founding in 1944, the World Bank has evolved from a lender focused on European reconstruction to the preeminent international institution for economic development and poverty reduction.

Tens of millions of Chinese now identify as Christians, and the number has grown rapidly, posing challenges for a government that is officially atheist and wary of threats to its power.