Global Predictions 2023 | Taiwan question demands wisdom so as not to rock China-US relations

The world has entered an era of unprecedented changes. Challenges and opportunities coexist in a multipolar world. In 2023, what new trends can we anticipate in international relations?

In the third episode of Global Predictions 2023, one of China's top academics, Professor Jia Qingguo, former dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University and member of the Standing Committee of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, shares his insights into international relations in the new era.

Jia says three issues in China and the Asia Pacific will grab the whole world's attention: How China manages the COVID-19 pandemic after lifting restrictions, whether China's economic growth returns to pre-pandemic levels and how China manages the Taiwan question in 2023.

In terms of China-US relations, Jia says both sides "need to do something to stabilize the relationship and also create opportunities for cooperation" so that the two superpowers won't get into a severe confrontation.

One of the challenges facing China and the US is the Taiwan question, he says, which "demands a lot of wisdom and careful maneuvering from both countries to ensure that the problem will not rock the relationship."

China's optimized COVID-19 policy "is good news for China and for the world because China has been a big beneficiary from this economic integration with the outside world and the world has benefited tremendously from China's participation in world economy," he says.

2023 will see a sort of revival of economic integration and hopefully also economic prosperity, Jia predicts.

Click the video for more of his insights on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China-Philippines relations and other international relations.

(Produced by Han Xiaomeng, Xie Runjia, Lin Rui and He Shan)