Chinese military personnel take part in a rehearsal ahead of a parade commemorating the eightieth anniversary of victory in World War II in Beijing on August 20, 2025. (Pedro Pardo via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
US Commerce Secretary Howard William Lutnick and Japanese Minister for Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa shake hands on on September 4, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Arleigh Burke–class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) sails in formation during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise on July 28, 2022. (DVIDS)
A formation of Dongfeng-41 nuclear missiles takes part in a military parade celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 2019. (Xia Yifang via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
A microchip and Taiwanese flag displayed on a phone screen are seen in this multiple exposure illustration photo on April 10, 2023. (Jakub Porzycki via Getty Images)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15, 2022. (James Brickwood/Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pose for a group photo with other leaders at the Third Belt and Road Forum on October 18, 2023, in Beijing, China. (Suo Takekuma/Pool via Getty Images)
The flags of Russia, China, and North Korea on a viewing tower on the border between the three countries in Hunchun, China, on June 25, 2015. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping after a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' week in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Informal Dialogue during APEC Leaders' Week at Moscone Center on November, 16, 2023, in San Francisco, California. (Kent Nishimura via Getty Images)