If Southeast Asia is not to end up a graveyard of China- and US-backed military misadventures, Asean leaders must go beyond centrality to mediate tensions, without being seen as against either side

From its 1991 low point, Japan rebuild its local league, focusing on clean governance, youth development and a long-term vision: World Cup victory by 2092.

A region-wide carbon tax is long overdue to pave the way for a speedy reduction of emissions to protect the environment and accelerate green innovation.

Asean leaders must do more to strengthen the bloc’s unity and counter mutual distrust, such as through trade, education and cultural exchanges.

ByteDance’s short-video platform is back under scrutiny amid heightened US fears of Chinese surveillance. Whether TikTok’s threat to US national security is real or perceived, it faces an uphill struggle to survive.

Global sports will always be political. But hypocrisy should never get in the way of the beautiful sporting tradition of uniting people around the world.

SMEs, a major contributor of industrial emissions, are very much left out of the global climate strategy. We need to start treating them like small countries and applying ‘loss and damage’-style solutions

While Western medicine has been gradually refined through rigorous testing, traditional Chinese medicine remains under-researched and poorly regulated. With more funds for clinical research and stricter regulation, TCM’s full potential to protect lives can be unlocked.

Some countries are embracing free or nearly-free public transport as a way to reach their climate goals and fight inflation. While this is not a panacea, it offers a way for Asian nations to address environmental issues and traffic congestion that slows economic growth.

Preserving peace in the region depends on Beijing avoiding aggressive diplomacy and making progress in talks with its Southeast Asian neighbours. Otherwise, China could shift from being seen as a valuable trading partner to a threat.

The EU’s Erasmus exchange programme has built unity and a sense of belonging among young Europeans. A similar scheme with Asean would encourage closer ties while allowing Hong Kong’s youth to look beyond the mainland for opportunities to work and study.

The lack of a coordinated approach to define ESG obligations is confusing investors, and the reliance on self-reporting makes it easier for companies to resort to greenwashing. Elon Musk’s anger at Tesla being dropped by an ESG index is not without basis.

By becoming an early adopter of vaccines, keeping borders open, and facilitating technological innovation, the UAE has seen swift economic recovery. Hong Kong and Shanghai’s Covid-19 policies did not have the same results with Omicron as they did early in the pandemic, and have an adverse economic impact

Cryptocurrency promoters are pushing digital currencies as a viable alternative amid Russia’s search for ways to navigate Western sanctions. Efforts to move cryptocurrencies into the mainstream are doomed, though, as long as their many practical problems remain unresolved.

The Covid-19 and climate crises have irreversibly changed how most people view politics and business – witness America’s ‘Great Resignation’ and China’s ‘lying flat’ movement. The world urgently needs social-justice oriented solutions.

Asia is projected to be hit particularly hard as the effects of climate change take hold, with trillions in economic activity at risk. The Dutch experience is one all countries can learn from as they rush to deal with rising waters and flooding.

Across the West, people enjoy liberties but chafe against restrictions. In Asia, many accept sacrifices for the collective good but this risks dissatisfaction, which destabilises society. The key is in finding the right balance that best suits the country and its people.

The region has been slow to move from a linear ‘make, use and dispose’ economic model to a circular one in which nothing goes to waste, with cost often cited as a barrier. However, the German example shows that encouraging businesses and consumers to recycle does not adversely affect growth.

As Chinese state-led soft culture efforts bump up against US-led scepticism, China needs to learn to tell its stories more concisely – and allow the entertainment sector greater creative freedom to do so.

Ping-pong diplomacy paid off for China, more than ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy has. If the belt and road plan could help bridge the sporting infrastructure gap in countries, it would improve local sentiment and strengthen economic cooperation.

Any such race requires speed and competition, neither of which appear to be present in the US or Chinese space programmes of late. If China ever makes significant progress towards commercialising space resources, the US could then change and start competing – for wealth rather than prestige.

As the US and Europe demand more information sharing, neither Beijing nor Chinese people share the Western value that transparency is intrinsic to good governance.