Polaris Live Podcasts with Host, Sarwar Kashmeri

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are scheduled to have a summit meeting in Beijing on the 14 and 15 of May 2026. China seems to loom over the United States in its perpetually calm ascendency to the global leadership position. Polaris-Live founder and host Sarwar Kashmeri visited China a few days ago and found himself in country devoid of wars and killing. A modern country of trains that run at 345 km/hour, a digital economy, with confident and forward looking people.One of the world's most recognized China historians Pamela Crossley caught up with Sarwar as Polaris-Live begins an in depth coverage of the Trump-Xi Summit to ask him about his visit and set the stage for analyzing the Summit meeting. ----------------------------------------------Pamela CrossleyProfessor Pamela Crossley is one of the world's leading historians of modern China, northern Asia, and global history. She is a specialist in the history of China's last empire, the Qing, but has written books on early modern and modern Chinese history, Central Asian history, and global history. Her work is widely published both in scholarly journals and in newspapers, and magazines for the general public. Crossley is author of The Wobbling Pivot: China since 1800: An Interpretive History (2010), as well as influential studies of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and leading textbooks in global history. Her forthcoming book is China's Global Empire: Qing, 1636-1912, from Cambridge University Press. She is freshly retired from Dartmouth College.

We apologize for the occasionally distorted audio from Sarwar Kashmeri. He was experiencing a severe thunder storm at his location that interfered with his audio transmission.How does China view its role—both principled and pragmatic—in the evolving West Asia crisis; Especially as it involves energy, trade, global political economy. How do current tensions affect Beijing’s long-term strategic planning. Is China truly neutral, or selectively aligned?How do Global South countries interpret China’s position on the war. How this conflict reflects broader shifts in global governance and international norms.--------------------------------------------- ZHA Daojiong Professor of International Political Economy in the School of International Studies and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, Peking University, Beijing, China. His areas of expertise include non-traditional security studies, international political economy and China’s international economic relations. His research publications cover such topics as energy, cross-boundary water management, development aid and public health, and international development cooperation. He also contributes opinion pieces in newspapers including the South China Morning Post. He studied at the University of Hawaii and the East West Center, where he earned a Doctorate in Political Science. Before joining the faculty of Peking University, he taught in the University of Macau, International University of Japan, Miyazaki International College, and Renmin University of China.

China wants the Renminbi to be global reserve currency. Chances of achieving this? Will it be good for China? Good for the world?Exclusive 1 hour panel discussion---------------------------- Guest Host: Marc Chandler, Chief Market Strategist, Bannockburn Capital Markets Mark Sobel, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, US international monetary & financial policy&Dr. ZHOU Mi, Deputy Director, Institute of American and Oceania Study, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Dr. Zhou has been responsible for or taken part in more than 200 research projects to support the decision making or consulting for wide range of China's Ministries, Local governments, International Organizations and enterprises. He has published 1 book, compiled 1 book as executive editor and has been involved in compiling 10+ books, and published more than 700 articles.

Does the President’s actions change the perception of America, after all the U.S. is known as a country of laws, not men! Top down look at the impact of the seeming bypass by Pres. Trump of the USSC decision, as in pronouncing it un-American, taking away from his Make America Great Again trajectory, reminding countries not to think they have avoided tariffs and instituting new tariffs, just in case, using different legal basis. Then, there is the micro-level discussion of will corporations in other countries refuse to pay tariffs until the fog of war clears? How much influence on local decision will Pres. Trump’s very personal, vendetta type reaction have on international corporate reaction.  What has the media missed in its coverage?-------------------------------------------------- FLORA HUANGFlora Huang is a Professor of Law and Business at the University of Derby in the UK and a leading expert on global economic governance and international dispute resolution.She currently serves as an EU Chairperson for Arbitration and Trade-and-Sustainable-Development Expert Panels and as an international arbitrator with the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission. She was also a Central Asian Legal Research Fellow and a Visiting Fellow of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.Professor Huang’s work has significant policy impact. She has provided expert evidence to the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on engagement with China and Central Asia and has worked as legal counsel to the China Import and Export Fair. A widely published scholar with over 80 publications, her research is widely cited by the OECD, parliaments, and various international financial centers. She has also collaborated with prominent international organizations and NGOs, including the UN, WhistleblowersUK, and the Legatum Institute.

President Trump recently announced on his social media feed that the U.S. and India had agreed a landmark trade deal that would reduce tariffs on Indian exports. In return, India, said the U.S. President, has committed to stop buying Russian crude oil and open up India's agriculture sector to U.S. products. Quite amazing given that 1/3 of India's oil consumption is imported from Russia and over 60% of India's population works in the country's agriculture. Prime Minister Modi while praising the agreement did not confirm the details shared by the U.S., the Trump administration appears to be walking back the "...India has committed..." phraseology.  So what gives? Has India really called America's bluff?AJAY SRIVASTAVAMR.  SRIVASTAVA Founder, Global Trade Research Initiative (an Indian research group specializing in technology, climate change, and trade. He took voluntary retirement from the Government of India in March 2022, having served as an Indian Trade Service Officer. Ajay worked in trade policy formulation and WTO and FTA negotiations, being part of the Indian team negotiating FTAs with ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Australia, the EU, and others. He writes regularly for the Indian media including Business Standard, Hindu Business Line, and Times of India. He is the author of books such as 'Stop Talking, Start Exporting,' 'The GST Nation,' and 'Business Guide to FTA

Since 2009, China has been Brazil's biggest trade partner, by a large margin, followed by the U.S. However, Americans are more important as investors, and as a source of advanced technology, especially in military cooperation. Polls show that Brazilians admire the United States much more than China, but that they also believe that the Chinese government is more respectful of Brazil's sovereignty.In other words, Brazil needs good relations with both China and the US, and it will be a rising challenge to balance this triangle in a more turbulent world. A unique opportunity to discuss the triangular relationship between the US, China and Brazil, with Brazilian geopolitical expert, Mauricio Santoro.

Tan Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram bin Yaakob is the Ambassador of Malaysia to the United States of America. He is a highly experienced diplomat, with over 35 years of experience in public service.He was appointed as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988 and held the position of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 6 January 2019 until 31 May 2022.  Tan Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram was accredited as Ambassador of Malaysia to the State of Qatar, Ambassador of Malaysia to Austria and Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in New York, United States of America.Throughout his service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he held the positions of Deputy Secretary General of Bilateral Affairs, Director General of ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat (during Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2015) and Undersecretary of Multilateral Political Division. His previous diplomatic assignments included at Malaysia’s diplomatic missions in Vienna, Austria; Washington D.C., United States of America; and Beijing, People’s Republic of China.

The resurgence of great-power rivalry—primarily between the United States and China—has not pushed middle and smaller states back into Cold War–style camps. Instead, much of the Global South has become more assertively “non-aligned” (or multi-aligned), carving out independent strategic space, something that would have been very difficult to do just a decade ago. This trend reflects structural changes in the international order including the fact that the International System is no longer Bipolar, U.S. & China offer different benefits, and a residue of Colonial Memory and Sovereignty. How are the U.S. and China adjusting to this seismic change in geopolitics or are they?---------------------------------------------------------- Jorge HeineAmbassador Jorge Heine is a lawyer, IR scholar and diplomat with a special interest in the international politics of the Global South. Ambassador Heine is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.He has served as ambassador of Chile to China, India, and South Africa, and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. His prestigious positions include CIGI Professor of Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, a Guggenheim Fellow; a Visiting Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford University; a United Nations Research Fellow at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC);Ambassador Heine is widely published, including his latest best seller, "The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out In An Era of Great Power Competition."

India was one of two largest purchasers of Russia's oil. In keeping with the two countries decades old friendship. With U.S. sanctions this week on the 2 largest Russian oil producers the Indian role is in a very tough place: support the old relationship and succumb to America's sanctions or cut off the purchase of Russian oil and turn its back on an old friendship that has always stood by India. What does this mean for the U.S.-India defense relationship, the Quad partnership, and growing trade with the U.S.? Wither India?--------------------------------------------- Dr. Sriparna PathakProfessor and Associate Dean of CareersDr. Sriparna Pathak is a Professor of China Studies, and the founding Director of the Centre for Northeast Asian Studies at O.P. Jindal Global University, (JGU) Haryana, India. She also serves in the capacity of the Associate Director of the Jindal India Institute. She teaches courses on Foreign Policy of China as well as Theories of International Relations. In 2022, she published a book titled ‘Drifts and Dynamics: Russia’s Ukraine War and Northeast Asia. Her previous work experience covers Universities like Gauhati University, Don Bosco University; the Ministry of External Affairs, where she worked as a Consultant for the Policy Planning and Research Division, working on China’s domestic and foreign polices; think tanks like Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi and Kolkata respectively,  and the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research in New Delhi. Dr. Pathak is fluent in English, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, Bengali and Assamese. Professor Pathak is also associated with Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab, as a regional partner, and works on tracking China’s influence operations. She has also been invited by the European Union's External Action Services for multiple workshops on tracking foreign information manipulation and interference. She is a recipient of the prestigious CITW Community Fund from Taipei’s Doublethink Lab. She has also been a recipient of the prestigious joint fellowship from India’s Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) and the China Scholarship Council for studying an advanced level of Mandarin and for research in Beijing, People’s Republic of China between 2011-2013.

Dr. Massot recommends that Canada balance its reliance on the US by enhancing ties with Asia and other global markets, while also examining the implications of China's rise and its impact on international trade dynamics. Additionally, her insights advocate for proactive public engagement and policy discussions to foster public opinion in favor of robust Canada-China relations. Through these strategies, Massot believes Canada can better navigate and mitigate the challenges posed by US tariff policies.---------------------------------------------------- Pascale Massot is an associate professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa. She is also non-resident Honorary Fellow, Political Economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and a non-resident Fellow with the Centre for China Studies, National Taiwan University.She was a member and adviser to the Co-Chairs of the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Indo-Pacific Advisory Committee, which was tasked with providing recommendations to the Minister on the development of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy. She also served as the Senior Advisor for China and Asia in the offices of various Canadian Cabinet ministers, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Trade, between 2015 and 2017 and again between 2020 and 2021.Pascale Massot is the author of "China’s Vulnerability Paradox: How the World’s Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets" (Oxford University Press, 2024) – Winner of the 2024 Best Book Award in International Political Economy from the International Studies Association and 2024 Peter Katzenstein Book Prize. Her work has been published in English, French, and Mandarin in various outlets, including New Political Economy, International Journal, and The Globe and Mail.

"[China] seems to have been always living in the same stage of advancement as in the present.""Chinese civilization originates in an antiquity so remote that we vainly endeavor to discover its commencement."---Dr. Henry KissingerAin't necessarily so says Dr. Pamela Crossley!---------------------- Pamela CrossleyProfessor Pamela Crossley is one of the world's leading historians of modern China, northern Asia, and global history. She is a specialist in the history of China's last empire, the Qing, but has written books on early modern and modern Chinese history, Central Asian history, and global history. Her work is widely published both in scholarly journals and in newspapers, and magazines for the general public. Crossley is author of The Wobbling Pivot: China since 1800: An Interpretive History (2010), as well as influential studies of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and leading textbooks in global history. Her forthcoming book is China's Global Empire: Qing, 1636-1912, from Cambridge University Press. She is freshly retired from Dartmouth College.

Is the West being economically outflanked in the Middle East by China? Is the Renminbi now a strong alternative trade option for the Middle East trade? Have events in Gaza damaged U.S. trade and political prospects.-------------------------------------------- Nicolas Michelon Managing Partner at Alagan Partners, a corporate geoeconomics consultancy in Dubai. He advises multinational companies, institutional investors and family offices on geopolitical & geo-economic risk, supply chain resilience, strategic foresight and tech startup investment in the GCC, Asia-Pacific, Türkiye and Europe. He is also a Business Partner at Alagan.Tech Solutions, an Istanbul-based sustainability and mobility solutions advisory firm. Nicolas has worked for 15 years in Hong Kong, Singapore & Japan as an economist (French Ministry of Finance, seconded to the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong), financial analyst (KPMG in Hong Kong), portfolio manager (Schroders in Singapore) and more recently as a corporate geoeconomics and strategic intelligence consultant specialized in the Global South. Regularly featured in business media in the UAE & Türkiye, and a conference speaker  he is also an Adjunct Professor & Guest Lecturer in geopolitics, geoeconomics and strategic intelligence at ESCP Business School (Paris), Galatasaray University (Istanbul), University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (Rabat), and the Paris School of Economic Warfare, and a member of the International Consortium for the Study of Economic Leverage in Peace and Conflict (ICEL) coordinated by King’s College London.

Should the world fear China? Does the U.S. now fear China? Does "Liberal World/International Order" mean the same thing in both the U.S. and China? Both China and America fought Fascism together in the Second World War, why can't they be allies again?----------------------------ZHOU BO is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University and a retired Senior Colonel in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.He has published more than 180 English essays and opinions in leading publications including Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and broadcast media including  BBC, NBC, DW, and is a speaker at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and at Munich Security conference.  His new book is "Should the World Fear China?" Hurst Publishers, Oxford University Press .

Polaris Live starts its 5th year with a rare one-hour look at what's really happening to the economies of China and the United States through the eyes of trade, market, and currency experts from both countries. Will they agree on the impact of the U.S. tariffs on their countries and world? We'll find out in 4 days!-------------------------------------------------- Dr. ZHOU MiDeputy Director, Institute of American and Oceania Study, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.He has published 1 book, compiled 1 book as executive editor and has been involved in compiling 10+ books, and published more than 700 articles. He has been responsible for or taken part in more than 200 research projects to support the decision making or consulting for wide range of Ministries, Local governments, International Organizations and enterprises.MARC CHANDLERManaging Director and Chief Market Strategist for Bannockburn Global Forex. He has covered global capital markets for more than 30 years.A prolific writer and speaker, Chandler appears regularly in the financial media including Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post, among others. Marc also provides his insights and commentary on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN, and Fox Business. His publications include, Making Sense of the Dollar and Political Economy of Tomorrow. Chandler is also an honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, Associate Professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and visiting professor at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Is China really about to invade Taiwan? Does it need to? Can the U.S. do anything about it? Are America's Indo-Pacific allies really as strong as the U.S. seems to make them appear? Will America's much touted allies in the Indo Pacific get into a fight with China. How do the countries in the region view the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy?----------------------------------- Bonnie GlaserMs. Glaser is managing director of GMF’s Indo-Pacific program. She is also a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. She is a co-author of US-Taiwan Relations: Will China's Challenge Lead to a Crisis (Brookings Press, April 2023). She was previously senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and US policy for more than three decades.

In just six months, the new U.S. administration has fundamentally restructured the military, resulting in diminished alliances, reduced normative standards, and less emphasis on diversity. Concurrently, there has been a shift toward a more militarily-led U.S. foreign policy that has already seen American involvement in two wars in the Middle East.Proponents argue that this redesign enhances the military’s lethality and effectiveness. But does it truly achieve that goal? More critically, does this new approach position the U.S. military to compete more effectively with its primary competitor, the People’s Republic of China, which seems to prioritize winning hearts and minds over aggressive military strategies?We will explore this evolving global order with a distinguished guest—Secretary Chuck Hagel, one of the few Americans with a remarkable career at the top levels of international business, politics, and the military.———————–Sec. Chuck HagelChuck Hagel is an American military veteran who served as a United States Senator from Nebraska and as the 24th United States Secretary of Defense.Sec. Hagel was the first enlisted soldier to serve as the SecDef. A recipient of two Purple Hearts while an infantry squad leader in the Vietnam War, Hagel returned home to start careers in business and politics. He co-founded Vanguard Cellular. Hagel served as a professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, chairman of the Atlantic Council, and co-chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. He is the author of: “America, Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers.”