Newsletter By 2026-03-31
With the full escalation of the U.S.–Israel conflict against Iran in March, core European member states collectively refrained from participating and even denied the U.S. access to their military bases, bringing NATO's internal divisions into the open. This is by no means accidental, but rather the inevitable result of long-accumulated structural contradictions between the U.S. and Europe. It points to a severe misalignment in strategic objectives, intensifying disputes over defense burden-sharing, and Europe's drive for strategic autonomy, writes
Xia Ri, Industry Researcher at ANBOUND.
>>Control over resources and supply chains has now become a key “strategic lever”. The infrastructure, trade routes, advanced technologies, and capital strategies tied to these resources are now the primary forces driving international cooperation and reshaping global partnerships. In reality, no country or region can achieve complete self-sufficiency or fully control the entire industrial chain. Oil, rare earths, lithium, nickel, graphite, and water resources each represent areas where different players hold their own advantages. “Coordinating multiple objectives” is a common challenge faced by those in governance, in the opinion of
Yi Wang, Head of Global Development Program and Senior Researcher at ANBOUND, in an article published on
Eurasia Review.
>>Cuba’s current reform agenda is neither a conventional systemic transformation nor a full-scale transition to capitalism. Rather, it is a controlled process of change that operates within existing political and ideological boundaries, aimed at moving from a highly centralized planned economy toward a more limited form of market-oriented socialism. In the end, the decisive factor is an open environment, and that is exactly where the United States’ leverage lies. Without it, Cuba’s reforms will very likely struggle to succeed, discussed
Zhijiang Zhao, Research Fellow for Geopolitical Strategy programme at ANBOUND.
>>China’s Two Sessions report and the fiscal budget for the new year indicate that a proactive fiscal policy will continue broadly in line with last year in both approach and intensity, though the composition of spending may differ. Overall, the key challenge for fiscal policy this year lies in addressing the sources of funding. On the expenditure side, the challenge is how to foster new quality productive forces and sustain drivers of long-term growth within a constrained fiscal space, in the opinion of
Wei Hongxu, Senior Economist of China Macro-Economy Research Center at ANBOUND.
>>The success of Israel’s intelligence war has caused Iran’s entire security apparatus to collapse in an instant. The operations and the advent of transparent warfare will they fundamentally change the security models for world leaders? The answer is no, and it is simply not possible for it to happen. In a world of transparent warfare, the principles of open-source intelligence have already made it clear: what truly cannot and will not change is human nature itself. Consequently, in most cases, things will continue as they always have. For the vast majority, the world remains, as it ever was, a world of the past, noted
ANBOUND’s founder Kung Chan.
>>While global growth has not come to a halt, the logic underpinning it has changed profoundly. The world economy is no longer driven primarily by the expansion of a single integrated marketplace. Instead, it is increasingly shaped by fragmentation, regionalization, and strategic competition. Recognizing this structural shift is essential to understanding the new realities of global economic development, according to a
Diplomat Magazine article focusing on de-globalization, co-authored by
Kung Chan, ANBOUND’s founder, and Li Xiaofeng, Economist of China Macro-Economy Research at ANBOUND.
>>The upgrading of the Japan-Central Asia cooperation mechanism does not represent a direct, single-dimensional blow to China’s regional influence. Instead, it constitutes a structural disturbance formed by the convergence of multiple marginal channels. It expands the room for maneuver for Central Asian nations without yet shaking the deep economic integration and systemic advantages China has built over decades. That being said, it will increase the complexity and coordination costs for China as it advances its regional agenda, writes
Zhou Chao, Research Fellow for Geopolitical Strategy programme at ANBOUND, in an article published on
Modern Diplomacy.
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