What harm will it cause to the Pacific island countries and local residents if the contaminated water is discharged into the Pacific Ocean by Japan? What efforts has the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) made to stop Japan?

As China-US tensions have boiled over the island of Taiwan and the Ukraine crisis, Southeast Asia has kept proactive diplomacy. Global Times (GT) reporters Wang Wenwen and Bai Yunyi talked to Mahathir bin Mohamad (Mahathir), former prime minister of Malaysia, about his views on China-US relations and the global impact of the Ukraine crisis. Mahathir, who is vocal against the West, has kept a very particular place in Malaysia's history and been an influential senior statesman in Southeast Asia. He has constantly spoken up about China-US relations.

When the European countries discuss about how to view and co-exist with China in a rational manner, there are also voices of opposition under the influence of the US.

Japan's plan to dump into the ocean has been strongly condemned by the international community. Nonetheless, Tokyo is still going its own way and speeding up the plan to make the rest of the world pay for it. What would be the global impact of Japan dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater? Does Japan's move violate the law and infringe on the rights of relevant countries? Global Times (GT) reporter Liu Zixuan talked with Karly Burch (Burch), a sociology lecturer from the University of Auckland, who has been studying the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster for the past 12 years, over these issues.

China does not pose an existential threat to the US, the real existential danger is "if we blunder into war," Joseph S. Nye Jr., former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government who coined the term "soft power," said during the release of his new book, Soft Power and Great-Power Competition: Shifting Sands in the Balance of Power Between the United States and China, on Friday, hosted by Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization (CCG). During the book release, Wang Huiyao, CCG founder and president, had a dialogue with Nye, in which Wang raised questions on behalf of Global Times. This is an excerpt of the dialogue.

The defence of the "decoupling theory" is precisely rooted in the zero-sum thinking of some think tanks in the West. They use "decoupling" as a new weapon against China.

We are aiding and abetting America in doing that. We're not allied with America's interest, because what America is doing is not in America's interest.

Foreign affairs are a responsibility for the commonwealth government, but states have a lot of responsibility for economic, cultural, and social matters. And so our engagement can assist in playing the ground for the commonwealth governments who resolves issues at national level with the government of China. There is some scope for other states to assist in resolving those issues.

It was where all that trauma happened. That's where all the rapes, the violence, the beatings, the medical experiment have been. The residential schools were horrible places for these children and where they were brainwashed.

Japan should face up to this responsibility and this reality instead of simply making the problems "out of sight, out of mind."

In Asia, who can US imperialism rope in in terms of their own sovereignty? Who can resist the US pressure?

"The US will continue to use every possible form of technology to spy on its allies, its own citizens and its opponents. Imperialist relations are never based on 'trust,'" said Sara Flounders (Flounders), a political writer and activist for 50 years in the US, in an interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Wang Wenwen. Flounders is a contributing editor of Workers World Newspaper and helps coordinate the International Action Center and the United National Antiwar Coalition.

We are creating suffering abroad and suffering at home, all for a ruling elite and their dream of remaining a dominating "superpower."

We have a very weak leadership that is behaving in a way that is not in the interests of EU citizens. We think they should develop an independent path and forge good relations with everybody.

What will be the biggest highlight of Lula's visit? How can China and Brazil jointly uphold multilateralism and address rising global risks?

China's ambitions and aspirations are different from the US'. But casting it as an enemy in a war seems to be both misleading and dangerous.

US strategists play a long-term chess game, and it's about how we can gradually roll back the influence of Russia and China and secure the dominance of Western capitalism around the world.

The US is functionally not a democracy. It's a plutocracy. It's a system in which the rich can buy representation in the government. It's a system in which large corporations can essentially buy politicians.

This kind of unilateral action by one government that has trans-boundary and trans-generational harmful consequences for a wide range of other nations right across the Pacific is not conducive to peaceful, constructive relationships and building the safe, healthy future we all desperately need.

I am concerned about America as a country. I want it to do well. But as long as America continues to adopt and implement these kind of policies that has a boomerang effect on its own citizens, in this case, Chinese American citizens, it will fail. I just don't want to see it. That's why I'm fighting to make sure we do the right thing and make sure that America continues to be a good country for us Chinese Americans to live in and work in and where our children will grow and have happy families.

The most important step to ease the global economic crisis is to end the war in Ukraine through a negotiated settlement. China's peace initiative is a superb contribution towards this goal.

I think we're back to those times when Macron, Merkel and previous EU leaders visited China. It is a good thing that shows quite some progress made between Europe and China. It also signals the significance and the determination of Europe to engage with China.

I believe that out of the leaders in Taiwan island in the past few years, Ma opened the door between Taiwan and the mainland and pushed for comprehensive exchanges to promote cross-Straits peace, while Tsai Ing-wen led Taiwan into a dangerous situation. The British and US media are now greatly touting Tsai based on self-interest in confronting the mainland, but history will eventually expose Tsai's problems. The two sides of the Taiwan Straits must never go to conflict in the future. Ma has laid the foundation for the Big Three Links across the Taiwan Straits, and at this critical moment, he is willing to play the role he intends to and has played.

We still are in a process where a dominant role of the US is the reality, but that's not sustainable. And we could start with the Chinese idea of "a shared future." But we have to think of what kind of changes are necessary to make that shared future a better future, dramatically sustainable in environmental, security and financial terms.

Democracy is not a monument or shibboleth or a god. The purpose of democracy is to benefit the people.

We are in a very dangerous international situation. I think the most important thing is that the changes we will face are peaceful and that we don't go into a big war between NATO and Russia or even NATO and China. This is my most important message.

It is very important for us Russians, because we understand that the present model of development, which was imported from the West, and its liberal capital is actually inefficient. And we should change the direction of our development and where it will go.

It was well-known that the real objectives of the Iraq War were not weapons of mass destruction, but permanent military bases in Iraq, oil, and Israel.

The US is seeking to expand military presence in the Philippines and put the Philippines on the frontline of US' anti-China campaign. What consequences will this move bring to the Asia-Pacific region? What the Philippines can do to avoid being a pawn of the US? Anna Malindog-Uy (Anna), senior research fellow of Global Governance Institution, and vice president of External Affairs of the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, shared her views with Global Times (GT) reporter Wang Zixuan over these issues.

Why did the mainstream media in the US largely remain silent on Hersh's article? Are the NYT revelations credible? Who is the culprit for the Nord Stream pipeline attack?

"I have full confidence in the new government. They understand both China and the world."

China has accomplished its modernization by carrying it on the country's shoulders and projecting important benefits to others. Western modernization has largely been carried on the shoulders of others & projected sacrifices and exclusion onto them.

The Hersh article was too embarrassing for the US. It took the New York Times one month to figure out how to react.

The diplomatic rationale of China is simple and clear. China adheres to the principle of peaceful development. It firmly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace.

I would advise that governments protest to Japan, make diplomatic protests, bring a case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in every form they can, including in the General Assembly of the United Nations, as well as have a debate in Security Council, although the US is a veto as well as other countries such as France and the UK.

Hopefully, we are going to be a beneficiary. It's not about China. It's a global initiative.

I do not believe that a group of Ukrainian freelancers bombed the Nord Stream, since it seems too convenient and hard to imagine that they would have the technical capabilities, says author of American Exception: Empire and the Deep State

The Chinese modernization is sustainable because it neither plunders other countries nor nature. In the past decade, an amazingly short period of time, China has led the world in reversing the inevitable historical consequences of industrialization.

In practice, in the West, it is an electoral democracy, but it does not run its government for the people. The US is officially classified by the economists now as a flawed democracy.

China's growing circle of friends is the result of a combination of its visionary leadership, commitment to multilateralism and win-win cooperation, as well as its growing global influence.

By rekindling its continuity with the past, Chinese governance today also connects all Chinese people to the world in peace. This is an inestimable contribution to their common good and to the world.

What's interesting in the Chinese approach, be that in the development or security component, is the focus on shared interests, mutual respect, and comprehensive and sustained solutions.

In general, the Global Security Initiative initiative is very welcome and very timely, and I think that creative and active role of China is highly appreciated.

The balloon incident was ridiculous and stupid. The response was bizarre and laughable, but unfortunately, it's not a laughing matter because it drove more hate and more confusion. I mean, what it reveals is a level of stupidity among journalists and average readers in the US. How ridiculous was all of that? And to think that someone could call a weather balloon a "spy balloon" when China has numerous ways to look at the US, just as the US has numerous ways to look at China. The US just flew a plane over Taiwan.

What I would want from the Chinese media is don't let us be forgotten, because that is my biggest fear with the media and the US

There's a lot of suppression. Unlike many countries, the US claims to have freedom of speech. We claim you can say whatever you want, and that is your freedom. But it's not actually true. You really have to say what is a kind of a certain allowable mix. And if you don't, then they will cover up what's being said. Now luckily, I live in a country where I don't have to fear being arrested for saying these things. But we don't have the freedom of speech that we claim to have.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is approaching its one-year mark, with no end in sight. It is eating up scarce European resources, preventing millions of refugees from returning home and weakening the global economic outlook while the US and some European countries are fanning the flames of the war, keeping sending weapons to Ukraine. How will the Russia-Ukraine conflict end? What are the biggest stumbling blocks for negotiation and diplomatic resolution?

Thailand looks forward to the return of Chinese tourists, and the consular section of the Royal Thai Embassy and Thai consulates in China are also preparing for the resumption of tourist visas, Ambassador of Thailand to China Arthayudh Srisamoot told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

Cooperation between China and the Arab world has increased exponentially over the years. China is the largest trading partner of many Middle Eastern countries, and the region is China's main source of energy. The significance of the summit was multifold － it was a political statement highlighting cooperation, it expanded and diversified areas of cooperation and it was substantially forward-looking. In essence it was a highly attractive action plan which I am confident will be mutually beneficial.

There's a phenomenon in the UK known as “heat or eat,” which means that people have to choose between whether to heat their homes or to feed themselves, but can't afford to do both.

Greater risk of outbreak of new conflicts bubbles amid a lingering pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the plague of soaring inflation and an energy crisis. Against this complex backdrop, what will 2023 look like? Who should we look toward as the anchor of stability in the world?

Each country has its unique benefit it brings to the continent. But it is widely accepted that improvement in US-China relations is better for the continent because addressing some of the structural issues at major multilateral platforms require both countries reaching consensus.

The achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics have shown socialists in the Global South that it is possible to build a much better society. This will inspire a new generation of socialist leaders to explore better indigenous solutions.

The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping is very important, as it implies the depth of the desire to strengthen relations between China and the Kingdom.

It is expected that at the recent summits in the Arab region with China there will be a desire for closer economic relations between the two sides that have equal importance at the present time in strengthening Chinese-Arab relations.

The China-Arab States Summit, the China-GCC Summit and President Xi's state visit to Saudi Arabia are a major move of the head-of-state diplomacy of China's new journey for major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and a major pioneering undertaking in new China's Middle East diplomacy.

The Chinese model has proven itself in lifting hundreds of millions from poverty and looks appealing to many. It offers less uncertainty, fewer constraints and quicker decision-making.

Instead of mirroring the West, China has doubled down on its commitment to globalization, and indeed to a deeper and "higher quality" globalization that prioritizes the development that the Global South hungers for.

Only socialism can save the future: Unlike globalism, socialism is able to combine scientific, technical, and technological progress with the interests of a broad majority of the people. China, together with a number of other socialist countries, clearly demonstrates how this is done, and the Chinese experience is unique and important for humankind.

They assume that China wants to be militarily aggressive. But history doesn't really support that view. That's a view that a lot of people in the West hold. But the question is: Is it right?

Africa should see China as an important source of inspiration in the fight to eradicate absolute poverty.

Unlike the developed West, China has multiplied its economy, alleviated poverty and delivered its people “moderate prosperity” entirely without colonial exploitation.

Whichever president is in power, the US continues to prioritize its aggressive geopolitical agenda over solving the climate crisis.

If NGOs meddle in national security, that's a red line. It is within the right of a government to investigate whether these NGOs are there for the purpose of undermining the social order in the country.

As I'm a citizen of a European country, my dream and wish is that EU leaders can dispel their doubts about China and have in-depth discussions with the CPC in order to find a common basis for cooperation.

As the dollar hegemony is losing strength, many countries see their future in the East, in cooperating and connecting to the East, to China and the SCO.

ASEAN is at the heart of a region of the global economy that is demonstrating some of the highest growth rates in the world.

The fact that Chinese society is really moving forward together on the basis of a shared understanding of basic principles and goals impresses me all the more because I have the feeling that in the West 40 years of neoliberalism have completely destroyed a comparable basic consensus of the kind.

The Australian governments today have not actually properly influenced the states with their respective requirements to understand those requirements and to give respect. We really should be treating with the human rights commitments seriously.

It is so unthinkable that the sons of slave owners have the audacity to think that they can teach the sons of slaves about democracy and human rights. That is an insult to the intelligence of the former colonized people of Africa.

The US has been an oligarchic republic, masquerading as a democracy since its founding. The American empire is entering a long, slow period of decline, says a US journalist.

China since 2012 has reduced rural-urban inequality, eliminated absolute poverty, has had important advances with respect to the protection of environment, and has reduced corruption.

Decoupling from China would serve only the interests of America and damage Germany's industry severely. I think many Europeans realize the dangerous situation we are putting ourselves in, if we continue to follow America's leadership.

For Chinese people, the past decade has been epic and inspirational. The country, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, has made great endeavors in boosting its economy, deepening reforms, improving the rights of its people and acting as a responsible global power.

China has the ability to import good ideas from other countries and adapt them to Chinese characteristics. This capability is one of the pivotal characteristics of China's model and an example that other countries can learn from.

I can imagine that the development in the last 20 years in China ranks up there at almost any time in the history of the world, said president of Bethune Medical Development Association of Canada

While Western countries, their political systems and parties ceased to reform themselves, the CPC constantly undergoes rigorous self-renewal.

The congress happens at a time when there will be great optimism about what China can achieve over the next decade.

China's stability, consistency and predictability can become geo-economic ballast, steadying a swaying world.

The success of China's path is an inspiration to developing countries and shows them a bright future.

Dave Bromwich, former president of the New Zealand China Friendship Society, shared with the Global Times his views on the ongoing 20th National Congress of the CPC.

The vision of a community with a shared future for humankind reflects the original spirit – of international democracy and cooperation and respect for sovereignty – of the UN and seeks to deepen it in a new anti-imperialist spirit that builds an apparatus for the peaceful and cooperative evolution of our wonderfully diverse and creative world.

China has moved from being a prosperous manufacturing country a decade ago to becoming a cutting-edge global technology leader. This is of course a major step.

We always hear that every nation should follow a path of development according to its own history, culture and the wishes of people. It's the key lesson we must learn from China.

China has made enormous progress on all social and economic indicators. The CPC represents the most vital part of Chinese society. Its mission is to lead Chinese society to the future.

New Zealand should set an example to other Western countries to maintain a non-aligned foreign policy.

China rightfully would want to have a bigger say in shaping the international system to be one that is fairer and more just.

As the world grapples with unilateralism-induced crises that have threatened global peace, China continues to be a shining example on the international stage, injecting stable, developmental and cooperative momentum. Over the last decade, China, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has achieved great success in record time, hitherto unseen in world history, including lifting nearly 100 million people out of absolute poverty, the unreserved promotion of multilateralism, and the adoption of a win-win development strategy among countries. In this series, the Global Times will interview diplomats from various countries to get their views on China's development and what it means for the world as a whole. ​

I'm optimistic about China-EU cooperation in the sense that I still believe in both sides, there are enough people interested in finding bright spots and positive topics on the picture of bilateral ties: president of the EU Chamber of Commerce

AUKUS does set a precedent: If Australia can acquire nuclear-powered submarines, why shouldn't other countries?

Germany and China cannot decouple from each other without causing economic damage on both sides, and there is no reason for this.

The US stealing Syrian national treasure is a long-time crime. The crime is stealing, and the thief is “the leader of the free world.”

The Arab-China relations are becoming institutionalized and cemented through strategic long-term deals in critical sectors such as energy and telecommunications. There is no question that the prospects of the Arab-China relations are enormous and brilliant.

Dependence first to the UK and now to the US, has meant that we've forfeited a great deal of Australia's sovereignty to imperial powers.

The US is willing to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood and is ready to fight to the last European, to the last European economy, to the last European government.

The CPC has been able to maintain its role as a source of development and stability because it constantly learns and maintains high internal competition while maintaining solidarity in the face of external forces.

Editor's Note: Political infighting in the US is becoming tenser and tenser ahead of the midterm elections, with former president Donald Trump's home being raided by the FBI. How will this political infighting evolve? With US-style democracy showing its cracks, how will it affect the US global leadership and US foreign policy, especially that regarding the Taiwan question? Global Times (GT) reporter Wang Wenwen talked to Zheng Yongnian (Zheng), professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and president of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai, over these issues.

What aspects in China are attractive to foreign entrepreneurs? What's the difference between the so-called freedom in Western media reports and that from expats' actual experience in China?

What is happening in Ukraine is a solid warning to middle and small powers against interference and involvement in great powers conflict as a junior partner of one of them.

White supremacy is what's driving much of US policy.