01 The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Economic and Political Landscape,by Quan Yi,Senior Research Fellow and President of Asia-Pacific Economic Research Institute,Fujian Academy of Social Sciences.The COVID-19 pandemic,as a global “Black Swan” or a “Grey Rhino”,has not only posed threats to the health of mankind,but also delivered great shocks and impacts on global economy and politics,whose severity depends on its duration and the intensity of prevention and control measures taken by various countries.This paper is intended to analyze the impacts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on global economic and political landscape based on a study of its characteristics and the extent of its spreading,before making some comments on various views of the pandemic.In the end,this author proposes some ideas and measures,as a reference,for China to cope with the changed international landscape in the wake of the pandemic,which involve the following four aspects: strengthening international coordination and action; revitalizing the industrial chain by taking advantages of getting out of the pandemic first and the huge domestic market resources; building a new and open economic system with internal and external coordination; and making efforts to create a benign environment in the neighborhood.

18 Disconnection between Strategy and Reality: A Survey of America’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis,by Wang Ping,Associate Professor of Department of International Relations and Strategy,School of International Relations,National University of Defense Technology.The US is a country that enjoys the most abundant medical resources in the world.Moreover,since the George W.Bush administration,the US has attached great importance to biodefense and bio-security,introducing a series of plans for countering biological threats,with the Trump administration elevating biodefense to the level of national strategy by unveiling the United States National Bio-defense Strategy in September 2018.However,America’s rich medical resources and meticulous strategic planning have failed to prevent the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country in March 2020.In the face of the pandemic,designs made by the US National Bio-defense Strategy for countering biological threats exist in name only.Such a happening is due to the following: the strategic framework of the US bio-defense is far from perfect for poor operability; the decision-making level ignores the warnings of a pandemic,and strategic leadership is missing; medical and drug supplies are in a serious shortage,and the means of implementation to achieve strategic objectives are weak; and the bureaucratic departments or agencies responsible for fighting against the pandemic work alone rather than making a concerted effort.Through observing the measures taken by the Trump administration for countering the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and its performance,one may find out although the US bio-defense strategy is put under the slogan of “defense”,it focuses on protecting US hegemony in bio-technology and bio-economy,and in the year of election,it is used more to serve the purposes of election.

38 Sanctions Imposed on China by the Trump Administration since its Inception,by Gong Ting,Assistant Research fellow of Department for American Studies,CIIS.Whether it is imposing and intensifying sanctions on China by the US or relaxing and ending its sanctions against China,they all serve the strategic or policy goals of the US for specific times.The Trump administration has taken a “wholegovernment” approach in imposing various kinds of sanctions on China with greater frequency,intensity and comprehensiveness,which have shown some new trends: launching a “China Initiative” through an overall law enforcement and application of intelligence means; significantly increasing sanctions on China under the pretext of secondary sanctions,human rights,and COVID-19 pandemic; unprecedentedly tightening control on high-tech export to China,and more frequently threatening to apply financial sanctions and strengthen capital decoupling among others.The US intensifying its sanctions on China is associated with the drastic changes of relations between China and the US that feature a transition from “cooperation amid competition” to “intensifying strategic competition”.In future,the US sanctions on China will take on a more normal and destructive character,whose actual effects will depend on the combined effects of sanction mode,intensity and relevant constraints.

58 The US Export Control Reform and Its Implementation,by Chi Zhipei,Assistant Research Fellow of Institute of Defense Economics and Management,Central University of Finance and Economics; and Zhang Xiaojie,Graduate Student a of Institute of Defense Economics and Management,CUFE.As economic competition between China and the US is intensifying,export control of the US has more and more become a focus.In recent years,the US has made a series of reforms on its export control system,one of the major instruments to protect its technological hegemony,as seen particularly in the passing of the Export Control Reform Act in 2018.The Act has provided a permanent legal basis for American control on dual purpose exports,especially adding control requirements on exports of emerging technologies and basic technologies.This Act has reversed the trend that the US overall export control was relaxing in the wake of the Cold War,while the legal reform is mainly targeted at China,thus putting new obstacles to high-tech trade between China and the United States.This paper has sorted out the major features and contents of the Act,and also elaborated on its recent implementation.The authors have made a systematic analysis of the constraints facing the implementation of the new export control act by the US based on feedbacks from various institutions and individuals with regard to the export control clauses on emerging technologies in order to make a judgment on its future trends.

77 Russia’s Middle East Policy in the Context of Major-Country Game,by Dr.Zhang Jian,Lecturer of Department of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Management,China Foreign Affairs University.Since December 2010,due to instability in West Asia and North Africa,the geopolitical structure of the Middle East that joins Asia with Europe and Africa on the global geostrategic map has begun crumbling down,hence inviting major-countries like the US and Russia into the regional game.Since Russia got deeply involved in the Middle East affairs by taking advantage of the Syrian crisis,the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East has undergone great changes.This paper has assessed the status quo of Russia’s Middle East policy,its policy gains and losses,and their impacts on regional situation from the angles of Russia’s relations with the Arab states,Iran,Turkey and Israel,before analyzing the Middle East strategies of such major-countries as the US and the EU.As the US,Russia and the EU are divided in the game of interests,it has given rise to multiple variables in the Middle East geopolitical landscape.In such a regional game,Russia has pursued a “realistic” diplomacy,and is also facing varied challenges posed by geopolitics,interest coordination,and people’s livelihood.

96 A Probe into Russia’s Economic Situation in the New Development Cycle,by Li Yang,Associate Research Fellow at the Institute for China-Russia-Mongolia Cooperation under the Center for Development Studies of the Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region.From the beginning of the new millennium,Russia’s economy kept growing till 2008,when it entered a long-term slump.Affected by various internal and external factors,the Russian economy needs urgently to find a breakthrough.In the new development cycle from 2018 to 2024,the Russian government attempts to realize the Basic Development Plan for the Period before 2024 and various policy goals proposed in President Putin’s state of the union message,so as to achieve leapfrog in economic growth.To forecast Russia’s future economic development trend,we have to make a prudent judgment and analysis of the state of Russian economy,as well as a comprehensive interpretation of its macro economy.

111An Analysis of the Global Nuclear Security Posture Based on the NTI’s Nuclear Safety Index,by Hou Na,Associate Professor at the Institute of Defense Economics and Management,Central University of Finance and Economics; and Che Lijuan,Graduate Student at the Institute of Defense Economics and Management,Central University of Finance and Economics.As nuclear safety is an important part of national nuclear security,this paper is intended to make a systematic analysis of the development trend of global nuclear security and the reality of China’s nuclear safety based on the nuclear safety index issued by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) from 2012 to 2018 to fully grasp the nuclear security situation and effectively protect nuclear security.On the whole,countries of the world have much reduced the chances of nuclear material theft as well as improved the safety of nuclear materials in transportation,responsive capacities and field network security through improving the protection of nuclear materials and nuclear facilities on the one hand,and on the other hand,multiple problems still exist in global nuclear safety work; although network security has been improved,it is not enough to meet the continuously expanding and rapidly evolving network threats; and the deterioration of risk environment seriously restricted the advance of nuclear safety work.In addition,this paper has summarized relevant policy recommendations for protecting nuclear security through meticulously analyzing various indicators of the nuclear safety index in the changing global situation and reality.