China's relations are starting to improve with Japan, India and other countries that former U.S. President Joe Biden courted, just as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist approach back to the White House.

Chinese officials and ordinary people are hopeful but on edge as Donald Trump returns to the White House, eager to avoid a repeat of the bruising trade war that drove a wedge between the economic superpowers during his first term.

China has a partnership of “no limits” with Russia, and this has proven to be a concern for the west, and particularly Europe. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Nato declared that: “The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values.”