A year full of strange things

Whenever you go online or turn on the TV, you will see strange inventions and innovations every day: robots with the same body and brain as humans; cars that don't need drivers; sophisticated machines that help doctors perform surgery on incurable diseases in just a few minutes; housewives who don't need to carry money, and can buy anything just by pointing their smartphones at the product code...

Only then can we know that human intelligence is truly limitless. Once life demands it and creativity is developed, anything can be done. There are many good and beneficial things, but there are also times when "the stick beats the owner's back". The 4.0 and 5.0 industrial revolutions are unknown, but the incidents of hackers shutting down the networks of many countries are clear evidence of the downside of miracles. If they shut down the control network of nuclear power plants or nuclear missile systems, who knows what would happen to the world?

The internal affairs of many countries are also full of strange things. Following the incident of a billionaire with many unusual statements and behaviors becoming President of the world's number one superpower, the United States; in a series of countries, regular or irregular elections took place such as France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Austria, New Zealand, South Korea... The kitchen work in these countries was watched with bated breath by the entire population, partly due to the manifestations of populism and extreme nationalism that simultaneously raised their heads. Thankfully, the parties that worship such tendencies have not yet won an overwhelming majority to take power, but they have won a considerable number of votes. This manifestation shows how deeply the social division in industrialized countries has developed.

This division is not only between the population classes but also manifests itself in the "centrifugal" tendency between ethnic communities. That is why there has been a wave of secession in many places. The "blockbuster" in this wave is the UK leaving the European Union (EU), known as Brexit; Scotland wants to separate from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to stay in the EU; Catalunya wants to leave Spain; the Kurdish community living in four countries: Syria, Türkiye, Iran and Iraq wants to form an independent nation...

Only then do we know that “development” and “equity” must go hand in hand. If one “one foot is fresh and the other is withered,” it is easy to cause trouble. National sentiment is something hidden deep in the marrow of the bones. If we are not careful, our family will be destroyed.

Another manifestation of the above trend is the tension between trade liberalization under the impact of globalization and the rising signs of protectionism. Everyone knows that no country, no matter how powerful, cannot live in isolation and still has to do business and trade with other countries. Besides, every country takes care of its own interests first. How to harmonize individual interests and common interests has been a hot topic in the past year, even "deals of the century" such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), and the Paris Agreement on global climate change have faced serious challenges from the "America First" doctrine of Mr. D. Trump.

Political and security issues are not uncommon. In the midst of all this, what should we address first? In any case, the relationship between major powers greatly affects the overall situation, so here are a few comments first.

In fact, the US-China relationship has gradually emerged since the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. However, this trend has become increasingly evident since China became the world's second largest economy and gradually abandoned the "hide and bide" strategy. The characteristic feature of the past year is that US President D. Trump promoted the slogan "Make America great again", while Chinese President Xi Jinping became the "leadership core" and his thoughts on "socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era" were included in the Party Charter approved by the 19th National Congress, with the goal of realizing the "Chinese Dream", bringing China to the "center of the world".

Although the meetings at Mar-a-Lago when the two men first met and in the Forbidden City when Mr. D. Trump first visited Asia were full of symbols of the warm atmosphere between the world's first and second largest economies, that could not conceal the rivalry between the two countries. There are many manifestations of this; just two phenomena are enough to see: China is trying to promote the idea of ​​"Belt and Road", in which the maritime silk road through the East Sea gateway crosses the Indian Ocean, through the Middle East to Europe; while Mr. D. Trump constantly emphasizes the idea of ​​"Indo-Pacific" with the response of Japan, Australia and India.

The US-Russia relationship is still not very smooth, partly related to the internal struggle in the US surrounding the story of "Russia's interference in the US presidential election". Despite the rumors, they still have to find a way to settle things with each other, at least in the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) and the situation in Syria. Clearly, Russia has gained the upper hand here by helping the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad gain an advantage in the fight against IS and the opposition, while forming ties with Turkey and Iran; and even improving relations with the US's traditional ally, Saudi Arabia.

This conflict-ridden, deadly region continues to witness many disturbances: civil war leading to humanitarian crisis in Yemen; discord between some Gulf countries and Qatar, and especially the "gift" at the end of the year that Mr. D. Trump gave to the region and the world was the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, pushing the US into isolation. The US national security strategy announced at the end of the year further proves that.

Meanwhile, the prominent hot spot in Northeast Asia is related to the DPRK's continuous testing of ballistic missiles, nuclear bombs and even hydrogen bombs. This is a prominent topic on the UN agenda, especially for the countries directly involved, the US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. There are back and forth words, even chilling threats, and many exploratory plans have been put forward. It is not known how this mess will be resolved, but it is difficult to imagine a new Korean War breaking out after nearly 70 years with even more catastrophic consequences.

Looking back at the situation of the past year, everyone has the feeling of a world full of insecurity and uncertainty. However, if we calmly reflect, it seems that everything is changing according to inherent laws. That is the law of economic and scientific - technological development in waves; the law of "merging - dissolving" and "centripetal - centrifugal"; the law of uneven development of countries; the law of "prosperity - decline" of countries.

Perhaps 2017 is a pivotal year between the old state and the new state, when the old state has not yet completely disappeared, the new state has not yet firmly formed, so there are many shake-ups. Hopefully, in 2018, everything will gradually return to order, the shape of the new structure will be more evident, the immutable interests of mankind, which are peace, stability and cooperation to make a living, will still be the main stream.