Author, and Host, Polaris-Live.com
Fellow, Foreign Policy Association
“Such an enlightening and well assembled read. A must for gaining a more comprehensive view”
Peter Cloutier • U.S. Foreign Service Diplomat
Sarwar Kashmeri’s highly acclaimed new book, published in 2019. Purchase from your local bookstore or Amazon.com
Draws from personal research and interviews with prominent Asian and American scholars, businessmen, military officials, and political experts
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The Business of America and China Is Business
Sarwar Kashmeri
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For “The Telegram,” a Foreign Policy Association Report, “Sarwar Kashmeri interviewed experts from around the world to present a compelling brief for recalibrating U.S.- China relations. His narrative draws upon expert views from across the political spectrum and from around the world. It could not be more timely ” -- Noel Lateef, President and CEO, FPA.
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“The old order changeth yielding place to new...Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.“
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Polaris
Sarwar's opinions, conversations, and guest editorials
Polaris, the North Star has been used for centuries by sailors to find one’s location within the cosmos and to chart a passage to safe harbor. I’d like to think that my iteration of Polaris might serve as a guide to help make sense of today’s rapidly shifting geopolitical and economic changes, and help policy makers safely navigate these tumultuous times.
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February 2025
February 5th 9:30 AM EST: Thomas Daniel - ASEAN - Malaysia prepares for Trump 2.0
Mr. Daniel is a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies program at the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)- Malaysia. His interests lie in the strategic-security challenges of Southeast Asia, including the impacts of major power dynamics on the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
On 20 January, with the inauguration of Donald Trump as President the United States proclaimed that world’s biggest and most powerful country was getting off the globally interconnected, rules-based system of which it was an integral part the day before.
American national interests are now going to be paramount in dealing with the world, the incoming President said, and America alone would decide and enforce its ideas of what was good for America, with financial and trade sanctions, and military power if necessary.
How is the rest of the world going to react to this new America? How will Trump 2.0’s changes impact the role of the Association of South East Asian States (ASEAN) of which Malaysia is the chair this year. And more importantly, what will be the reaction from China, the world’s other superpower and the only country that has the economic and military means to give pause to America’s might makes right rules.
February 12th 9:30 AM EST: T.V. Paul - The world and Trump 2.0's new America
The 2nd inauguration of Donald Trump didn’t just herald the Presidency of another U.S. chief executive to lead the America for the next 4 years. It heralded a President who promised a wholesale redesign of the Presidency and the norms that channeled and guided American behavior within and without America.
Trump 2.0 is bringing forth America 2.0 – a country that will believe in might versus right, a reversal of the open trading system, a shrinkage of U.S. Departments that were considered indispensable including: Education, International AID, and a wholesale replacement of critically important Departments’ leadership and staffs by firing long time career officials and and hiring only those who have unquestioning loyalty to Mr. Trump, including the Departments of Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI, and the Director of National Intelligence.
However, in the the attempt to re-craft the historical trajectory that U.S. has followed for generations we have only heard from the U.S. so far. How will the countries of the global south/majority react to this new unbound America? How will countries of the global south/global majority, ASEAN, BRICS, etc. not to mention China react and how will they attempt to re-draft their strategies (individually or collectively) to try and fit into a dramatically changing America, while keeping their economies and national interest reasonably intact.
Professor T V Paul
James McGill Professor of International Relations in the department of Political Science at McGill University. Paul specializes and teaches courses in international relations, especially international security, regional security and South Asia. He is the author or editor of 21 books and nearly 85 journal articles or book chapters. In September 2018, Paul became a Fellow (Elected) of the Royal Society of Canada. He delivered the presidential address on the theme: “Recasting Statecraft: International Relations and the Strategies of Peaceful Change.” In the presentation, he called for the International Relations discipline to devote more attention to strategies for achieving enduring peace among states.
His most recent book is the best-selling, “The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status From Nehru to Modi“.
February 19th 9:30 AM EST: Zha Daojiong - Trump 2.0 Beijing View
ZHA Daojiong
Professor of International Political Economy in the School of International Studies and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, Peking University, Beijing, China.
His areas of expertise include non-traditional security studies, international political economy and China’s international economic relations. His research publications cover such topics as energy, cross-boundary water management, development aid and public health, and international development cooperation. He also contributes opinion pieces in newspapers including the South China Morning Post. He studied at the University of Hawaii and the East West Center, where he earned a Doctorate in Political Science. Before joining the faculty of Peking University, he taught in the University of Macau, International University of Japan, Miyazaki International College, and Renmin University of China.
February 28th 9:30 AM EST: Pou Sothirak - Cambodia, ASEAN and U.S. - China Relations
The Indo-Pacific is vital for US supremacy and as such, Trump is unlikely to drastically alter the existing structure that undergirds relations between the US and the region. Nonetheless, how Trump implements his strategies for the region is of concern for US allies, especially with his “America First” stance in foreign policy. A renewed focus on ASEAN will continue to be essential for lasting stability amid China tensions
AMBASSADOR POU SOTHIRAK
Pou Sothirak is a retired academic and Distinguished Senior Adviser to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS). Previously secretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, he remains an adviser to the Cambodian government. He has extensive experience in international relations through his time as a visiting senior research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asia Studies (ISEAS) and as Cambodian Ambassador to Japan. He was Minister of Industry, Mines, and Energy of Cambodia from 1993-1998.
March 5th 10:00 AM EST: Ajay Srivastava - Trump Reciprocal Tariff's and India
The U.S. Reciprocal Tariff Plan, introduced by President Donald Trump, aims to counter perceived trade imbalances by imposing higher tariffs on countries with which the U.S. runs a trade deficit. With India-U.S. trade exceeding $125 billion in 2024, Indian exporters in many sectors face significant risks.
The Indian government and industry stakeholders should respond strategically to mitigate losses.
AJAY SRIVASTAVA
Founder, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI, an Indian research group specializing in technology, climate change, and trade. He took voluntary retirement from the Government of India in March 2022, having served as an Indian Trade Service Officer, a Group A civil service.
Ajay worked in trade policy formulation and WTO and FTA negotiations, being part of the Indian team negotiating FTAs with ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Australia, the EU, and others. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and writes regularly for the Indian media including Business Standard, Hindu Business Line, and Times of India.
He is the author of books such as ‘Stop Talking, Start Exporting,’ ‘The GST Nation,’ and ‘Business Guide to FTAs.’
March 12th 9:30 AM EST: David Lin - Is China's DeepSpeak America's AI Wakeup Call?
David Lin is Senior Director for Future Technology Platforms at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP).
Prior to joining SCSP, David served for 12 years at the U.S. Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency, focusing on China and technology policy. His expertise includes China’s industrial strategy, data and cybersecurity policies, and digital infrastructure development.
During his government tenure, David led multidisciplinary teams providing analytic support to high-level U.S. China policy processes and served as an economic officer responsible for the tech portfolio at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. Prior to his government service, David worked at Computer Sciences Corporation (now DXC Technology), where he advised government clients on technology and national security initiatives. He holds a Master’s degree in Security Policy Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University.
March 19th 9:30 AM EST: World Order To World Disorder? Perspective From West Point Profs. Liebert & Silverstone
“Empires come and go; just look at world history,” says Alan Friedman, best selling journalist in his new best seller “The End of America?: A Guide to the New World Disorder.” True? Two history professors from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point weigh in.
Dr. Scott Silverstone
Professor of International Relations at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he has served on the faculty since 2001. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and early in his career he was as a US Naval officer, flying for an anti-submarine warfare squadron in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and serving as a crisis staff officer in the Pentagon. He is the author of four books on international conflict, preventive war, and crisis escalation. He is currently writing a book on the origins of the ancient Athenian empire and the Peloponnesian War in the 5th century BC.
Dr. Hugh Liebert
Professor of American Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he teaches courses in political philosophy, American politics, and civil-military relations. He also serves as Director of West Point’s Graduate Scholarship Program. Liebert is the author or editor of seven books, including Gibbon’s Christianity and Plutarch’s Politics, which won the Delba Winthrop Award for Excellence in Political Science. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago and a BA from Harvard University
April 11th 9:30 AM EST: Marc Chandler - global tariffs = U.S. giveth U.S. taketh away
The Trump Administration’s tariff regime has been widely condemned by CEOs, country leaders, and Wall Street traders. Inflation and recession in the U.S. are increasingly predicted. But after being battered for a week, world markets appear to be rallying. Instead of collectively ganging up on the U.S., in anger countries are lining up to pacify American demands. So, is the era of globalization over? A new American dollars led order is descending on the world? What might this order look like?
MARC CHANDLER
Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist for Bannockburn Global Forex. He has covered global capital markets for more than 30 years.
A prolific writer and speaker, Chandler appears regularly in the financial media including Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post, among others. Marc also provides his insights and commentary on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN, and Fox Business. His publications include, Making Sense of the Dollar and Political Economy of Tomorrow. Chandler is also an honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, Associate Professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and visiting professor at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
April 16th 9:30 AM EST: Luv Puri - World Leaders Are Lining Up To Go To Vietnam!
Vietnam is the smallest of the three South East Asian countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, that are being called the three new tigers of Asia’s-fast growing economies.
In the three decades since it opened its economy to the world, Vietnam with a population of 100 million, has rocketed ahead and is now twice as rich as India which is many times its size. Its trade with the U.S. is over $132 billion, a trade that may well be up for grabs after the U.S. tariffs.
LUV PURI
Has worked in the field of International Affairs for two decades, both as a practitioner and an analyst. He was with the UN Department of Political Affairs for ten years, during which period he worked at the highest levels of multilateral diplomacy, including as part of the UN Secretary-General’s Office. For several years he has written for The Hindu the widely-read and respected Indian daily with a focus on issues related to Human Rights and been awarded the European Commission Award for Human Rights and Democracy.
He is a columnist on International Affairs for several widely-read publications (authory.com/Luv Puri). He has authored two books, including -“Across the Line of Control” published by Columbia University Press, and was a Fulbright Scholar from 2008-10. He did his Masters in New York University.
April 23rd 9:00 AM EST: Shehzad Qazi - Can China decouple from U.S. & Survive?
SHEHZAD QAZI
As the firm-wide operations lead, Shehzad oversees product innovation, client services, new businessacquisition, and corporate strategy at China Beige Book International. Since 2012, Shehzad has helped develop data collection for the China Beige Book™ platform and supervised the analytics team. During this time, he has also designed innovative services and macro strategic and sectoral products for the firm’s financial markets and corporate clients. Shehzad is a frequent guest on major national news networks including CNBC, Bloomberg, and CNN and speaks regularly at investor conferences.
His articles have appeared in Barron’s, Foreign Policy, and Huffington Post among other publications. Previously, Shehzad worked at a strategic public opinion research firm and conducted market intelligence polling in emerging and frontier economies. Shehzad holds an M.A. in International Relations from New York University and a B.A. in International Studies from Indiana University. He is an elected member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
May 9th 9:00 AM EST: Jeremy Paltiel - Oh Canada! Elbows Up!
The long history of friendship between the U.S. and Canada has ruptured, can it ever be rebuilt? What is the best Canadians can expect in the Tariff negotiations with Mr. Trump seeing that over 70% of Canada’s exports go to America? Where does Canada go to lessen its trade reliance on on the U.S.
JEREMY PALTIEL
Professor of Political Science (emeritus) at Carleton University, Canada. He is author of several chapters included in edited volumes. His published articles appear in numerous publications including The China Quarterly and Asian Affairs.
May 21st 9:00 AM EST: JDoris Liew - Facing up to the U.S. trade tariffs - Malaysia & ASEAN
Recent headline in Straits Times: “Trump blinked in Trade war with China,” Is this the image of the U.S. Tariff flip-flop in Malaysia? Is ASEAN holding together or are the bloc’s countries ready to strike their own deals? Are India and European Countries diversification candidates for Malaysia, What other countries might be likely candidates?
Doris Liew is an economist at IDEAS Malaysia, specializing in ASEAN’s economic development, regional and international trade dynamics, labor economics, poverty and inequality, and public finance.
Sarwar Kashmeri in the News
The Business of America and China is Business
The Foreign Policy Association’s 23rd annual World Leadership Forum featured a panel hosted by Sarwar Kashmeri. Panelists included: Marc Chandler, Chief Market Strategist, Bannockburn Global Forex, and George Magnus, China Centre at Oxford University. Watch the panel in discussion about the topic “The Business of America and China is Business”.
10 Years of the Belt & Road Initiative on CGTN with Sarwar Kashmeri
The CGTN interview with Sarwar Kashmeri on the infrastructure project to connect the world through land and sea, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
U.S.- China Relations A Foreign Policy Association Broadcast
The event is the Dame Jillian Sackler Distinguished Lecture on U.S.-China Relations.
An in-depth interview with Sarwar Kashmeri
China Strengthens Ties in Mideast and Africa As US Influence Declines
“The last three decades of United States involvement in the world has been provocatively militaristic in nature,” Kashmeri says, noting that this approach has alienated many and deterred the spirit of international collaboration.” – Sarwar Kashmeri
China's Grand Strategy Washington D.C. Book Launch with Hon. Chuck Hagel
The Honorable Chuck Hagel, 24th U.S. Secretary of Defense (2013-2015), and Professor Sarwar Kashmeri, Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association, discuss “China’s Grand Strategy.”
China's Grand Strategy New York Book Launch with Professor Pamela Crossley
The New York book launch of “China’s Grand Strategy” with Professor Pamela Crossley, Wollis professor of history and professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth College. the Foreign Policy Association, moderated by Professor Sarwar Kashmeri, Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association.
China’s Grand Strategy and the BRI
U.S. Army War College Podcast • March 3, 2020
There has never been anything like it in recorded history where a country has put…a trillion dollars aside to help in jump starting all of these infrastructure projects around the country..
Deutsche-Welle features Sarwar in their China anniversary news program
Deutsche-Welle interview with Professor Sarwar Kashmeri on Chinese strategy in the 21st century.
Sarwar's Chronicles
In 2002, Sarwar Kashmeri changed tack from founder/CEO of his international accounting systems company to a career in analyzing, writing, and speaking about U.S. foreign policy and national security. Over that time his interests have covered U.S.-EU relations, NATO, and lately U.S.- China relations. This is a collection of some of his opinion columns and book reviews since 2002.
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