Jia Ian Chong

Chinese and Egyptian fighter jets conducted a low-altitude formation flight over the pyramids during the “Eagle of Civilization–2025” joint air force training on May 1. Held over 18 days, the training featured air combat, aerial refueling, and rescue training. The exercise highlighted deepening military cooperation and cultural exchange between two ancient civilizations, with Chinese traditional medicine and logistics support earning high praise from the Egyptian Air Force.

What the Trump administration will ultimately do to the shape of the global trade regime is difficult to foretell but there’s no question that it will change it forever, even if there is strong global push-back against Trump’s threat to unravel trade agreements and carry a protectionist stick.

President Donald Trump’s executive order to withdraw the United States from the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) economic agreement in the Asia Pacific is a strategic turning point in the open economic order. It is a blow to furthering reform for some members, a lost opportunity for the United States to write the rules of international commerce, and more worryingly a sign of the United States turning its back on the global economic system it helped create and lead.