The SCMP’s Washington bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses speeches from Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden at the UN General Assembly, and calls for the Quad to expand membership; Beijing-based reporter Laura Zhou on an ex-diplomat's calls for China to change its policy regarding nuclear weapons and missile proliferation, including its first-strike nuclear strategy towards the US, and the University of Tasmania’s James Chin explores Southeast Asian tension and Asean affairs.

SCMP Washington bureau chief Rob Delaney unpacks the week’s surprise announcement of 'AUKUS' - a new military pact between the US, UK and Australia promising increased US troops, hardware and a new fleet of nuclear submarines to be stationed in Australia. Brussels-based reporter Finbarr Bermingham analyses the shocked European response as well as how China’s economic relationship with Germany is influencing the upcoming German elections. Special tribute: John Carter RIP. Presented by Chad Bray.

Post Asia reporter Bhavan Japraigas unpacks the goals of US Vice President Kamala Harris upon her visits to Singapore and Vietnam this week and looks at what was missing, contrasting her announcement of a new US embassy in Hanoi with China's massive economic influence. Mumbai-based journalist Kunal Purohit analyses India's changing relationship with the US following events in Afghanistan, how India views China's relationship with the Taliban, and how months of intensive military build-up on its…

SCMP's Beijing-based correspondent Sarah Zheng discusses how Chinese state media portrayed the chaos in Kabul amid the US withdrawal, China’s strategic plans for Afghanistan and how some are using the crisis to query US loyalty to Taiwan; Asia correspondent Bhavan Jaipragas unpacks Malaysia’s constitutional crisis after its prime minister resigned, and how PLA aggression in the South China Sea complicates Malaysia’s deep economic reliance on China.

Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham unpacks why China has expelled Lithuania’s ambassador from Beijing and recalled its ambassador to Lithuania; China desk editor Teddy Ng on new PLA exercises off Hainan island and with the Russian military in western China; Lowy Institute director Sam Roggeveen discusses its new study on the PLA’s expanded capability to strike Australia and dominate the South China Sea.

Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses Germany's diplomatic faux pas with China over sending a warship to the South China Sea as analysts ponder a Germany without Angela Merkel; what’s behind the boom in exports to the EU from Xinjiang; Dr Euan Graham from the International Institute of Strategic Studies unpacks the extent of military build-up in the South China Sea; and the potential for mistakes and the recent escalation of US diplomacy in Southeast Asia.

Hear from the SCMP’s New York and Beijing correspondents on the meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, chasing common ground, yet finding stalemate. Now, US vaccine diplomacy is under way in SE Asia and a new "wolf warrior" ambassador is in Washington. Asia correspondent John Power analyses Australia’s potential US$1 billion bid to keep China Mobile from buying a Pacific phone network serving island nations.

A special feature-length episode looking at China's 50 year relationship with the United Nations marking the month in 1971 when 17 members of the UN requested a vote on the "Restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations". How has China's relationship with the UN changed since taking its seat, how is that relationship changing under Xi Jinping?  Professor Rosemary Foot is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and…

Hear analysis from US correspondent Owen Churchill and Beijing-based correspondent Kinling Lo after this week's claims and counter-claims of state-sponsored hacking attacks, and why NATO's involvement is significant. How will this affect the first face-to-face meeting of senior US and China diplomats after the terse Alaska meeting in March? Sports editor Paul Ryding calls in from Tokyo with insights on the events to watch destined to bring patriotic fervour from Chinese, American and Indian…

The South China Morning Post political economy team analyse the latest economic data from China, delve deep into the ongoing US-China trade and tech war, and examine China's changing economic relationship with Europe, Africa and the Indo-Pacific. Hear deep background on Beijing's political machinations and how they affect policy and global diplomacy, and hear how nations are responding to the new era of 'wolf warrior' diplomacy, and pandemic-related politics.