If China wants to promote a new world order based on cooperation, respect and the rise of the Global South, then the optics at Tianjin’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit did not help. “We should advocate for equal and orderly multipolarisation of the world, inclusive economic globalisation and promote the construction of a more just and equitable global governance system,” President Xi Jinping of China said.
And yet, looking at the group picture of all the world’s leaders attending the conclave, I could not help but feel some form of sympathy for United Nations Secretary-General Guterres. He was relegated not at the center of the group, close to the host, President Xi. Rather you could notice him on the far right, the last person in a long row, very far from the real fulcrum of power projection during the ceremony.
I found this quite disrespectful for the United Nations and the role that they have been playing to promote multilateralism. This is especially true if you look at the track record of Guterres, an old style European socialist with a progressive mindset, who has always been trying to highlight the role of the Global South. The Global Times, the most influential English language media of China and the global megaphone for the Chinese Communist Party, wrote in its editorial the following: “President Xi pointed out that this summit carries the important mission of building consensus, unleashing cooperation momentum, and mapping out a blueprint for development.”
China is the second most powerful nation in the world with one of the most fascinating civilizations. Over the last two decades, it has greatly consolidated its rising status of a global power, a position that is now undeniable as Beijing is directly challenging Washington. With what is happening at the White House under a president who is, simply and plainly speaking, unfit to lead the highest office of the country that happens to also be the leader of the so-called Free World, it is natural that China is exploiting the situation.
In a certain way, it is positive for the world to have a truly multilateral order in place where countries like China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Brazil, just to mention a few rising nations, can take a leading role. I must say that leading always implies a huge responsibility and I wish that democratic principles and respect for human rights that, let’s not forget, are universal and not a western construct, could be applied to everything and everywhere. Unfortunately, it is not the case. Yet despite the differences, nations can talk and dialogue with each other even if they disagree. The use of the force should always be the very last resort and territorial conflicts should not find space in our times.
Yet Russia continues with its aggression in Ukraine and it seems disinterested in any real peace initiatives. In this scenario, it is a good thing that India and China are finally back to talking to each other and are trying hard to reset their bilateral relationships. I would wonder if the same speed of reconciliation and re-approchement between Delhi and Beijing had occurred if Kamala Harris were in the White House.
Probably the answer is yes because it is inevitable that both nations must learn to co-live in the same region but not at this velocity and depth. “Right choice for India, China to be ‘friends’, President Xi told PM Modi of India with the latter also stressing the importance of cooperation between the two countries. “We are committed to take forward our cooperation based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity,” were the words of Modi.
Together, these two nations can truly inject a new impetus to global cooperation led by the South but as I was saying, aspiring to lead the world comes with big responsibility. President Xi is correct at deploring, as he did in his speech at the SCO, a unilateral world order where someone can bully others. This is what the White House has been doing not only against China and India but also with the Europeans and Canadians, the closest allies of the USA.
Over the past decades, China has been supporting a multitude of infrastructure around the world through its Belt and Road Initiative. This is something extremely positive even though there have been many concerns, some of which valid while others blown out of proportion, about the sustainability of the loans coming from Beijing.
Something Nepal has been fully aware of, as Kathmandu has been negotiating with its northern neighbor with due respect but also self-confidence and readiness to defend its national interests. It is apparently clear that with the void being created in Washington, China can assert itself and project its strengths, confidence and a new vision of the world. But Beijing should do more on a global level, building stadiums, hospitals, legislature building and railways is not enough.
Can President Xi assert his influence to nudge President Putin of Russia to truly seek to put an end to the war in Ukraine? Can China reassure its partners in the West that its long-sought process of reunification with Taiwan would only happen peacefully and without the threat of use of force?
Barring a few nations, no one is disputing the one-China policy but the current status quo is better than potential bloodshed in the South China Sea. In addition, many western nations have serious concerns about China’s campaign of overt and covert influence in their democratic systems.
I am at risk of being hypocritical here because, critics might say, this is exactly the same playbook that the Americans—and to a lesser extent—the Europeans have been using since the end of the second world war and certainly we cannot erase from history the scourge of colonization. As President Xi reminded the world from the stage of Tianjin that China is no more ready to accept double standards, he must himself set the high standards.
The Global Times reported that the Chinese president, during his meeting with UN SG Guterres, said that “history has revealed that multilateralism, solidarity and cooperation are the right answer to global challenges”. Therefore, it would be a great gesture for China to uphold a new world order by elevating the role of the United Nations, including by proposing new initiatives that can truly create a level playing field.
An example of good leadership on the part of China was seen during the recently held World AI Conference in Shanghai where the host nation proposed the establishment of a global AI body. This is what Guterres has been trying to promote for years and China could be a true force for good to counter the hegemonic model of AI development that the Trump administration is pursuing.
As a European living in Asia, I wish the EU could stand up on its own more strongly and promote its approach that while, far from being perfect, it is centered on the respect for human rights and democracy. Meanwhile, the rise of China and India are inevitable and should be welcome
In this context, with President Xi encouraging nations members of SCO “to oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation,” China is embracing a morally correct position. Yet will the big “dragon” further assert itself in a way that will truly respect and listen to other nations, especially those with a different political system from its own and search for a real “win-win”? Will Beijing truly espouse the UN as a global institution to co-lead the new form of multilateralism that is emerging?
Guterres, who strongly believes in the role of the Global South, should become a central ally to China’s new aspirations and vision of the world. And finally, let’s admit that the optics of that picture in Tianjin were bad.
