West worried of China’s peace and global strategies
OSTENSIBLY, the credo of peaceful coexistence— the hallmark of China foreign policy— once charted in its foreign policy by Premier Zhou Enlai–is getting its international recognition just after Beijing has played a pivotal role in pacifying tension between Riyadh and Tehran. Chinese President Xi’s current visit to Moscow (March 20) wherein he seeks an amicable solution of the Ukraine crisis is another Chinese peace initiative par excellence. Under XI China is gearing up its soft power foreign policy whose prime objective is not only to counter US unipolar influence in global affairs but also to emerge as the potent power with whom nations of East and the West are bound to weave the relations.
Saudi-Iranian deal: It has a magnificent Chinese peace discourse to strike a peace deal between the Saudis and Iranians. Many are breathing a sigh of relief [with] today’s official Iran-Saudi agreement,” Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, wrote on Twitter after the news was announced. “All 3 parties to the deal can claim victory, but Saudis are arguably the biggest winner,” he contended. From the Saudi perspective, normalization with Iran — a country that’s long been seen by the Saudi monarchy as one of its greatest security threats — removes obstacles in its reform and economic transformation journey, according to Joseph Westphal, a former U.S. ambassador to the kingdom.
Ukraine crisis and China’s peace diplomacy: It has been almost a year since the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis. The international community is watching the developments closely. China is deeply worried about the escalation of the conflict and a possible spiral out of control. In televised comments after Xi-Putin last month meeting in Moscow, Putin told Xi he viewed China’s proposals for a resolution of the Ukraine war with respect. He confessed to being “slightly envious” of China’s “very effective system for developing the economy and strengthening the state”.
China’s Global Security Initiative: Under the umbrella of the recently unveiled ‘Global Security Initiative’ (GSI) China is launching a series of international diplomatic initiatives which include proposals to support dialogue between third parties, the revival of the country’s forum diplomacy, more Chinese funding to several multilateral institutions and the expansion of Chinese training programmes to foreign military and policy staff, among other elements. These initiatives are first and foremost targeting the ‘developing world’, which Beijing sees as a priority partner, with the aim to promote China’s model of domestic security governance at national level and an alternative security governance architecture globally.
China‘s contribution to the UN: China is now the second-largest contributor to the UN’s regular budget. It is also the second-largest contributor to the peacekeeping budget and provides more personnel to peacekeeping operations than any other permanent member of the Security Council. These contributions enable China to exert diplomatic and political influence globally. They also provide Beijing with opportunities to reassure the international community of China’s commitment to global peace and stability.
China-France relations: While concluding his three-day official visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron, during an interview is observed as having said that Europe had no interest in an acceleration of the crisis over Taiwan and should pursue a strategy independent of both Washington and Beijing. Macron‘s comment has sparked a heated debate in Europe since the French President is of the view that for Europe it is not advisable to be a vassal between the US-China row. According the DW, the French President called for the EU to implement its stated policy of “strategic autonomy” and argued the bloc could become a “third pole” alongside China and the US. The fact remains that China is EU’s great trading partner. It is obvious that the sane voices in Europe must be encouraging China’s role in negotiating a peace proposal of the ongoing war in Ukraine and of course, Macron seems pragmatically impressed with the emerging Chinese role in this regard.
China-Russia relations: needless to say, China and Russia are taking centre stage as both countries look to deepen ties just as a chasm with the West, on a geopolitical and economic as well as military front, appears to be getting deeper, according to analysts. The scope of future relationship between Moscow and Beijing seems to have been galvanized by a three-day state visit– by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow last month—which was hailed by Chinese and Russian Presidents as the result of solid and cooperative relations between the two leaders and their respective nations and comes after a determined drive over the last decade to strengthen diplomatic, defence and trade ties.
The BRI—the threshold of intercontinental connectivity: it is a means for China to establish an alternative to the existing liberal international order. While it is certain to provide some positive outcomes to the Chinese people and participating countries, considerable evidence suggests that China’s motivations and means for implementation warrant concern. Critiques accusing China of debt-trap diplomacy have considerable merit. Additionally, should the Belt and Road Initiative achieve its planned vision, it is on the trajectory to challenge the national interests of the United States and its European and Indo-Pacific allies and partners.
Some western thinks attribute the China’s BRI project as Beijing’s strategic hedging– to counter its power competition with the United States. They relate this international relations theory as China’s economic diplomacy–the pivot of Beijing policy in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific region. They argue that it has been applied to broader areas of Chinese foreign policy, for instance, with reference to regional security. Though the western realpolitik thinkers are worried regarding the expanding BRI influence, they believe that weaving strong multinational efforts focusing on targeted infrastructure investments may counter Chinese influence.
The western worries about China’s global role: The western thinkers argue that tf true superpower status is China’s desired destination, it has had two pathways to adopt. The first is the one that is indicated by American strategists. This road runs through China’s home region, specifically the Western Pacific — a region of 28 diverse counties in the Pacific, Oceania and parts of Asia. The second option is very bumpy as it aims to defy the traditional dynamics of strategy and geopolitics. This approach focuses on outflanking the US alliance system and force presence in that region by developing China’s economic, diplomatic and political influence on a global scale.
-The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Studies, also a member of Washington Foreigen Law Society and European Society of International Law. He deals with the stratigic and nuclear issues.
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