China’s foreign policy is in fact traditionally rooted in the idea of “non-alignment” that states should not form “power blocs” that divide the international system or single out other countries. This is a well-established tradition. China became an observer of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1992, a diplomatic grouping of countries originally founded in 1955 to protect their common interests, national sovereignty and avoid the confrontation brewing between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This organization was founded on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, common development and opposition to the idea of “hegemony.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for a three step peace process in order to put an end to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, which has seen many refugees flee from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.
The North Korean crisis took a further twist on Monday with a significant climbdown by the US at the UN Security Council and a further diplomatic victory by China.
With a high-profile visit to China, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued his campaign to increase the geopolitical clout of his country.
The redistribution of global power modifies relations between great powers and invites them to reconsider their diplomatic priorities. While in the aftermath of World War II the future of Europe was proactively shaped by the United States, or more precisely, by a group of American “Wise Men”, China is now in a position to have an unprecedented impact on the European integration. As Beijing fully develops its immense potential and becomes the world’s biggest economy in the coming decade, its capacity to influence will certainly grow.
The finest minds in Christendom continue to grapple with the question which baffles them all: if the euro is so weak why is it so strong? One reason is that, speculative attacks aside, the economic fundamentals of the Eurozone are stronger than those of the anglosphere. Another is that China and other emerging economies have a clear interest in supporting the Euro as an alternative to the dollar. Thus Europe benefits from the fact that, although similar regional integration projects are in formation elsewhere, only Europe has got as far as a common currency making it the only show in town outside the dollar.
BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) — With the European Union (EU) grappling with its worst financial crisis since the eurozone was set up, China has unequivocally conveyed its readiness to enhance cooperation with the debt-ridden bloc in a “win-win” manner.
China welcomes a second rescue package for Greece and will always be confident of the eurozone and the region’s currency, Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said yesterday.
China is presenting its ascent not as a power shift, but as a paradigm shift. It claims that its rise will be different from other powers in the past and sets an example for a fundamental revision of the nature of great power politics. Instead of tragic rivalry for hegemony, it expects to develop strategic relationships that allow all countries to gain and build a stable and prosperous world order. This could herald the end of a history that has been characterized by hegemonic wars and hostile balancing strategies. It could pave the way for stronger institutionalized international cooperation on economic, environmental, and security affairs. In the next three months, New Europe and the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies (BICCS) will analyze how China is affecting global politics, starting with an introductory essay this week.
In the current showdown between Google and the Chinese Government, the media is portraying Google as the champion of Internet freedom upholding the human rights of the Chinese people. This is sheer hypocrisy considering that Google is part of a cartel of Internet companies colluding with the US intelligence apparatus, including in foreign government destabilization. Is it any wonder that the Chinese authorities should perceive Google as a conduit for black propaganda? However, the current brawl is only part of a much broader geopolitical and economic tug-of-war percolating between the two countries, as Tarpley expounds in this article.
Like the star gazers who last week watched the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, diplomatic observers had a field day watching the penumbra of big power politics involving the United States, Russia and China, which constitutes one of the crucial phenomena of 21st-century world politics. Read the rest of this entry »
In These New Times 