Thursday, March 30, 2023

‘Anchor for world peace’: Premier says Beijing ready to defend international order


ByEryk Bagshaw
March 30, 2023 —

Singapore: 

China’s Premier Li Qiang described Beijing as an anchor of world peace and took aim at the West for pursuing a “clash of civilisations”, as leaders from Europe and Asia warned it must build trust if it is to be taken seriously.

The volley of speeches at the Boao Forum on the Chinese island of Hainan on Thursday morning was laced with goodwill but also revealed a deepening scepticism from both sides over economic protectionism, the war in Ukraine and the growing tensions between the United States and China.

In his first major speech as premier, Li said China offered an “anchor for world peace and development”.


Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China has been a builder of world peace and a defender of the international order.CREDIT:GETTY

“This is the case in the past and will remain so in the future,” he said, warning of “bloc confrontations” and a “new Cold War”.

In a pitch to international investors, Li called on governments to embrace “openness, inclusiveness, respect the development path countries choose, and reject the notion of a clash of civilisations and ideological confrontation”.

“We have been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order,” he said.

But Li did not mention Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or President Xi Jinping’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over a conflict that China has refused to condemn and that has drawn the global economy to the brink of recession, strangled supply lines and sharpened divisions between China, Europe and the West.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong – a key diplomatic node between China and the West and a relatively cautious emissary – was unequivocal.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has gravely violated the UN Charter and international law and profoundly undermined the rules-based international order,” he told the forum.


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“Most worrying is the state of relations between the US and China because they have a heavy responsibility to maintain stable and workable relations with one another because any clash between them will have grievous consequences for themselves and the world.”

Lee said economic imperatives were being overshadowed by national security concerns.

“Countries are pursuing self-reliance and resilience by on shoring or friend-shoring their supply chains. The bifurcation in technological and economic systems is deepening.

“The economic cooperation between China and its Asian neighbours will be more robust if it is underpinned by a sound, broader relationship, which builds mutual trust and fosters regional stability,” he said.


Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong says the state of relations between the US and China is worrying.CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

Xi, Li and their Foreign Ministry have been on a diplomatic blitz since China opened its borders after COVID in an attempt to drive foreign investment and push its vision of global development over the US-led order of the past century. Beijing’s foreign publicity push contrasts with an internal crackdown on companies that have drawn them closer to the Chinese government, raising security risks for those operating there. The New York Times reported five local employees at the American due diligence firm Mintz Group were detained last week.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he welcomed the intensification of diplomatic contact between Chinese authorities and world leaders.

“Our views may differ in some areas, but we must continue to build bridges and increase mutual trust,” he said.

“But we have to do it in a way that will respect the sovereignty of each country and respect the rules. It means opening the East, so the West doesn’t have to close in itself.”

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Li’s message was warmly received by leaders from developing countries and China’s economic partners.

China spent $US240 billion ($359 billion) bailing out debts from 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021 according to a report released on Tuesday by researchers from the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, AidData and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Beijing has been promoting its Global Development Initiative which emphasises economic growth over conventional human rights outcomes, in a push to transform decades of development funding into broader political power.


Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Xi’s theories on socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the Chinese path to modernisation were “equally legitimate ways of viewing the world and different paths of interpreting and achieving socio-economic progress”.

Patrick Achi, the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, said China’s “momentous development of the past 50 years is inspiring for all of us”.

“The Chinese people have used their human capital to create tremendous wealth at an unprecedented rate.”

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