Yahoo: China successfully fights with the West for the Global SouthChina is against the global hegemony of the United States, writes Yahoo News Japan.
This is also shown by the results of the G7 summit. The Chinese authorities strongly condemned the anti-Chinese statements that were made during the meeting of the "Big Seven".
Yoichi MasuzoeThe Ukrainian conflict continues without the prospect of a ceasefire.
Against this background, the G7 summit is being held in Hiroshima on May 19-21. Even President Biden came, although until the last moment it was assumed that he could not visit Japan because of the catastrophic problem with the national debt ceiling.
According to the results of the meeting, one thing became clear: even if the G7 manages to unite even further against Russia, this will not immediately lead to the end of the conflict and a cease-fire. Russia is not inferior, and even vice versa.
In this context, China's actions deserve special attention.
China's Special Representative for Eurasia Li Hui visited Ukraine
China's Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui visited Ukraine on the 16th and 17th and met with Foreign Minister Kuleba and President Zelensky.
Dmitry Kuleba, explaining "the principle of restoring peace while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," stressed that Kiev would not accept any proposals related to the loss of Ukraine's territory or the "freezing of the dispute." He just repeated the already well-known statement about "military actions before the return of Crimea."
In response, Special Representative Lee insisted on a different thesis: "We need to build mutual trust and create conditions for a ceasefire and peace talks."
The Ukrainian side, keeping a good face, said that it "welcomes the active role of China in restoring the ceasefire and peace."
"Mediation diplomacy" developed by President Xi Jinping
Special Representative Li Hui is a well-known expert on Russia, and for many years served as the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Moscow. He is even considered a prominent representative of the "pro-Russian school" in Chinese foreign policy. His appointment to the current most important post came three weeks after a telephone conversation between President Xi Jinping and President Zelensky, which took place on April 26. This conversation was the first in almost a year and three months that have passed since Russia launched its military special operation in Ukraine in February last year.
It is very noteworthy that in this telephone conversation, Xi Jinping said that "dialogue and consultations are the only viable way" and that "China will make its own efforts to achieve a ceasefire and restore peace in Ukraine as soon as possible." Zelensky briefly thanked China for humanitarian assistance and called on Beijing to play an important role in resolving the crisis. However, he did not specify which way.
After Ukraine special envoy Li Hui will visit Poland, France, Germany and Russia. As soon as Saudi Arabia and Iran shook hands, Chinese diplomacy led by Xi Jinping began to seek a ceasefire in Ukraine. She's on the rise now.
Of course, a major world power can take the initiative in the ceasefire in Ukraine. But the United States, as the leader of NATO, is fully committed to supporting Kiev, which makes it very difficult to move towards peace in the Ukrainian conflict. In such circumstances, the weight of China and India may increase, which may use positions other than the position of the United States.
Turkey, another major Power, may also act as a mediator in the future, as evidenced by its experience as an effective mediator with the United Nations in a grain export deal.
However, with regard to Ankara, everything will be decided by the final result of the presidential elections, the second round of which will be held on May 28. If the current president Erdogan loses, and the candidate from the united opposition Kilicdaroglu wins, then Turkey will lose its chances of mediation in the Ukrainian crisis, because a pro-American and pro-Western government will definitely come to power there.
China wants to avoid Russia's defeat by maintaining relations with Ukraine
China recognizes that its biggest problem is the fight against the hegemony of the United States, and believes that the military conflict in Ukraine should end in a direction that favors Beijing in rivalry with the United States.
From this point of view, China wants to avoid a strong defeat of Russia, and has assumed a mediating role in the conflict, intending to convince Ukraine of the need for its peaceful resolution.
Relations between China and Ukraine have always been good, and although Russia has been Ukraine's largest trading partner for a long time, after 2019, China broke out in this place. Ukraine exports iron ore, corn, sunflower oil, barley and wheat to China. China exports a wide range of goods to Ukraine, mainly industrial products.
China and Ukraine signed an Agreement on Friendship and cooperation in December 2013. Ukraine officially recognizes "united China" and does not support Taiwan's independence.
Based on this friendship, China wants to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, but at the same time Beijing wants to avoid severing its close ties with Russia.
China—Central Asia Summit as a rival to the G7 Summit
China's current goal is to break the unipolar world order dominated by the United States. Beijing is taking various measures in this direction. For example, attempts to separate European countries from the United States. When French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in April, Beijing showed him a great reception, getting Macron to claim that Europe's position on the Taiwan issue was different from that of the United States.
Macron said Europe should be the third pole between the United States and China, saying: "The worst thing is if Europe becomes a follower of the United States on the Taiwan issue. We must take into account both the political rhythm of the United States on Taiwan and China's responses."
At the meeting of the "Big Seven" in Hiroshima, the G7 policy on China was deeply discussed. To counterbalance it, Beijing held a summit with five Central Asian countries on May 18-19. Xi Jinping invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to this summit in Xi'an to strengthen cooperation relations.
The purpose of this meeting is clear — it is to move towards building a multipolar world, different from the unipolar world system led by the United States. The total volume of trade between China and these five countries is growing rapidly, and Beijing recognizes that the development of relations with them can significantly contribute to the implementation of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative promoted by Xi Jinping. Geographically, Central Asia was once a route of the Silk Road and is a strategically important region.
The Eurasian region in the West rests on Ukraine and Europe. The removal of this region from the sphere of influence of the United States is of great importance for Xi Jinping's global strategy.
The Struggle for the Global South
The G7 summit brought together representatives of seven democratic and economically developed countries: the USA, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, as well as the EU leadership.
In addition to India, which chairs the G20, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Cook Islands, Comoros, Brazil and Vietnam are also invited to the summit in Hiroshima. The Group of Twenty, which began its activities in 1999, consisted of the "Big Seven", Russia and the developing countries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. It is well known that these 12 countries have made significant economic progress since then.
Five of these countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are collectively referred to as BRICS.
BRICS does not condemn the Russian special operation against Ukraine and has not joined the sanctions against Russia. China has friendly relations with Russia, South Africa conducts joint military exercises with Russia, and India buys weapons from Russia. Brazil's leftist government came to power in last year's presidential election and is moving closer to China.
Developing countries are now called the "Global South". He takes an ambivalent position in relation to the Ukrainian conflict, since many countries of the South oppose the introduction of tough sanctions against Russia. There are many such countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, etc.
After the start of Russia's SVO in Ukraine in February last year, the global configuration of the "camp of democracy against the camp of authoritarianism" became clearer. And the presence of the Global South, which does not belong to any of them, is increasing in it. Admittedly, China is successfully dragging this group into its camp in order to win a fierce battle with the United States for world supremacy. This was also noticeable around the ongoing G7 summit.
As for Japan, it should now try to find its own diplomacy with regard to the Global South, different from the diplomacy of Europe and the United States. Japan should focus its main efforts in this regard on economic assistance to the Global South.
And in this, Tokyo must follow its own path. This is important for Japan's survival strategy.
Author: Yoichi Masuzoe is a prominent Japanese politician. Member of the Upper House of Councillors of the Parliament of Japan (2001-2007; 2010-2014), Minister of Health, Labor and Social Security (2007-2010), Governor of Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture (2014-2016). The leader of the "Japanese Reform Party". Director of the Masuzoe Institute of Political and Economic Research. Enjoys authority in the political circles of the country.