"it is the united states, not china, that threatens the world order"
2024-08-29
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an article published on the british website middle east eye on august 27 was titled: it is the united states, not china, that threatens the rules-based world order. for decades, the failure of us foreign policy has brought unspeakable pain to the world, while china's foreign policy is constantly achieving tangible results.conventional wisdom holds that the most important geopolitical struggle of the 21st century will take place between the united states and china. against this backdrop, the mainstream western narrative portrays the united states as a country committed to maintaining and enforcing the so-called rules-based world order that washington has created and dominated since its victory in world war ii. in principle, this order should be consistent with the conventions that have been codified into international law since the founding of the united nations, but this is not the case. at best, this order reflects the selective interpretation of international law by the united states/the west; at worst, international law is distorted to safeguard specific western interests.in both cases, the purpose is to serve the geopolitical interests of the west and to justify its hegemony. of course, the west, blinded by hubris, believes that because these "rules" serve their interests, they also serve the interests of all humanity. they are wrong.in the same mainstream western narrative, china is portrayed as the main threat to this order, and the asian country is considered to have both the will and the ability to challenge and change it. the fact that the united states and its allies have drawn such a conclusion shows that there is a catastrophic cognitive dissonance in the analysis and decision-making of western leaders.it is simply absurd for western politicians to accuse china of having subversive intentions. in stark contrast to the united states, china has not sent troops to fight abroad in the past half century; has never intervened in or organized a coup against any other country; has never imposed unilateral sanctions on any country unless legally authorized by the un security council; and has only one overseas military base (the people's liberation army support base in djibouti - editor's note). in addition, unlike the us navy, the chinese navy mainly patrols the south china sea because the waters are one of china's most important supply routes.if china’s extremely restrained and responsible behavior makes it a “threat” to the world order, then how should we view the actions of the united states and its closest allies (especially israel)?another interesting indicator for assessing whether the united states or china poses the greatest threat to the rules-based world order is their behavior in the middle east. since the end of world war ii, the united states has claimed to play a unique role in promoting peace and stability in the region. however, over the past 30 years, the united states’ “magic” in the region has almost completely failed.unlike the united states, china has for decades focused primarily on developing economic and trade relations with countries in the middle east, and has achieved fruitful results in both areas.in recent years, china's diplomatic efforts in the middle east have achieved two major achievements. in 2023, iran and saudi arabia, two important countries in the region, achieved reconciliation under china's mediation. in july this year, under china's mediation, high-level representatives of 14 palestinian factions held a reconciliation dialogue in beijing and signed the beijing declaration.china's success in this regard could significantly strengthen the rules-based order, but it is a proper order that respects international law and international humanitarianism. the so-called rules-based order often claimed by the united states and its allies is nothing more than a rhetoric to cover up western hypocrisy and double standards.china is not challenging the western rules-based order. china is simply demanding, along with other countries around the world, that international law be respected and that misleading western terminology be abandoned. (the author is marco canellos, former italian government coordinator of the middle east peace process, special envoy for syria, and former ambassador to iraq, translated by wang huicong)▲
