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Managing Strategic Competition

2021-07-19ByMaMiaomiao

Beijing Review 2021年28期

By Ma Miaomiao

When discussing global issues, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov always recalls that in 1973, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai used a quotation from an ancient Chinese poem to describe the international situation of the time: “Heavy rain is about to shower in the mountains, and a strong wind is blowing through the pavilion.” According to Denisov, nothing has changed after almost half a century and the quotation still applies to the current chaos of global politics.

Increasing instability and uncertainty, growing mistrust in international affairs and worsening China-U.S. relations, are among the thorny problems facing the international community. They were also at the top of the agenda of the Ninth World Peace Forum, a high-level seminar on international security hosted by Tsinghua University in Beijing on July 2-4.

In his keynote speech, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out that practicing multilateralism is the surest way toward breaking the zero-sum game, resisting unilateralism and bullying, and truly achieving lasting peace and common security. “Upholding and practicing true multilateralism is the right way forward in tackling complex issues and effectively countering security challenges, traditional and non-traditional, in todays world,” he said.

Revitalizing global multilateralism

In the eyes of former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, isolationism is simply no match for viruses, wildfires, cyberattacks, a rising sea level, or other non-traditional security threats. “I firmly believe that we must elevate our sustained efforts to reinvigorate multilateral cooperation in order to holistically address the inherently global challenges of both today and tomorrow,” he said. “Doing so will help forge a brighter, more harmonious international order that is fit for purpose in the post-pandemic epoch.”

Herman Van Rompuy, former President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Belgium, stressed that learning to live with the differences between countries is the basis of harmony, solidarity and peace, and countries being competitors or rivals does not necessarily make them enemies. He went on to say he believes countries can be strategic partners in well-defined fields or projects, even if they are not like-minded.

Former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said the main lesson people have learned from COVID-19 is that no country can face global challenges alone. “We should focus on working together on common interests, instead of being swayed by differences. And we should go through global challenges together by upholding multilateralism,” she said.