CHINA plays a significant role in pro- moting peace and stability in the world. Contrary to the aggressive policies of other super powers, it prefers to evolve a strategy of reconciliation and appeasement.

The recently signed China-brokered Saudi-Iran accord is a tremendous diplomatic success for China and for global peace because it enabled the two regional adversaries to restore diplomatic ties that were severed in 2016 following the execution of Shia cleric Nimr-Al-Nimr by the Saudi government and subsequent attack on Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with the Saudi leadership, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s itinerary to Beijing, broke the ice and eventually there was an agreement on signing the landmark deal to restore relations between the two countries. Apart from this, Beijing is also in hot pursuit to somehow bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end by having the conflict settled through diplomatic engagements.

The recent Xi-Putin summit in Moscow was a serious attempt to resolve the imbroglio peacefully and without any further loss of life or collateral damage. Diplomatic experts have expressed the hope that Beijing may come good in having the Moscow-Kiev standoff eased in the near future.

China’s another diplomatic achievement is in bringing Honduras, a country in central America, to its fold, making it cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a disgruntled Chinese territory. The proximity between Beijing and Tegucigalpa is a wake-up call for the Biden administration’s belligerent foreign policy in the world.

Though the United States is conspiring to widen the rift between China and Taiwan, as it did between Russia and Ukraine, it may not succeed in its sinister designs, and even if Taiwan followed the US agenda in the region, it will face Beijing’s wrath just as Kiev is confronting the Russian anger today.

Likewise, the joining of Saudi Arabia as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is another major development and unprecedented success for China on the diplomatic front. It reflects Riyadh’s priority change in building a long-term partnership with Beijing and other Asian countries despite US concerns.

Given the successful Chinese diplomatic policy across the world, the other super powers, especially the United States, must pursue a policy of mediation to attract the attention and subsequently the favour of more and more states instead of resorting to reliance on the use of military force to achieve gains in international politics.

Guldar Ali Khan Wazir
Lakki Marwat

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2023