Wang Yi’s MNC speech sheds light on China's vision for a peaceful world

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On February 19, the 59th Munich Security Conference (MNC) concluded at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, Germany with the participation of senior politicians, military leaders and experts, and key foreign dignitaries from around 100 countries and regions. This year's three-day conference took place at a time when the world is facing many crises. The one-year-old US-fueled Ukraine crisis, as well as the relationship between China and the Western bloc, dominated the agenda over climate change, economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, global food insecurity, and other regional issues. 

According to media reports, the just-concluded global security gathering saw the presence of more than 700 delegates, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US Vice President Kamala Harris, UK PM Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, and the leaderships of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). 

In view of the ongoing war on the doorstep of Europe, the global community has eyed the world's largest security conference that discussed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that has escalated in an all-round way and the US-led NATO pledged their continued support of military aid to Ukraine. But regretfully, there was no consensus on the Ukraine crisis. More importantly, many anti-imperialist, leftist groups, as well as security experts, said that the MNC had turned into a “war-mongering conference” as it would encourage further military escalation in Russia-Ukraine.

The high-level security gathering saw leaders from Western countries spend a lot of time discussing Ukraine’s security while promising increased arms deliveries to Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky to fight against the Russian 'Goliath'.

Chairing the high-profile event for the first time, Christoph Heusgen, former foreign policy advisor to ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that the leadership of Russia was not invited for the first time in the nearly 20-year history of the MNC so that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not abuse this conference as a campaign platform, and went on to say that Putin had "broken with civilisation". Heusgen’s statement clearly exposes the strategy of the US and the West against Russia. Since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine last February, the US and its Western allies have blockaded Russia politically and economically, and imposed sanctions on Russia militarily.

It is a matter of great concern that Western leaders getting endorsement from US President Joe Biden have turned the MNC into a war zone. The whole world watched in amazement how the speeches and promises of Western world leaders reflected the violent monstrosity of mankind in the name of world peace.

Representatives of the US and NATO states sharply criticized Russia for dividing Europe and talked about deliveries of lethal weapons to Ukraine. US congressman Adam Smith praised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for taking the "right approach" on weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Notably, on February 20, President Biden paid a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital Kiev where he promised new military aid for Ukraine worth 500 million USD. It must be noted here that on February 21, former US President Donald Trump warned that Biden's Ukraine policies might spark World War III.

Amid the hawkish attitudes of Western world leaders that were "finger-pointing" at China-Russia relations, Wang Yi, the Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, attended the MSC following a brief European tour. Wang Yi’s speech, titled “Making the World a Safer Place” opened up a new world of peace and prosperity by enhancing global cooperation. His speech dreamt of a world where there is no hatred and no clanking of weapons. His speech is a fitting reply to the Western bloc, which is advocating unilateralism and protectionism.

In his keynote address, the Chinese diplomat presented an enthralling vision of China's abiding commitment to make the world a safer place. He reminded the world that China's main goal “in the new era and on the new journey is to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization”, which President Xi Jinping said at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October last year. China will realize this goal through peaceful development. 

As a country pursuing the path of peaceful development, Wang made it clear that in the past 70+ years, “China has never initiated a war or occupied an inch of foreign land.” It’s really a matter of pride for the global country to be the only country in the world whose constitution enshrines peaceful development. China's record of peaceful development has stood the test of history.

On February 18, on the sidelines of the MSC, during his first face-to-face talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken since the US F-22 fighter jet shot down a Chinese weather balloon hovering over the coast of South Carolina as per the order of President Biden, and accused China of spying on the US, China’s top diplomat was highly critical both of the US shooting down the “Chinese civilian weather research aircraft” and of NATO's response to the war in Ukraine. Weather balloons are crucial for global weather and climate monitoring. Wang had rightly criticized America’s handling of the balloon incident as "unimaginable" and "hysterical "and “100% an abuse of the use of force.” Hyping up the balloon episode as the “China threat” has now become a tool for US politicians to gain public support for their aggressive foreign policies. 

While Europe and the US have been attempting to isolate Russia for its “special military operation” in Ukraine, many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have refused to follow suit. Addressing the MNC, Wang said there are “some forces” that do not want the Russia-Ukraine peace talks to succeed. 

During a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the MSC on February 18, Wang affirmed that China always stands on the side of peace and talks on the Ukraine issue. It is worth noting that China didn’t provide any military aid to Russia during the ongoing crisis despite “no limits in China-Russia cooperation”. Notably, China released a position paper on political solutions to the Ukraine crisis on the first anniversary of the war. It is hoped that being a positive force for world peace, China will play a constructive role in finding a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.

Keeping in view the US officials’ repeated visit to China’s Taiwan region and Biden’s reiteration of support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Wang warned, “Any violation of the one-China principle on the Taiwan question, and attempt to create “one China, one Taiwan” or “two Chinas”, however framed, are a gross infringement on China’s territorial integrity, and pose real threats to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” 

Wang was explicit in presenting a global China which is eager to build world peace with other world players in order to build “a community with a shared future for humanity” with win-win cooperation. He underscored the importance of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by President Xi Jinping. GSI aims to eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, encourage joint international efforts to bring more stability and certainty to a volatile and changing era, and promote durable peace and development in the world.

The international community sincerely hopes that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will remain a defender of world peace, and calls for major countries to play a leading role on global security issues, to reject hegemony and bullying and to build peaceful coexistence, delivering stable and balanced relations between major countries.