China’s New World Order | Bigger than Five

thank you [Music] China and Russia vowed to create a new multi-polar world order accusing the west of undermining global stability as both countries push back against the United States hegemony following its major diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and Saudi Arabia could Beijing be cast in a new role as Global mediator and power broker [Music] thank you [Music] hello and welcome to the program I'm Rita Fakhri China and Russia accuse the west of undermining global stability as presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met in Moscow this week in a show of public Defiance towards the United States with both leaders vying to work together to build quote a more just and Democratic multi-polar World Order based on international law and the principles enshrined in the charter of the United Nations as he concluded a three-day State visit to Russia president XI said Chinese Russian ties are of vital importance for the modern world order and the fate of mankind while President Putin described the bilateral relationship as being at the highest point in the entire history of the two countries Republican [Music] in Spanish foreign politics is Mitchell Reese director of policy planning at the U.S Department of State between 2003 and 2005. Mitchell Reese Beijing and Moscow are clearly displaying a united front against the Western General and the United States in particular their vision is clear a new multipolar world a new international World Order without letting Washington continue to dictate its terms on the world are we at the cusp of a new international World Order without the United States in the lead I don't think so but I think there are certain challenges that we've seen that will make it more challenging for the United States to lead not dictate but rather to lead the international order that it helped create after World War II what we saw with China and the Russian visit this past week was a very dominant China and a subservient Russia Russia is clearly the junior partner here they were not able to get the second pipeline through Siberia in order to make up for some of the Lost economic revenue of shipping energy to Europe the Chinese didn't promise anything new the United States is watching very clearly about lethal armaments being supplied by Beijing so again this is a culmination of Trends with China simply becoming more powerful economically militarily and now stepping out a little bit more diplomatically on the world stage does Washington today have to accept that it is no longer the indispensable state that it once was that American exceptionalism um is coming to an end well I still believe personally that the United States is exceptional for many many reasons I think that as long as there are lines outside American consulates all over the world for people to get visas to come visit the United States that's a measure of how attractive we are as a country but it's a more complicated world now and we are learning uh that it's better to have friends and allies around the world that's what we've been trying to do now for the last few years and we've seen that not only in Asia but also the Europeans have rallied to help the ukrainians and so I think again this is one of the secrets of America's success it builds alliances it doesn't have to fight alone it doesn't have to enter diplomatic negotiations alone it has friends and allies and China doesn't but the fact that the U.S has to compete with Moscow for its close Ally Saudi Arabia says a lot doesn't it well I'm not sure that that's a zero-sum type of competition either I think the Saudis have shown a deafness and sophistication in their diplomacy in the last six months a year or so uh that we didn't see before and I think that what they're trying to do is to a couple of things I think first of all is to stabilize their neighborhood so that they can realize the vision 2030 that Riyadh and the Crown Prince is set out and articulated so clearly and I think they also want to see if they can cut their losses in Yemen and bring it into that uh that war and that humanitarian catastrophe but the fact that some countries including year once staunch allies Saudi Arabia turned to Beijing not to Washington to broker a deal is that a measure of the United States not just its declining influence but also its lack of credibility when it comes to brokering agreements well unfortunately I think there may be a little bit to that and American credibility I think took a hit in terms of the Perceptions in the region when we did not support Hosni Mubarak during the Arab Spring I think it then increased when President Obama's red line was crossed with impunity in Syria and I think also the Saudis saw themselves being attacked by Iranian cruise missiles in their oil fields and the Trump Administration didn't respond to that so I do think that there has been some diminution of American credibility and reliability and so the Saudis are hedging their bets but isn't a big factor in this decline in America's influence its double standards you served in the George W Bush Administration 20 years ago and this week we just marked the 20th anniversary of the United States illegal invasion of Iraq to what extent would the invasion of Ukraine have happened if the invasion of Iraq hadn't well first of all um this is your characterization of the U.S involvement in the Iraq War not mine I'm not sure that that one has anything to do with the other I think you're making an argument that there was an erosion of international Norms that the United States LED with by Iraq and therefore it follows that Putin had it easier invading Crimea in 2014 and then Ukraine last year the war wasn't sanctioned by the United Nations that's correct that's correct and neither was Putin's Invasion neither are lots of wars and conflicts all over the world it doesn't necessarily fall that there's causation between one to the other but do you agree that the invasion was illegal therefore the fact that there were no consequences might have led us to the situation we're in today a lot of people have made a link between the two well I think the United States felt that it had uh legal justification for going into Iraq it did not get the second U.N resolution that we wanted again I think that it's easy to draw analogies between the two but I don't see them as being similar at all Is it wise would you say for Washington to say that the time isn't ripe for a ceasefire to keep throwing weapons into this conflict instead of trying actively to find a diplomatic solution to it well again the United States has a role to play but ultimately it's going to be up to Moscow and to give to decide when or if they want to stop fighting right now it doesn't appear that there's a willingness on either side to stop and um unfortunately the war continues but the fact that the U.S has warned China not to sell weapons to the Russians while we continue to see this huge flow of U.S weapons to Kiev isn't there at the very least some hypocrisy here no I think that the ukrainians are clearly the victims of Russian aggression and so therefore it's natural that the United States and not just the United States all the European countries are also helping the ukrainians and the Japanese as well so I think that there's rather a broad Coalition it's not the United States against China here you say there's a broad Coalition but according to a recent survey conducted by the economists intelligence unit support for Russia in the developing world has has actually grown more countries are now siding with Moscow in its war against Ukraine countries that account for some 33 percent of the world's population and more and more countries are taking a neutral stance they represent 31 percent of the global population it's not necessarily that they support Russia's Invasion but they seem to appreciate that the conflict isn't between good and evil it isn't black and white well I think they're entitled to their opinion of course that's not the way that we see it I think that some of the more astute governments are trying to play off both sides against the middle here to try to position themselves so that they can take advantage of inexpensive Russian oil and energy like the Chinese and the Indians are doing that doesn't necessarily mean that they're supporting Russia it just means they're taking advantage of a situation so I'm not sure that I would draw any larger enduring conclusions from that Mitchell Rhys former director of policy planning at the U.S state Department thank you very much my pleasure thank you in an agreement brokered by China earlier this month Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations after Decades of tensions and open hostility with Saudi Arabia's King Salman extending an invitation this week to Iran's president Ibrahim raisi to visit Riyadh the agreement between the two Regional Rivals was announced in Beijing on March 10th the unexpected diplomatic tour de force which has cast China in a new role as Global mediator took the United States by surprise the Breakthrough follows a meeting last month in Beijing between President Xi Jinping and Iran's president raisy she had also met with Saudi leaders in Riyadh in December while publicly welcoming the agreement the White House rejected the notion that beijing's growing political clout in the region could replace Washington's waning influence so how have China's growing economic ties with countries in the region shaped its role as mediator China is the world's second largest economy accounting for 18.5 percent of global GDP the U.S share is almost 13 percent India accounts for almost nine percent since 2010 Beijing has replaced Washington as the middle east's largest trading partner with energy at the core of the trade relationship the region accounts for nearly half of China's oil imports most of it from Saudi Arabia in 2020 Beijing imported 176 billion dollars worth of crude oil from the region at the end of 2021 the bilateral trade volume was worth 87.3 billion dollars a more than 200-fold increase since diplomatic relations were established more than three decades ago in 2021 27 of Saudi oil exports went to China China has been Iran's main trading partner since 2010. in 2021 the two countries signed a 25-year strategic agreement to strengthen economic and security cooperation Iran's trade with China reached almost 16 billion dollars in 2022 that's up seven percent from the previous year China's crude oil imports from Iran reportedly set a new record last year Saudi Arabia was China's largest oil supplier in 2022 selling over 87 million tons of crude Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to become China's top oil supplier in the first two months of 2023. so what does beijing's role in bringing together two of the Region's key geopolitical adversaries and political foes say about the Region's shifting Dynamics and strategy could China's Middle East breakthrough lead to other diplomatic successes joining me now to discuss this is Shan Chang Zhao professor of international relations and chair of the Asian studies research council at American University and Zuri linersky a research fellow with the Eurasia group Foundation Professor Xiao how surprising was it for you to see China broker this rat rashmon between Iran and Saudi Arabia these two arch enemies what was the main factor that led to this successful diplomacy in your opinion I would like to say yes or no uh indeed because I'd say a four-day secret negotiation in Beijing nobody knows so in that case a bit surprised to see the development but on the other hand we know China has engaged in Middle East for a long time prior to that Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia and meeting with leaders and also inviting Iran president to Beijing had a long negotiation and conversation so in that case making China in a good position to be a mediator for the two Middle East and also China as a huge stakes in Middle East not only economic but also strategic political and diplomatic France the Saudi Iran deal was reportedly two years in the making with secret talks taking place in Iraq and Oman and one might argue that the United States inadvertently laid much of the the groundwork but at the end of the day did China have something that the United States lacked with all parties which is greater credibility certainly the United States is increasingly viewed as not an even broker in the region its policies uh towards Israel those those have been kind of uh declawed in the region because of the Abraham Accords and then it's enduring policies towards uh isolated and sanctioning Iran make it put it in a position that it can't exert equal leverage throughout the region even in the Abraham Accords which normalize ties between Israel the UAE Bahrain Sudan and Morocco they don't extend to Saudi Arabia so it's unclear how the United States really could have pushed these two actors together although it has been advocating for uh ratcheting down tensions in the region for some time so there is a lack of credibility from the Americans do you agree that the Chinese government the Chinese leader felt that credibility gap that the United States could no longer be seen and couldn't be seen for quite a few years as an honest broker in the Middle East and now in Ukraine and in in the Asian context as well with the Asia Pacific Taiwan situation exactly that's the case that is that there has been declining in terms of credibility of United States simply because it cannot be a trustful partner to everybody because if you want to be a mediator you have to be trusted by two sides in this case how could you expect the Iran with the trust United States and their mothers and China on the other hand had a practice not intervene other countries internal politics so and also engaging primarily economic activities so in that case China gained certain credibility that's the foundation for this time of success for China of course it's important to have stability in the region because it increases its current special ties with many important countries not to mention the the energy Dimension to all of this but looking back Zuri the Nixon Kissinger Doctrine was to keep the Soviet Union out of the Middle East by propping up at the time Iran and Saudi Arabia after 10 years the United States lost Iran Iran became an enemy is Washington now losing Saudi Arabia as an ally that's a great question and I think the answer is probably no uh it's I think it's becoming apparent that the Saudis are playing a bit of a double game they're playing China and the United States off one another to get as much as they can so in terms of trade and investment China is incredibly valuable to the Saudis but at the same time the United States is their security guarantor right while the Chinese have an incredible arsenal of weapons that they might be able to sell to the Saudis currently the Saudi government and the Saudi military depend almost exclusively on American-made equipment that's notwithstanding the Drone base the Drone facility and the military facility that this that the Chinese will be building so I think we're seeing we're seeing kind of a distribution of influence kind of the rise of a more multi-polar or uh system in which there are multiple players in the region and the Saudis are exerting their own influence and their own agency the Saudis are clearly balancing their security off by playing the United States against China is Washington now accepting this new reality that it is no longer the only indispensable player in the region and will any kind of pressure on Iran now have to take into account beijing's interests first of all I agree with the Zuri's argument that is there there is a marquipolo structure in the making in the region secondly Iran and other Middle East Powers now is getting closer to China compared to decades ago simply because not only China itself has a huge economic power but also those other Middle East countries they also developed economic partnership with China like with one so how will that affect U.S pressure on on Iran well I I would say that the United States had to because Middle East also a key region for strategic interests of United States even though with all your elements now reduced but that would I would say that with making Washington reconsider is Middle East policy and in particular how to deal with different powers and speaking about how to deal with different powers Zuri we focus on the United States a lot but the other big loser when it comes to the new Saudi Iran relationship is Israel can Washington afford to continue its blind support for the Israeli government it's positioned towards Palestinians given this new reality so I think there's two points to be made here first is is that there's an open question as to how Israel views this it's not clearly bad for Israel for this deal to have gone through because it might actually make it easier to uh to get a relationship moving forward with the Saudis now at the same time it really complicates things in the kind of larger geopolitical struggle between Israel and Iran the the unfortunate consequence of this deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran is that the Palestinians are are in fact the major losers because it's made very clear that peace in the that peace between Israel and pal and Israel and its neighbors will not include the Palestinians and a lot of and it's it's become more apparent that a lot of the regional players like Saudi Arabia are a relatively out of um out of time and out of patience with the PA and they have more time to work with Israel which is a major economic Powerhouse as demonstrated by the Abraham but the Israeli government presumably cannot be happy with this given the way it feels about uh about the Iranian government the fact that it's put so much pressure all these years on the US government to to take an aggressive stance towards Iran I think it's a mixed bag I don't think they're happy but I also think they see an opportunity and at the same time we have to remember that its security is tied to that of the United States that in 2025 Israel is expected to get um KC 25 refueling tankers that'll actually facilitate a potential attack on Iran so this actually is an interesting moment in geopolitics of the region Professor Zhao how do you see the emergence of Beijing as a peacemaker will we see Beijing at attempt in israeli-palestinian peace deal I mean we as you mentioned earlier Beijing wants to see more stability in the region if nothing else to increase its Commerce with the region and to secure its access to oil and gas I think so Beijing because had a long stable relations with both sides just like Beijing has been doing this is not the first time but at the same time this is also very complicated issue so it may take a longer period because obviously it's not a one shot but the same token Russo Ukraine you can see also making a peaceful proposal now so you know China also trying to play a role did you expect to see President XI succeed in mediating between the ukrainians and the Russians I would say this is just a start it's indeed good timing need good atmosphere and need good people and good people I just really mentioned has to be a both sides trust so now we know jalinsky is going to have a video conversation with Xi Jinping well at least that's a reported so that means China started to be actively I'm not sure it's uncertain about the result Zuri China as a global mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians and the ukrainians and the Russians your thoughts on Israel and Palestine I'd have to say no it hasn't it's been a little bit skittish in the conflict it doesn't have an active interest in the conflict there's no economic benefit to the conflict and realistically it doesn't really give much to either to the Palestinian side even though it's involved in the south-south conversation and empowering the global South which you can make a pretty compelling argument that the Palestinian state to the extent that it exists is a member of the global South so there there doesn't seem to be incentive for China to get involved and more importantly I think that it has interest to other where other places like in Ukraine and they're also I think it's half-hearted because while China was Ukraine's number one trade partner ahead of the war it has a more abiding interest in making sure its relationship with Russia endures and if you look at the text of the peace plan it's not really a peace plan um and it's not clear that the United States or Ukraine is ready to involve the Chinese in this dialogue all right so thank you both so much for coming in thank you for having me that's my pleasure thank you thank you she and Putin's carefully choreographed diplomatic display was set against the backdrop of a growing chorus on the international stage a rejection of U.S led Western hegemony or imperialism as it was once called Putin warned that the International Security and cooperation architecture is quote being dismantled while she advised that there would be no World Order where the decisive word belongs to a single country now after Decades of unchecked American political dominance and Military adventurism a growing number of developing countries seem to agree with she and Putin with a number of them including Washington allies seeking membership in the brics the political group comprising Brazil Russia China and South Africa five countries representing 40 percent of the world's population and almost a third of its land mass this is today's geopolitical reality that's all from the team here in Washington thanks for watching see you next time [Music] [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: TRT World

Views: 492,278

Keywords: #china, #cooperation, #mediator, #multipolar, #newworldorder, #relations, #russia, TRT, TRT News, TRT World

Id: fIuJbKzr0L8

Length: 26min 2sec (1562 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 26 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/Qanonjailbait]

Saudi Arabia better watch out for a military coup. As that one guy said, their military almost exclusively use American military equipment and are “trained” by them

[u/Qanonjailbait]

That guy must’ve take Mike Pompeo’s course on lying 🤥 . Damn if he didn’t have an answer for any damning question about US hypocrisy

[u/titobroz99]

"New World Order" anything other than absolute U.S. hegemony

[u/ZeEa5KPul]

New world order.