China-US relations: world powers call on curbing ‘blaming and scapegoating’ to maintain global stability

As foreign affairs analysts warn of the “collapse” of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, a Beijing forum says great powers could prevent a deterioration in relations if they stopped blaming and “scapegoating” each other. was heard.

Dawei, director of Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security Strategies (CISS), said great power relations, including the US-China relationship, have deteriorated during what he described as a “very difficult period”.

“If we continue to be very angry with each other, if we continue to criticize the other side, we will not be able to have stable great power relations,” he said, without naming any countries.

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“I think this is inevitable,” he said. “Once we realize this, we can stop criticizing each other, and especially stop blaming the other for our own country’s domestic problems.” [and] It’s the scapegoat for the other side. ”

Dar spoke on a panel discussion on great power relations at a conference hosted by CISS on Wednesday.

In his opening comments, Dar said political leadership and political will are key to stabilizing relations between world powers.

“We’re already seeing that,” he said, referring to a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.

As a result of the talks in California, the two sides restored high-level military communications and increased exchanges in some areas, including the economy.

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Former senior U.S. diplomat Susan Thornton said that to stabilize relations, the U.S. and China must not only continue high-level communication, but also focus on resuming talks around common concerns such as climate change and health. said it was necessary to do so.

“I think negotiations are the key to regaining some level of trust between the United States and China,” he said, adding that the two countries also need to increase connectivity through increased flights and easier visas. .

Fellow panel member Ashok Kanta, a former Indian ambassador to China, argued that the existing international order has collapsed and the world is searching for a “new equilibrium.”

Kanta said the world order is currently moving from unipolar to multipolar, and countries need to find a more democratic “reimagined architecture for global governance.”

“That’s the challenge before us,” he said.

Kanta, an emeritus fellow at the China Institute in New Delhi, also argued that while the UN Charter remains valid, the structure that has been in place since the UN’s founding in 1945 is outdated.

He said this was because the role of countries in terms of political and economic power was “fundamentally changing”, requiring more effective and representative structures.

In recent years, there have been growing calls for reform of the United Nations, especially the reorganization of the Security Council, which is made up of the five permanent members representing the victorious nations of World War II: Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States. There are increasing calls for this.

India has long sought to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council with support from countries such as the United States and Russia.

But Thomas Finger, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, emphasized the difficulty of reforming an organization that has been “very effective.”

Although the United Nations now has 140 more member states than when it was founded some 80 years ago, Finger said there are “vested interests that want to maintain the existing system.”

“Some countries are reluctant to start rebuilding systems that they have basically just invented,” he said.

Finger, who previously held senior positions at the State Department, said the United States probably recognizes “the need to reform and revitalize international institutions” but is “not ready yet.”

On a separate panel at the forum on Wednesday, Michael Vatikiotis, regional director for Asia at the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, suggested that the deepening Middle East crisis was indicative of a “collapse of the multilateral system.” .

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“The United States says it is not binding, even though it is actually international law. International law says that if the Security Council reaches a resolution, it must be followed.” Batikiotis said.

“In fact, we are moving to a situation where major powers, rather than multilateral institutions, determine outcomes and make decisions, according to a set of rules.”

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Richard Sakwa, professor emeritus at the University of Kent, also pointed out that multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization have become “not for conflict resolution, but for creating new ones.”

But he stressed that the United Nations was founded on the idea that “humanity can do better” and that countries could work together to solve problems on a multilateral basis.

“These multilateral institutions are becoming weaker. That doesn’t mean we will abandon them,” Sakwa said.