Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Yang Zhong
Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe delivered a speech on “China’s Vision for Regional Order” at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 12th, 2022, in which he expressed China’s willing of promoting a community of a shared future for mankind that based on multilateralism. Also the United States Secretary of Defense also send his remarks on the dialogue. Brookings called the two defense ministers of America and China presented a dueling narratives at Shangri-La dialogue.[1] As a matter of fact, Sino-U.S strategic competition is entering a new phase of strategic stalemate that both sides have no power to change the status quo, while keeping their own institutional confidence.
Kenneth Waltz argues that great powers enjoys more security space than weaker powers and has more discourser power on setting rules in terms of competition games. The United States has been in dominated position in East Asia region since the end of the Cold War with its strong economic, military and political strength. With its unstoppable development, China shows more determination in promoting a regional order that engaged multilateralism, shared prosperity and collective security, by which contrasts to the security idea that proposed by the United States, namely, U.S. and allies security first. The two different approaches also reveals their competition in regional and global governance.
The U.S. Secretary General Antony Blinken visited George Washington University and delivered a speech and declared that “China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” last month. [2] This clearly shows that the United States views China as a threat to international security. According to CNN, in his address to the Shangri-La, The U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin also accused “China was engaged in coercive, aggressive and dangerous actions that threatened to undermine security, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific”.[3]The United States will continue to strengthen Indo-Pacific security and seek an Indo-Pacific region “free of aggression and bullying”. It is worth noting that Blinken also put forward a new concept of “integrated deterrence” to concretely explain America’s strategic deployment. This includes at least three aspects: maintaining strong military superiority and deterrence; Strengthening and integrating global alliances; The full range of overall containment, including economic, technical, diplomatic, and even the full range of military confrontation. In Singapore, Austin also pointed out that “the more China pushes boundaries in the region, the more the U.S. and its partners will tighten their bonds to deal with Chinese assertiveness”.[4]
But it is an obvious fact that China is not a threat to international security, this could be proved by history. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China has never started a war on its own initiative. Instead, China has always adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and settled disputes through dialogue and negotiation. China promotes economic and social development by integrating into the international community, and its international economic activities are based on the rules of the market economy. From that end, it is meaningless for China to become a “threat and challenge” to the current world order. In a 39,000 words article that published on June 19th, Chinese Foreign Ministry pointed out fallacies of the United States perception towards China and the truth, in which China firmly denounce the accusation from the U.S. that China poses the most serious long-term challenge to the international order and is undermining it.[5] China was, is and will always be a defender of the international order.
China should keep its strategic focus to avoid making misjudgment and to realize its great rejuvenation. Firstly, China should manage and govern its own domestic affairs to remain an absorbed attention on its economic development. With the abrupt outbreak of the COVID-19 and various mutant strain, from the perspective of protecting vulnerable groups, elders and children, China insists on dynamic zero clearance policy, which provides a stable environment for its domestic economic development and people’s health. Though temporary economic increasing speed appeared slight downgrading, China’s economic growth speed still remains one of top countries around the world, let alone its giant economic aggregate. Its economic development quality and speed would back to normal status with the recovery of the global market.
Secondly, China should process its diplomacy to contribute more in regional and global governance. In the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2022 that held in Seoul, guest speakers from China pointed out that a secure, developed and peace environment for East Asia is needed, multilateral trade has bolstered common prosperity, and friendly atmosphere among East Asian countries is the spring and source of the cooperation. Under this circumstance, China’s diplomacy, especially building relations with neighboring countries based on friendship, good faith, mutual benefit and inclusiveness is critical.
Thirdly, China is supposed to embrace multilateralism and increase regional order resilient. Nowadays, international cooperation at the global level lacks momentum and positive feedback. It is more important than ever for the international community to strengthen cooperation in order to address the huge challenges facing mankind, such as COVID-19 and climate change. These challenges are not only difficulties that international community encounters, but also an opportunity to expand international cooperation and multilateralism. China has been insisting the multilateralism that centered on the United Nations, which is contrast to the United States approach that focus on traditional alliance foreign policy. Further, more flexible regional order could provide extra resilient and space for competition and cooperation.
With the foundation of the abovementioned creed points, a vision of regional order by China has been vividly portrayed. Collective security rather than “U.S. and allies first”, common development other than “containment” and “trade war”, lasting prosperity of the region instead of “forging an Asian NATO”, China’s vision based on its developing power and ideas, embodied on its foreign policy and mutually benefited initiatives. Development and security of the region require all stakeholders to participate and endeavor to form a system that function well with effective international coordination and transnational collaboration. Reform that adapt to the new situation is necessary, and some attempts are achieving positive results. For example, collaboration with the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which covers all central Asia countries, is playing a significant role in maintaining peace cooperation and peace governance. Moreover, the international community should be vigilant against the actions that utilizing interdependence as a toolkit to contain others.
In a nutshell, the stalemate of Sino-US competition has been an important part of the regional security, different approaches that proposed by them should not embrace contradiction and conflict, but focus on coordination and collaboration, and most importantly, and restrain the former with the latter. All regional stakeholders ought to play a role in a more inclusive, and fair regional order. Only in this way, the new vision of regional order could be realized.
[1] Ryan Hass, America and China present dueling narratives at Shangri-La Dialogue. Brookings, June 14th, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/06/14/america-and-china-present-dueling-narratives-at-shangri-la-dialogue/
[2] Antony J. Blinken, The Administration’s Approach to the People’s Republic of China. May 26th, 2022. https://www.state.gov/the-administrations-approach-to-the-peoples-republic-of-china/。
[3] Brad Lendon and Heather Chen, China blasts US ‘bully’, says it will ‘fight to the end’ for Taiwan, CNN, June 12th, 2022. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/12/asia/us-china-defense-shangri-la-dialogue-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
[4] Ryan Hass, America and China present dueling narratives at Shangri-La Dialogue. Brookings, June 14th, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/06/14/america-and-china-present-dueling-narratives-at-shangri-la-dialogue/
[5] See Chinese Foreign Ministry website, Fallacies of the United States perception towards China and the truth. June 19th, 2022. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/wjbxw_new/202206/t20220619_10706065.shtml
