Discourse Power | May 17 2022
United front against hegemony, radiating socialist sun, Russia's victory, and a dead pig tells no tales
Before we begin, I would like to recommend my recent essay with Iran scholar Jason Brodsky, in which we discuss State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe's recent visit to Iran, the disturbing trends that Western politicians must address in Sino-Iranian cooperation, and why it jeopardizes China's own interests.
As always, comments, suggestions, and article recommendations are welcome.
Thank you for reading,
Tuvia
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“We must vigorously advocate for the democratization of international relations, promote developing countries' representation and right to speak out on global issues, work together with the international community to address global challenges, and reform and improve the global governance system on a continuous basis”
Yang Jiechi, China's top diplomat and member of the Politburo, who is the Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission General Office, published a long essay in People's Daily yesterday detailing Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and how it should be implemented in China's foreign policy.
The Takshashila Institution's Manoj Kewalramani provided a translation and synopsis of significant sections of Yang's article in his essential Substack Tracking People's Daily. Read the summary here, and make sure to subscribe.
Three notable quotes that are germane to this issue of Discourse Power:
"Adhere to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era between China and Russia."
“This year we will continue to…uphold our principled position, safeguard fairness and justice, and play a constructive role on hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis, the Korean Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue, and Afghanistan.”
“With robust, effective, and responsible pandemic prevention and control measures, China has protected people's lives and fulfilled its solemn pledge to build a Community of Health for Mankind through robust and continuous commitment. This contrasts sharply with some in the West...”
“In order for us to carry out the Global Security Initiative and safeguard international peace and stability, we need to bring together all peace-loving countries and peoples to create a united front against hegemony”
Renmin University Professor Tian Wenlin believes that the current Western-led international order has only brought war and chaos, and the world must “choose between peace and hegemony; there is no in-between.”
Dr. Tian is a Distinguished Scholar 杰出学者 and professor at the Renmin University of China's School of International Relations, where he focuses on Middle East affairs and global strategy. He was formerly with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).
Tian’s article has recently been published in the peer-reviewed Contemporary World journal. It is divided into two sections - thematically expressing two opposites of “chaos” vs. “order”.
Excerpts below:
[Part I:] The Western-dominated World Order is Riddled with Wars and Conflicts
“The Western-led world's history is one of war and conflict - Western powers have been the world's dominating force in contemporary times as a result of their military and economic superiority, which they obtained by being first movers. However, when it comes to security, the Western-led world's history is nothing short of a history of war and conflict… East Asia, on the other hand, had 300 years of peace between 1590 and 1894, with only a few minor wars between any two countries.
“Throughout their expansionist conquests, the Western major powers became increasingly belligerent, waging constant battles and eager to resort to war and violence at every step. This has resulted in the creation of a barbaric and bloody 野蛮而血腥 hierarchical international system centered on the "law of the jungle" 丛林法则.
“Under US leadership, the world has gotten more volatile - Following World War II, the advent of nuclear weapons and the resulting "balance of terror" dramatically reduced the likelihood of another global war...
“But due to the removal of external checks and balances, the United States has been increasingly militaristic and belligerent since the demise of the Soviet Union... At the same time, it has stepped up its efforts to encircle and restrict China and Russia.
“In 1989, Deng Xiaoping observed: "I used to wish for the Cold War to end, but now I'm disillusioned. As one Cold War comes to a close, two more are almost certain to begin. One will be directed at the entire Global South, or Third World, while the other will be aimed towards socialism.”
"The power transition between the major powers has intensified in recent years, and the world has entered an era of great changes unseen in a century [a key Xi Jinping phrase].
“On the one hand, the West led by the United States is showing signs of relative decline... On the other hand, the rise of emerging economies, particularly China, is clear. History reveals that a moment of power transition is frequently accompanied by geopolitical conflicts/contradictions 矛盾.
”On the surface, Russia started the conflict with Ukraine that erupted in February 2022. In reality, it was the outcome of the US push for NATO's eastward expansion and the encroachment on Russia's strategic space…
”Now that a conflict has erupted, the US and other Western countries are fanning the flames by providing military aid to Ukraine and provoking this "proxy war" with the goal of prolonging the conflict as long as possible so they can profit from it.”“The international order is at a dangerous crossroads - “The US sees war as something lucrative, something that’s "good for business," but it has been nothing short of a catastrophe for the rest of the planet.
”According to a 2018 research, the US has been responsible for the deaths of at least 20 million people in 37 victim countries since WWII ended, including 10-15 million direct deaths. To argue that the United States is the greatest threat to international peace and development would be an understatement.
”Peace and stability are essential for all countries around the world. Security is both a requirement and a foundation for development. A secure and peaceful international environment facilitates economic prosperity and social progress in all countries, creating a positive cycle in which security and development reinforce each other.”
[Part II:] The Global Security Initiative is an Effective Way to Relieve the Global Security Dilemma
”The traditional Western security concept where might-makes-right and the week are bullied, the traditional security concept in which other nations are sacrificed for self-preservation, is a growing source of discontent and opposition for governments and people all over the world.
”Countries all across the world, particularly developing countries, are urgently clamoring for a new global security paradigm based on equality and mutual trust in the face of the rapid changes in the international landscape. As a result, the Global Security Initiative was designed to protect the security interests of a broader spectrum of people around the world.
“The traditional Western security concept's structural shortcomings are glaringly obvious
“The Global Security Initiative perfectly captures the zeitgeist of our era 时代精神 - To resolve the current global security dilemma, we must first eliminate the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game habit.
”The globe today faces two profoundly divergent security concepts and governance paths: one conforms to Western concepts of zero-sum games and cold war mentality, where power politics and militaristic belligerence serve as the rule of conduct, and where bloc confrontations and forsaking other countries' security for so-called absolute security are the norm;
”The other is a new security concept based on shared interests and a universalist philosophy of All Under Heaven 天下主义 as the guiding principle; it emphasizes fairness and reason 公平合理, where we sow as a collective and reap the rewards together 共建共享, and where political negotiation and mutual respect are key… President Xi Jinping's proposed Global Security Initiative is a condensed manifestation of this new security philosophy.
…
”According to Deng Xiaoping: "There are two major issues facing the world today. The first is how to combat hegemonism while ensuring global peace. The root cause of today's global turmoil is hegemonic strife, which affects the interests of Third World countries. The second is about North-South ties, which will become increasingly relevant in world affairs in the future..."
”In terms of war and peace, the world is divided into two forces: a force for historical progress, which seeks peace and development, and a reactionary force, which seeks to wage war and benefit from it. In order for us to carry out the Global Security Initiative and safeguard world peace and stability, we need to bring together all peace-loving countries and peoples to create a united front against hegemony. (Contemporary World journal)
"The remains of a million corpses are interred alongside American democracy"
Wei Tianli is a retired English teacher who worked for the Wenshui County Education and Science Bureau in Shanxi Province and is a member of the Shanxi Writers Association, with essays published on top Party-state platforms over the years. Wei believes that the US response to the pandemic demonstrates the failure of American democracy and individualism, as well as the superiority of the Chinese socialist system.
Translation of Wei’s concluding remarks:
"There has never been a social structure or political system in human history that lasted forever; no system can escape the laws of genesis, evolution, and extinction.
"Primitive society is long gone, the slave system has long disappeared, and only some relics of the feudal system remain; capitalist society's golden days are over, showing the system's flaws and decay, but the socialist system is like a rising sun, radiating with powerful vitality.
“If the million or so dead Americans had lived in China, 99%of them would still be alive today; alas, they lived in America, where, martyred on the altar of American democracy for nothing.
“The US defeat and China's victory in the pandemic, have further reinforced our conviction and resolve to follow the road of socialism."
(Kunlun Policy Research Institute)
"Russia has successfully prevented the United States' global strategic expansion, secured its borders, seized evidence of America's plans to annihilate humanity, and won this stage of the military and political battle"
President of the Huayu Think-Tank, Major-General (ret.) Peng Guangqian, writes about the winners and losers of the war in Ukraine.
Excerpts:
"1. Regardless of how the war plays out, Ukraine is doomed to be the victim.
”2. Europe, under US coercion, gave up its historic and long-cherished vision of "strategic autonomy," putting regional interests aside. It not only serves as the cat's paw for US interests, but it also causes harm to others without benefiting itself, therefore its demise is unavoidable.
”3. The US attempts to blame others for its domestic contradictions have failed. The black hand plotting a biological war has been exposed; the cat is out of the bag; we can see straight through their mask; the United States will lose so much that it won't be able to afford its underwear -
“The real planner, instigator, organizer, commander, and underwriter of the war in Ukraine is the United States...The fact that the Russian army has successfully seized the biolabs hidden in Ukraine with the goal of annihilating humanity makes the US extremely desperate and fearful. It now has plenty of hard evidence for the US's long-denied secret development of biological weapons.
”4. Russia has successfully prevented the United States' global strategic expansion, secured its borders, seized evidence of America's plans to annihilate humanity, and won this stage of the military and political battle-
“...Russia's stance in this conflict represents the majority of people's interests. Not shying away from national sacrifice, Russia has not only defended its own national security and strategic borders but has also dismantled the American nests in Ukraine, - their biolabs - exposing the US's wicked face and its crimes against humanity...
“This is a major triumph for Russia and a victory for the modern cause of world peace and human progress. Regardless of the challenges ahead, Russia's spectacular achievements in the war will shine forth in the annals of history.” (Huayu Think-Tank)
"Whatever you think of American imperialism, the rapaciously wolfish* essence of these imperialists, including America, Britain, and Japan, will never change"
Prof. Chen Xianyi, a former propaganda officer who served as deputy director and chief editor of the Literature and Art Department of the PLA Daily, says he does not support conspiracies, "but..."
Excerpt:
"Due to their power over discourse, Western countries like the United States can manipulate global narratives, making it difficult to pin anything on them, even if you have hard evidence.
“For example, just a few days ago, the Russian UN delegation provided evidence that the US had been operating biological weapons labs in Ukraine and even staging trials on psychiatric hospital inmates.
“However, what do you suppose happened when they requested an investigation from the UN? All the Americans had to do is deny it and that'd be the end of it. It had no effect on the US whatsoever, just the same as threatening a dead pig with boiling water. Because the Americans control public opinion and the discourse power, the Russians’ hands were tied." (Red Culture Network)
[*Rapaciously wolfish = 财狼, a wordplay on 豺狼]
Playing in the Background
A Wolf in Cheap Clothing by New Jersey prog-rock group Thank You Scientist:
Discourse Power is written by Tuvia Gering, a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a Krauthammer Fellow, specializing in Chinese security and foreign policy, and emergency and disaster management. Any views expressed in this newsletter, as well as any errors, are solely those of the author.
Follow Tuvia on Twitter @GeringTuvia