10
Mar
China aims to expand its influence abroad by mediating in international conflicts and having a more active role in the United Nations, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday as he outlined the nation’s diplomatic agenda.
Observers said the remarks reflected Beijing’s growing ambition to set the rules in global diplomacy, even though Wang stressed that China was not seeking to create a new world order.
On the sidelines of the National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing, Wang said China would defend its national interests and play a bigger role in issues ranging from conflict in Afghanistan to climate change.
“We are seeking a unique Chinese approach to settling hot-spot issues,” Wang said. “We will continue to put forward Chinese solutions.”
China’s top diplomatic priority was to push forward its “One Belt, One Road” initiative – a plan to boost infrastructure and trade links with countries from Asia to Europe – and marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war, Wang said. It would also actively take part in UN environment and development conferences.
“China supports reforming the international order, but such reform is not about overturning the current system,” he said.
He also said that unlike the Marshall Plan – the flood of US economic support to rebuild Europe after the second world war – the “One Belt, One Road” scheme was not based on geopolitics.
The ‘One Belt, One Road’ plan is a product of inclusive cooperation … and must not be viewed with an outdated cold war mentality,” Wang said.
His remarks come as China pursues a more proactive diplomatic approach not just within the region but on the mediation front in places like South Sudan and with lucrative economic deals in Latin America.
On Sino-US ties, Wang said there were still tensions despite agreement to build a new type of major power relations.
Closer to home, Wang insisted that China would continue reclamation work around disputed waters in the South China Sea.
“We are not like some countries, that engage in illegal construction in another person’s house,” Wang said, without referring to a specific country.
“We are building facilities in our own yard. We have every right to do things that are legal and justified.”
Zhang Baohui, a security analyst at Lingnan University, said China wanted its agenda – including its opposition to alliances and conflict resolution through regime change – to have more international weight. “China has a different approach to the Western world, and Beijing believes it has the strength now to counterbalance the West and set its own rules,” Zhang said.
On North Korea, Wang said the leaders of China and North Korea would meet at a suitable time.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not visited China since assuming office in 2011, but he is going to Russia in May, triggering concerns that Beijing and Pyongyang are not on good terms.
Source:http://www.scmp.com/news/