On visits to Washington and the UN, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has pledged billions of dollars toward peacekeeping, economic development and battling climate change, winning audience applause and plaudits from the world body.
However, while many nations trade aid for specific advantages, Xi’s approach is more ambitious. He is using the power of the purse to cast China as a responsible contributor to international peace and stability, and to dilute international criticism of Beijing.
The approach seems to be a success so far, helping Xi override condemnation in the West over the Chinese Communist Party’s strict limits on human rights and relentless persecution of anyone considered an opponent of one-party rule. He has also been able to drown out some concerns over China’s aggressive moves to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea, where it has lately been creating artificial islands by piling sand atop reefs and atolls, then topping them with airstrips and other infrastructure.
It also has the added bonus of making China look good alongside its chief international rivals, Japan and the US, who have long maintained the biggest foreign-aid programs. However, unlike China, that aid often comes with political or economic conditions attached.
In his first-ever appearance at the UN General Assembly, Xi on Monday committed US$1.1 billion to support UN and African Union peacekeeping efforts. The day before, Xi pledged an initial US$2 billion for meeting post-2015 global development goals, saying that could grow to US$12 billion by 2030. Another US$10 million was pledged to the UN agency promoting women’s rights.
Even earlier, during his state visit to Washington, Xi pledged US$3.1 billion to help developing countries combat climate change, bringing the total for all potential pledges over the four days to more than US$18.2 billion — still a drop in the bucket for a nation with a US$10 trillion economy.
Outside of monetary pledges, Xi did not have a lot to contribute to the debate at the UN. His 20-minute address on Saturday to the UN development summit was notable only for the aid pledges. Otherwise it was dominated by bland statements, greeting card-worthy platitudes and assorted jargon: the phrase “win-win” was deployed no less than five times.
Xi, who early this month presided over a massive military parade in Beijing, said on Monday that China would never seek to become a hegemonic power that would dominate others or put national interests above international justice — despite the doubts of its Asia-Pacific rivals.
“Let the vision of a world free of war and with lasting peace take root in our hearts,” Xi told the assembly.
Consistent with China’s avowed neutrality, Xi also stayed outside the key debates over the civil war in Syria and its resulting refugee crisis, the rise of the Islamic State and the war in Ukraine.
China’s principle of not interfering in other nations’ internal affairs plays especially well among other developing nations, many of whose governments are similarly autocratic.
And despite skepticism in Washington, Xi used his post-summit White House news conference with Obama on Friday to focus on progress in the overall relationship, while taking a mild approach to the South China Sea and asserting China’s opposition to cyberespionage, another issue of increasing concern to Washington, which Obama said China must stop.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was