Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
By Gerald Mbanda
An Israel battle tank is positioned along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Jan. 17.
Photo credit: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Armed conflicts are part of the global security threats which not only kill innocent lives but also disrupt economies and industrial supply chains of essential commodities around the world. Armed conflicts continue to rage around the world with an estimated occurrence of between 30-52 armed conflicts being fought at any one time in the last 20 years.
The war between Russia and Ukraine is prominent among the current armed conflicts and thousands of fighters have been lost on both sides while hundreds of civilian have lost their lives too, with millions displaced. The war has a negative impact on the wellbeing of the people as well as weakening economies of both countries.
The United States and European Union countries have taken sides to support Ukraine against Russia by supplying weapons and billions of dollars which has escalated the conflict. China on the other hand called on both sides to embrace diplomatic channels to end the armed conflict.
Last year, China put forward a constructive twelve point peace plan aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict but the proposal would be meaningful if both countries showed the political will to end the war. China’s peace plan document included; respect of sovereignty of all countries, abandonment of cold war mentality, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, resolving the humanitarian crisis, protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs), keeping nuclear power plants safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports, stopping unilateral sanctions, keeping industrial and supply chains stable and promoting post-conflict reconstruction.
Although Russia welcomed China’s peace plan proposal, the US discouraged Ukraine from talking peace. US Secretary of State at the time, Antony Blinken said that China’s words and actions regarding ending Russia’s war with Ukraine do not “add up”, and accused Chinese firms of supplying semiconductor chips and drones to Moscow . Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi met and held talks with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where Wang told Blinken that, “Russia and Ukraine are neighbors that cannot be moved away from each other and amity is the only realistic option,” emphasizing that other nations should support an international peace conference involving Russia and Ukraine.
Since the war between Russia and Ukraine began, an estimated $ 175 billion has been voted by the US Congress to support Ukraine. By the fact that the US is providing such large sums of money and military hardware, to one side of the conflict(Ukraine), it becomes part of the problem rather than providing solutions to ending the conflict.
The Middle East conflict is another major trouble spot in the world, with Israel conducting military operations in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, with a possibility of extending as far as Iran.
In November 2023, China called on the United Nations Security Council to formulate a “concrete” timetable and roadmap for a two-state solution to achieve a “comprehensive, just and lasting” settlement of the Palestinian issue. The proposal was contained in a paper that spelt out China’s position on resolving the decade’s long Palestine-Israel conflict. There is no way the US can claim to be part of finding lasting solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, at the same time declaring Israel as a strategic partner in the Middle East.
The US involvement in the Middle East is troubling for decades now. The US provided support to Saddam Hussein’s regime during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), while at the same time supporting Iran behind the scenes. In 2003, the US led an invasion against Saddam Hussein and killed him, on allegations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and that Saddam Hussein was supporting al-Qaeda.
After the assassination of Saddam Hussein, independent and governmental commissions found no evidence of these claims. The recent takeover of Syria by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), labelled a “terrorist” organisation by the United Nations, Turkey, the US and European Union is another test of US double standards in the Middle East crisis. The HTS commander Abu Mohammed al-Julani, is also a known former al-Qaeda top brass who claims to have distanced himself from the terror group, but it is not easy to establish whether he abandoned the al-Qaeda Islamic fundamentalism beliefs.
Recently, the Financial Times reported that US President Joe Biden provisionally approved a $680 million weapons sale to Israel, which includes providing Israel with more precision-guided ammunitions. President Biden had previously congratulated Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah on agreeing on a ceasefire. For the US to claim that it can act as mediator to ensure a sustainable ceasefire, at the same time supplying arms on one side is diabolically deceitful.
China has been on the mediation side of the peace process between Saudi Arabia and Iran. For years, the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran was one of the major sources of tension in the Middle East. To help the two countries achieve detente, China assumed the role of a mediator, leveraging its amicable relations with them to facilitate communication and dialogue between the feuding parties.
On April 6, 2023, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, signed a joint declaration in Beijing, announcing an immediate resumption of diplomatic relations. China firmly supports the five principles of peaceful coexistence, and China’s dedication to the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation and its success stands in contrast to Western intervention in Middle Eastern affairs, which has yielded little progress in advancing the peace process. The resolution of the Saudi-Iranian rift served as a testament to the efficacy of China’s diplomatic endeavors in fostering global peace and armed conflict resolution.
Gerald Mbanda is a researcher and publisher on China-Africa and commentator on global political affairs.
