China calls for peaceful development, multipolar world at MSC 

Published: February 20,2023

Dubbed the Davos of Defense, the three-day Munich Security Conference (MSC), which attracted heads of state, military officers, intelligence chiefs and top diplomats from around the world, concluded on Sunday with many calling for the end of the Ukraine crisis and a more balanced world order.

Demonstrations and diverse voices

With war raging in Europe, Russia-Ukraine conflicts almost dominated discussions at the meeting. And as this year’s MSC invited a record number of representatives from Asian, African and Latin American countries, extra attention was also attached to the problems challenging them and their dissatisfaction with the existing global order.

Outside the meeting halls in Munich, around 10,000 anti-war demonstrators gathered on the streets, calling for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and a stop to providing military weapons to Ukraine. Some protesters carried Russian flags, expressing the anti-NATO and anti-America sentiment that has long bubbled in Germany, with some believing Europe is mired in the swamp of the Ukraine crisis under the pressure of the U.S.

Thousands of pacifists also held a rally in Washington, D.C. to demand that the U.S. stop providing military aid to Ukraine.

On the website of the demonstration organizer in Germany, it says that one of the purposes of the security meeting is to get NATO members to agree on anti-China and anti-Russian strategic goals, but the first thing that needs to be clarified is NATO’s military policy. They also said NATO’s eastward expansion is seen by Russia as a threat. 

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Questions regarding the current world order also surrounded the security meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that the current global order is imbalanced and Western countries are rapidly losing the trust of the Global South.

According to a report released by the MSC before the conference, countries of the Global South have so far been confined to the role of “rule-takers” under the existing global order. Robert Dussey, Togo’s Foreign Minister, said that Africa should have their own position and vision.

The report urged efforts to re-envision the existing global order so that it can win the support of more countries.

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addresses the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 18, 2023. /Chinese Foreign Ministry

China calls for peaceful development

At the meeting, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi reiterated China’s stance on peaceful development, calling for mutual trust to promote a safer world.

On the Ukraine crisis, Wang said China has “neither stood by idly nor thrown fuel on the fire” and will continue to call for peace and dialogue. He suggested that the West, especially European friends, think calmly about “what kind of efforts we can make to stop this war.”

On the Taiwan question, he re-emphasized that Taiwan has been a part of China and that China firmly opposes “Taiwan independence” and will unswervingly adhere to the one-China principle.

On China-U.S. relations, he blasted the U.S. over its “misguided” perception of China as a geopolitical challenge and threat, and urged the U.S. to adopt an objective and impartial view toward China’s development, pursue a positive and pragmatic policy toward China, and work with the Chinese side to promote a healthy and stable return to the track of Sino-U.S. relations.

Wang said the world is standing at a critical juncture and that human society should avoid “antagonism, division and confrontation.” He said pursuing peace is the strong desire of humankind and is the right direction for the advancement of our times. So, for a safer world, states must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, settle disputes through dialogue and consultation, and play a key role in social and economic development.

On the sidelines of the security meeting, Wang also met with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, and stressed the importance of peace, mutual trust, multilateralism, cooperation and development, and opposed unilateralism, isolation and decoupling.

“China is an advocate of international security concept, builder of world peace, defender of international security order and contributor to resolving hot spot issues,” Ling Shengli, director of the International Security Research Center at China Foreign Affairs University, told CGTN.

He said as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China plays a vital role in international security, and China hopes to weaken geopolitical competition and improve international security.