China champions the multipolar world order at the UN Summit

World leaders gathered in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) under the shadow of global conflict as wars rage in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere.

Here’s what’s on China’s radar so far and what could happen as the UNGA continues.

Finding perspective: While the assembly began with the adoption of a ambitious document named The pact for the futurewhich contains a series of commitments to improve development, fight climate change and take stronger action to end conflicts — among other measures — the mood is not particularly upbeat at the UN.

In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Our world is going off the rails and we need tough decisions to get back on track.”

US President Joe Biden, in his last speech as president before the gathering, he called on countries to unite amid the spiraling conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and growing concerns about China’s growing influence.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in New York as Beijing’s top official and used his September 23 remarks at the Future Summit to emphasize China’s position as a rival power to the United States and its role in leading changes to the current global. command.

“We must build an equal and orderly, multipolar world and defend the international system centered on the UN. The international order is based on international law and the basic norms of international relations, supported by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” Wang Wang. said.

China’s top diplomat will also address the General Assembly on September 28.

What to watch: Israel carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah sites in Lebanon this week, which Lebanese authorities said killed hundreds of people and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety.

Wang already met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on the sidelines of the gathering and strongly condemned the violations after Israel’s large-scale strikes, saying Beijing firmly supports Lebanon.

Wang then said that China has worked for peace in the Middle East and will continue to work with Arab countries and the international community.

Things were much more tense when Wang met with his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa, where he demanded a clearer explanation of the circumstances behind the recent stabbing death of a Japanese boy from China.

Kamikawa called for Beijing to severely punish the alleged perpetrator and that officials should also crack down on anti-Japanese comments online. Wang called the attack an “isolated incident” whose motive is unclear.

Elsewhere, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva presented a joint Sino-Brazilian proposal during his September 24 speech to the assembly that calls for the start of talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has already rejected the proposal as “destructive”, but the Brazilian leader still said his foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim would seek support for the plan from representatives of 20 countries later this week in New York.

Why it matters: Beijing has flexed its muscles at the UN for years to block and obstruct Western initiatives as its international stature has grown, and now China is also throwing its new superpower around.

And with Washington taking a tougher stance against China in general, and especially lately due to its support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the lines of demarcation have only grown stronger.

Beijing has it sold itself as a leader of the so-called Global South and through policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative aimed to provide the world’s less developed countries with an alternative, non-Western model of growth and progress.

This strategy has led to widespread influence within the UN General Assembly, with strong pro-China diplomatic support from African nations, Central Asia and parts of Latin America.

The current General Assembly also comes as Washington finds itself increasingly isolated from large parts of the Global South over its votes to protect Israel at the UN as the war in Gaza intensifies.

Via RFE/RL

More top reads from Oilprice.com