(Tzou Wen-Feng, Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Strategic Studies, National Defense University)
In late July this year, China launched a series of diplomatic actions in response to major global events like international nuclear arms control and regional arms conflicts. On July 22, China released two working papers in relation to the “no-first-use of nuclear weapons” policy and nuclear security assurances when the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference was held in Geneva, stating its position on nuclear weapons.
On July 23, China then mediated the signing of the “Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity” by representatives of the 14 Palestinian factions in Beijing. Shortly, on July 24, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Guangzhou, who visited China for the first time, and discussed possible peace negotiation on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to the press release by the Chinese side, the Ukrainian side highly appreciated China’s positive and constructive role in promoting peace and maintaining international order, and has carefully studied the six common understandings jointly outlined by China and Brazil for a political resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, and was willing and ready to conduct a dialogue and negotiation with Russia to achieve a just and lasting peace. China’s proactive role as a peacemaker certainly warrants for more attention.
First, Sun Xiaobo, Director General of Arms Control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in Geneva that in order to reduce strategic risks, it is proposed that the five nuclear-weapon states, including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, should negotiate and conclude a “mutual no-first-use of nuclear weapons” treaty, or issue a political statement in this regard, and that China has already put forward a draft, and urge the signatories of the Treaty to undertake not to use nuclear weapons against the other signatories first, at any time and under any circumstance.
In addition, Sun also urges that the international community should reach a consensus that states with the largest nuclear arsenal, the US and Russia, should take the lead in fulfilling their nuclear disarmament responsibilities by drastically and substantially reducing their nuclear weapons, so as to create conditions for the other nuclear-armed countries to join the nuclear disarmament process, and demands that the US abandon its strategic deployment of “nuclear sharing” and “extended deterrence”, and withdraw its nuclear weapons from overseas, abandon the development of a global anti-missile system, and cease the establishment of a land-based intermediate-range ballistic missile force in the Asia-Pacific region.
Second, to promote a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, China invited for the first time representatives of various Palestinian factions to start a reconciliation dialogue in Beijing on July 21, and later, in the presence of Wang Yi and a number of ambassadors, the factions signed the “Beijing Declaration,” in which they agreed to realize national unity under the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative, with the goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state and forming a provisional national reconciliation government in accordance with the existing Palestinian Basic Law.
China also put forward a three-step apporach to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue with a “two-state solution”, which includes pushing for a comprehensive, durable and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible and ensuring humanitarian access; Gaza is an inalienable part of Palestine, and the post-war governance of Gaza should adhere to the principle of “Palestinian rule over Palestine,” that the international community should support Palestine to form a provisional government and start post-war reconstruction as soon as possible; convene an international peace conference to push for Palestine to become a full-fledged member of the United Nations, and implement the “two-state solution.”
Again, China did not arrange for Kuleba to visit Beijing, and deliberately held a meeting between the two foreign ministers in Guangzhou, and did not issue a joint statement, and even the Chinese foreign ministry issued only one press release on Kuleba’s four-day visit, after which Kuleba visited Hong Kong, this clearly reflects the China’s intention to create a distinction between Russia and the Ukraine, that is, to push for “persuasion and negotiation” favorable to the Russian side. However, the Ukrainian side did not object to the announcements made by China, and the Chinese official media even pointed out that the Ukrainian side had made a clear change in its attitude, beginning to attach importance to the views of the Chinese side and changing the terms of the dialogue with Russia, which has led to speculation as to whether or not the Ukrainian side is really willing to accept the China’s mediation in the talks with Russia.
The so-called “China-Brazil Consensus” consists of six points, namely, calling on all parties to abide by the principles of no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of the war, and no escalation of fire by all parties in order to reduce the temperature of the situation; all parties should create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogues; humanitarian assistance should be increased; opposing the use of weapons of mass destruction, and avoiding nuclear crises as far as possible; opposing the attack on peaceful nuclear facilities, such as nuclear power stations; opposing the creation of closed political or economic blocs, and calling for strengthening international cooperation on energy, currency, finance, trade, food, and the protection of the security of key facilities such as oil and gas pipelines, submarine cables, electricity and energy, and fiber optic networks. It also calls for strengthening international cooperation in energy, currency, finance, trade, food and the protection of the security of key facilities such as oil and gas pipelines, submarine cables, power and energy, and optical fiber networks, so as to maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains. However, this 6-point consensus has not touched upon any of the truce conditions between Russia and Ukraine. If Ukraine is willing to resume the talks with Russia because it has “carefully studied the 6-point consensus,” this writer cannot help but wonder what are the key points of its consideration.
China’s proactive role as a “peacemaker” is certainly aimed at creating a peace-loving image in the international arena and enhancing its trust and influence on developing countries, Islamic countries, and countries in Central and Eastern Europe. However, it is even more noteworthy that the China’s dealings with any country in recent years have always been characterized by its emphasis on the support for the One China principle and the Chinese’s stance on the “Taiwan issue,” which is not in line with the packaging of its peace discourse. The consequences of such a linkage with the peace discourse and its general acceptance by the international community may adversely affect the security of the Taiwan Strait. In the future, it is worthwhile to follow up and analyze the China’s promotion of the “No First Use of Nuclear Weapons Treaty”, the establishment of a provisional government in Palestine, as well as whether Wang Yi will be visiting Ukraine, and so on.
（Translated to English by Chen Cheng-Yi）
