Paul Tembe
The Russia-Ukraine war is a global crisis whose sustainable solution rests with international co-operation and solidarity. It is a war that cannot be solved through unilateral condemnation and sanctions. It is a complex confrontation whose resolution do not rest with sending weapons that can only result in inflaming further a fire that can consume all of humanity.
This is a war that cannot be fixed through McCarthyism by labelling those opposed to sanctions as heretics and accusing those in favour of dialogue as treasonous.
The principled position taken by President Xi Jinping, calling for warring factions to de-escalate, is sensible and pragmatic as a path to peace. His insistence that dialogue and diplomacy should be steadfastly supported has long been the approach of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) in its international co-operation and relations. This approach by the PRC is premised on practical backing of the UN Charter, signed on June 26, 1945 as a guiding principle to solve present-day crises. It is to be remembered what the preamble of this charter says and what it is relevant in the year 2022.
In bold letters it enjoins all members of the UN to endeavour to strive “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”. In pursuit of these ideals the charter encourages succeeding generations, who were spared the net effects of World War II and II, “to practise tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security”.
The follow-up question is then to ask which country since 1945 has worked in word and deed to maintain the founding principles of the UN. Which is the country that has been involved, directly and indirectly, in stirring conflict and war and in the process benefiting economically from its involvement, direct and indirectly, from stirring conflict zones around the world?
In its history, the PRC is known not to have been involved, direct and indirectly, in violation of the UN Charter. It has no history of venturing outside its borders to conquer and subdue other countries either through military or economic means. It has no military bases where it imposes its hegemony and influence on other nations. As such, the abstention of the PRC, like South Africa and other non-Western countries at the UN, to “condemn” and sanction Russia like Western countries is not by coincidence. It is a principle which disavows indiscriminate sanctions to solve conflicts since such economic measures only punish, ultimately, ordinary people by condemning their lives to pain and misery. This has been the case in Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Ethiopia and Iran.
Instead, as President Xi has been at pains to emphasise, the sustainable solution to the Russia-Ukraine war and guaranteeing global human security should be informed by the following considerations which are known widely.
First, condemnation and sanctions against Russia will only succeed in inflaming a regional war into a global Armageddon since Russia is a nuclear superpower that has maintained its stance that Ukraine should not be a member of Nato. This is in recognition of the multiple waves of encroachment made by Nato that threaten the territorial integrity and security of Russia.
Second, this stirring and inflaming of the Russia-Ukraine matter by neglecting to consider Russian security concerns comes at a time when the world is focused on rebuilding a better world post the Covid-19 health and economic pandemics. This conflict will not assist the world as it seeks to fix a fractured world economy, supply chains and livelihoods decimated by the coronavirus and its multiple variants.
Third, the resurgence of a Cold War is a violation of the rights of countries around the world to decide their own international affairs and national interests. The us-versus-them attitude and friend-or-foe unilateralism is a medieval behaviour that has no place in the 21st century where the geopolitical-economic interdependence is a fact of life. Instead, each country and civilisation have their own values that deserve respect at all times without exceptions.
Fourth, as President Xi stipulated in his meeting last month (March 8) with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, it is incumbent on developed and developing nations to play their irreplaceable part in addressing the “multiple global challenges that need to be addressed through global co-operation”. As such, it was encouraging to hear him say that the PRC is committed to “shoulder our responsibility to bring more stability and certainty to a turbulent and fluid world”.
Unfortunately, this turbulence is not confined to the Russia-Ukraine war but has been a fact of life for people in Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan and Palestine which have not seen the same level of condemnation and sanctions against the aggressors that the world is seeing with Russia. It does seem true that sympathy for victims of war, as observed with Ukrainian refugees, is based on the geography and physiological make-up of the victims.
The two divergent positions adopted by the PRC and the US with regards to the Russia-Ukraine issue is genuinely unfortunate. Since these are two countries that represent economic superpowers, their lack of common understanding of how to solve multiple global challenges poses a direct threat to global stability, peace and development. This is compounded by the consideration that the PRC and US are permanent members of the UN Security Council, who possess veto power, and as such, their common understanding and shared co-operation in dealing with Covid-19, climate crises, and terrorism is of critical importance to ensure world peace and development.
An available instrument for such co-operation and understanding, as President Xi insisted in his virtual bilateral meeting with American President Joe Biden on March 18, is based on a need for these superpowers “to respect each other, coexist in peace and avoid confrontation” and seek to “increase communication and dialogue at all levels in all fields”. This is besides the obvious fact that these are two different civilisations, but nevertheless what is critical is “to keep such differences under control” as it is required in any mature and sober encounters and relations whether between people, cultures, or countries.
Fortunately, the path to peace and development is there as the PRC maintains in its endorsement of multilateralism and the UN Charter whereby there is need “to promote the vision of common, comprehensive, co-operative and sustainable security”. To this end, the PRC has proposed a 6-point plan, driven by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, to address the Russia-Ukraine war which includes the following pragmatic measures:
1. Avoid politicising humanitarian issues.
2. Give full attention to displaced persons in and from Ukraine.
3. Ensure the protection of civilians.
4. Provide for safe and smooth humanitarian aid activities.
5. Provide for the safety of foreign nationals in Ukraine.
6. Support the UN’s co-ordinating role in channelling humanitarian aid.
Obviously, these measures and initiatives are in stark contrast to the approach of Western countries which have selected to supply the Ukraine government with weapons and military aid that can only succeed in prolonging the war, bringing untold human suffering, decimating infrastructure, and calcifying anti-Western attitudes around the world as happened when the US and Nato “intervened” in Libya, Syria and Iraq. The only one benefiting from this is the military industrial complex which has seen an unprecedented rise in orders, contracts and profits.
On the other hand, a reasonable cynic might say since it is the US and Nato that are pouring gasoline on a flaming fire in Ukraine, then it should be left to them to find a solution.
After all, there is a Chinese maxim that goes, “he who tied the bell to the tiger must take it off”. However, given the prominent position that the PRC occupies in world affairs and the reverence with which it is held by progressive forces around the world, it is incumbent upon China and President Xi to use the force of his personal authority to encourage the warring factions (including the US and Nato) to de-escalate, and impose a ceasefire so that dialogue and diplomacy can be given a chance.
The future of the global security architecture needs this de-escalation so that focus can return to securing the global trade, supply chains, finance, production and services. Moreover, it is encouraging that the President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his bilateral meeting with President Xi on March 18 also underlined the importance of not pushing for sanctions since these cut ties with Russia instead of facilitating dialogue, and further weaken the mediation role of the countries imposing sanctions.
The deep relationship of friendship and solidarity on international affairs between the PRC and South Africa, such as on the Russia-Ukraine issue, is based on core shared interests guided by the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) to promote mutually beneficial trade in high-quality products, e-commerce and energy. This is a solid basis for rebalancing the road to recovery post-Covid-19 and building together a community with a shared future for mankind.
Tembe is a Sinologist and founder of SELE Encounters.