Paul Tembe
In 2021 President Xi Jinping mapped out a three-point strategy for China’s diplomacy. The three points consist promotion of global vaccine co-operation, jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and practising multilateralism. The strategy charted a course for a world that has arrived at a historic crossroads.
During the same year, addressing the World Economic Forum (WEF) Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda on January 25, President Xi said: “China will continue to share its experience with other countries, do its best to assist countries and regions that are less prepared for the pandemic, and work for greater accessibility and affordability of Covid-19 vaccines in developing countries.” He added that he hoped those efforts would “contribute to an early and complete victory over the coronavirus throughout the world”.
The president pointed out that the world was going through a threefold struggle to handle a ravaging Covid-19 pandemic, a deep economic recession, as well as a turbulent and shifting global order. Against the backdrop of growing risks and uncertainties, President Xi has, on an array of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic occasions, offered China's solutions to those daunting challenges.
By 2021, amid surging Covid-19 infections, President Xi emphasised that a fair distribution of effective vaccines was believed to be the best way to guide the world out of the tunnel. China’s proactive engagements in the fight against the pandemic has earned the moniker ‘cloud diplomacy’. This is in reference to intensive and multiple virtual meetings initiated and chaired by President Xi. Diplomatic initiatives and successes by President Xi have come to be known as ‘Xiplomacy’. In summary talks with foreign leaders and heads of international organizations, by President Xi repeatedly called for solidarity against the pandemic, as well as global co-operation on the research, development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
The recurring theme by China in the fight against Covid-19 has been a call towards a fair distribution of effective vaccines, believed to be the best way to guide the world out of the tunnel. Special emphasis on fair vaccine distribution as a global good were made for the benefit of developing countries.
During the same period China has, in efforts to curb economic pandemic that threatened global development, focused on the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the measures to solve the global economic disaster. President Xi pointed out that the global economic recession induced by the Covid-19 pandemic has turned out to be the severest ever since the end of World War II in 1945, threatening to totally disrupt global supply chains and leading to weaker investments.
In conclusion, President Xi has ensured that “China will continue to promote trade and investment, liberalisation and facilitation, help keep the global industrial and supply chains smooth and stable, and advance high-quality Belt and Road co-operation”. The theme of the Belt and Road co-operation has since then been an important term in President Xi’s phone calls with foreign leaders since the pandemic. The initiatives and pledges by President Xi have been warmly welcomed by the international community.
President Xi stated that “as China enters a new development stage, it will follow a new development philosophy and foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other”. He also emphasised that “China will work with other countries to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity”. All these initiatives as pledged by President Xi Jinping will largely ride on the back and successes of the Belt and Road Initiative as a framework to facilitate common prosperity.
China has been direct and clear with resoluteness that the only way for the world to survive is if multilateralism takes centre stage in all initiatives towards the fight against health and economic pandemics. President Xi has said time and again: “The problems facing the world are intricate and complex. The way out of them is through upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind.”
South Africa and the continent have benefited from the expansion and new phase of China’s diplomacy for the new era. South Africa has become one of the greatest winners in regard to receiving assistance to help fight Covid-19. Beyond that South Africa has the advantage of being part of the BRICS framework.
It would bode well for South Africa to leverage these advantages as a gateway to the rest of the continent.
South Africa has to draw on its geographical position and strong financial instruments to enhance and consolidate advantages offered by its deeper diplomatic, political partnerships with China including being the largest trade partner nation to China in Africa.
In the words of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi early this year, Africa is one of China’s leading diplomatic friends. Africa and China are friends and brothers for all weather. Every year, China’s minister of foreign affairs gives priority to first visit Africa. China cherishes its traditional friendship with Africa and attaches priority to Africa in China’s diplomacy, and is willing to be a good friend and partner of Africa.
Early this year, China’s foreign minister pointed out that, “In spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic, we have come here as scheduled, come rain or shine, and remain true to our original aspiration. This is the undertone of China-Africa friendship,” said Wang, adding that his visit to Africa had three main objectives.
The first is to help Africa defeat the pandemic. Second, it was to ensure the implementation of the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac). Wang stated that China stood ready to enhance synergy with African partners; to roll up sleeves and work hard to deliver all the outcomes of the conference to the benefit of the African people. The minister ended by saying that China was ready to help Africa speed up post-epidemic recovery and embark on the road of independent and sustainable development. The third objective was to make sure that China and Africa firmly uphold their common interests. The minister commented on current global tendencies of bullying developing nations, saying: “In the face of hegemonies and unilateral acts, China and Africa have a responsibility to jointly practice true multilateralism and safeguard international fairness and justice.”
The words of the leaders in China, beginning with President Xi Jinping to his ministers, reflect the important role played by China in the midst of weakened and decaying frameworks of multilateralism. It is a ray of hope that most African nations were able to heed China’s diplomatic call for a need for a dialogue between the warring Russia and Ukraine. It is a positive standpoint that may lead to long-lasting partnerships and co-operation between China and Africa on the road to building a community with a shared future for mankind through available frameworks such as Focac, BRICS, bilateral relations and other initiatives that may serve to strengthen tools that stand to empower multilateralism among developing nations and beyond.
* Tembe is a Sinologist and founder of SELE Encounters.